I was a little sceptical when I first heard of Dan Dan's Australia day Dub beach party but an concerns I may have had disappeared as quick as the carton of corona i carried on my shoulder across the green divide. Set up on the end of a jetty on the beautiful Maroochy river, punters already were dancing in the shallow waters, lining the beach and filling the parkland surrounding the picturesque location. Pushing through the maelstrom of bikinis, blue bodies and tattoos on the jetty I finally made it behind the decks where I was greeted warmly by the host.

I had heard about Dan Dan's unique style of mixing and was unsure of what to expect - to say that I was impressed was an understatement. Mashing hip hop, electro, party breaks and dubstep on paper just wouldn't work but Dan Dan's masterful use of effects, track knowledge, skills on the mic and charisma behind the decks really struck a chord with the crowd. Already a staple in the Sunshine Coast's underground dance scene I'm sure we will be hearing a lot more of Dan Dan in the months to come.

With no real set times so to speak it wasn't long before I got my first chance to drop a few bombs of my own. Opening with Max Romeo's ‘I chase the Devil’, I progressed from reggae through to dubstep, tech house and finished on some accessible Psy. Tracks like Neelix - Adapt, Kaierdisco - Amalfino, Ben Weber - Drahtseilakt and Datsik - Retreat went down a treat. The open mindedness of the crowd was a pleasant surprise.

Also on the bill for the day was Noosa local Cloneboy who's smoking set of percussive tech-house peppered with electro bombs had bodies heaving on the banks, in the water and on the jetty itself. It’s a little surprising that none of the sound system ended up in the water. A visit from the boys in blue was the bump in proceedings the whole day which ended up being nothing more than a brief reduction in volume. Hats off to all those that attended who proved that it is possible to have a large public gathering with alcohol and not descend into some kind of all in UFC grudge match. Quite a day, quite a day indeed.

- Ryzer