Having called in mid afternoon for a taste of sub goodness at the soundcheck ,I was ravenous for game-time to arrive.Several hours of merriment later it was time to tango and we shivered down the road to Dolans. The unmistakable throb of the Void Stasys X’s was palpable within about 300m of the club and once inside the monstrous bassbins swiftly set to work on both inner and outer organs. Every last inch of your body (eyebrows included) were reminded of the basic physicality of music, as well as past decade’s profound advancements in sub-centred production and audio technology. Personally speaking I consider Void to be the champ in the heavyweight sound division, offering clarity and precision in the mid/high ranges and humbling such over-hyped brands as Funktion One in the sub department. Placing this kind of technology in the hands of your average Joe is not advisable, but thankfully the Macronite crew have the brilliance of Sol on their side, who adopts a carefully considered,,sceintific approach to his art, with truly breathtaking results – every time.

And so on to the choons….

Rob_Booth’s Cloudcasts on Mixcloud

Biome then took the stage and his hour was a much different animal. Rooted much more exclusively in the dubstep flavour, it began with minimalistic swooping lurkers and steadily rose to a frenzy of lower mid range growlers. Having listened to most if not all of his releases and many of his mixes I was rather surprised at the ferocity of the second half hour.. Teeth rattling detuned basslines created quite a raucous dancefloor, far from the moody, hoodied-up darkness I had expected. This is not to say it wasn’t an impressive performance.. far from it. Much of the output felt like a spacious reworking of some of the sound design present in mid 2000s Neurofunk Drum and Bass. The snarling progressions, although “filthy”,were clearly distinguishable from and had much more character/soul than the recycled chainsaw patches synonymous with the commercial shitestep of recent times. Again, to taste a flavour of the Manchester man’s set check this mix out.

Resident action on the night was of the usual high standard with NiKi and Eoin Greaney teeing tings up nicely in the main room whilst,Jonny Dub, Danny Drive Thru and curator Tolkien Wideboi laid down Techno, Jungle and even some Breakcore on the smokin’ Terrace. The Macronite crew don;t go halves on anything – sound and lighting are always impeccable as is the carefully considered bookings roster,promotion and hospitality for travelling DJs and ravers alike. Dolan’s as a venue undoubtedly adds hugely to the overall package, with its expansive chambers facilitating a diverse array of musical output and sensory stimulation. It reminds me somewhat of Dublin’s McGruders  “back in the day” and serves as a reminder of whats possible with the right venue, music and crowd.  Kudos.