Live Review: The Space Between Us offer a taste of Brisbane's underground on their 'Lacuna' compilation

The Space Between Us is more than just your average music collective. Aside from doing what they love, - showcasing electronic music from within Brisbane and beyond - they give those artists the skills they need to thrive in the industry. Through publicity, artists management and events, TSBU do their bit to push forth artists they genuinely believe in and are passionate about.

They've just put out their first official release, a various artists EP featuring some stellar Brissy based acts. Lacuna is the name of the compilation, and over six tracks, the depth of the Brisbane/Gold Coast underground is on show here.

The release kicks off with an epic six-minute breakbeat flurry from Brisbane based duo From. Titled 'Covered', this jet-fuelled, propellant jam uses a driving bassline, clunky percussion and dubbed out flutes to cover bases across a multitude of genres. The breakdown leaves us with a wubby-dub bassline and echoed flutes until the percussion comes back in with some stratospheric sustained keys, making for a whole body that both whispers and screams to you.

Brisbane based duo Penelope Two-Five offer up track two, 'When I Met U'. They're absolutely no strangers to blissed out, lo-fi production, but this single sees them dig deeper into spacey rave territory, complete with post-punk-esque vocals, glitchy synths and a sultry acid line that really rounds it all out.

Brisbane's Dream Coast deliver Stranger Things-esque synth pop on 'Breakfall'. Delving deep into emotive electronica, they use this one to take you on a sonic journey through bellowing basslines, dainty synth lines and complex chords.

Notaeb, a DJ and producer from Brisbane, lends spacious breaks and relentless echoes on 'All Those', serving minimal soundscapes in the introduction and letting it build profusely as the clock ticks. A warping vocal line pans in and out of focus, serving up sass atop harsh cymbals. The sounds warp in and out of one another with immense synchronism, the track never once sounding crowded.

Boogie enthusiast Greaves serves a slow, chopped and skewed breakbeat complete with dissonant chords and scattered vocals. The Brisbane producer weaves hip-hop moments throughout this one; record scratches, wonky vocals and that classic big-beat bassline give it a different kind of flavour to the rest of the record.

And the release is rounded out with a fuzzed out mechanical frenzy on StacEmp's 'Proxima', a relentless electro number that doesn't even give you a second to breathe. The reverb on the crunchy melody is juxtaposed with crisp, crystal clear percussion and rounded out with the underwater bubble of the synth hiding in the background.

The Space Between Us have put together more than just their inaugural compilation. Sydney and Melbourne may be the giants of the electronic music hubs that this country has to offer, but with Lacuna, TSBU have given us a stellar showing of the range and scope of underground electronic music coming out of Brisbane and by putting it all in one place, they're fostering something beautiful of their own.

Purchase The Space Between Us' Lacuna compilation via their Bandcamp.

Words by CAITLIN MEDCALF

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