"It's sad to say goodbye to the great Shadow Electric, but what a send-off!"
Tonight's final edition of the Label Of Love series also inadvertently becomes the venue's last hurrah as Shadow Electric announced last week the immediate closure of this space due to redevelopment. But underground Melbourne dance label Temporal Cast have got things covered bringing roster highlights out for a night of pure electronic bliss.
Label founder Jamal Amir opens the night and, perhaps due to the early Sunday evening timeslot, it takes a little before the audience gets into the swing of things. Amir quickly makes himself noticed through PA-pushing bass and clever, well-crafted beats. This is at its best at its loudest, the only negative being that Amir does get stuck a little too long in some repetitive loops that see attention spans wander. But overall it's a good set-up for the acts ahead.
His name is first on the poster, but beats don't always play in chronological order. Cale Sexton really ups the ante as he delivers a series of spacey beats, all on the fly, through an impressive set-up of analogue gear. For the entire set, Sexton is on the ball yet lost in his own gear. Just watching Sexton twist knobs and tap tempo delays is a joy as half the experience is watching and marvelling as this performer performs. His transitions in between songs could be a little smoother for the dancefloor, but his sound is so diverse and is a standard-setter for Melbourne's prestigious electronic music scene.
The bandroom now sees its heights as the crowd fills out and the drinks flow. Kangaroo Skull have been around the traps for a while now and this My Disco side-project by drummer Rohan Rebeiro has come leaps and bounds since its inception. The lighting, sound, atmosphere - everything here is executed perfectly. The music is dark, synthetic and ambient all the while leading curiosity as it ventures through a number of electronic flavours. This is truly a highlight performance. When the set wraps up, a huge demand for more goes up but, alas, to no avail.
Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter
Rounding out the night, Temporal Cast upstart Chiara Kickdrum offers up debatably the most accessible set of the night, but also one that doesn't compromise. It's sample-driven and simply dancefloor fodder for those who remain. Tempo is generally up, but the structured builds and drops are done with a mathematical restraint. Unfortunately it is all over way too early, coming to a close at around 11pm. It's sad to say goodbye to the great Shadow Electric, but what a send-off!