Melbourne doom band Whitehorse was one of 24 alternative ensembles that descended on The Baso last weekend, much to the delight of local metal fans. Photo: Essence Festival, fiathriel.
Local lovers of dark, alternative, and heavy metal music savoured an absolute treat last weekend – the first iteration of Essence Festival, at The Baso in Belconnen.
The festival welcomed no fewer than 24 bands to the stage across action-packed nights on 27 and 28 September, and while the focus lay mostly on metal and its many sub-genres, Essence represented plenty of other categories as well.
The many sounds to grace The Baso included experimental, ritual ambient, industrial, noise, and subterranean, alongside dark contemporary takes on traditional music, and complex performances that defied genre altogether.
Sydney/Melbourne experimental ensemble Black Aleph played an entrancing set on Saturday night. Guitarist Lachlan Dale describes the festival as ”rare in quality and diversity”.
“This was a wonderful curation featuring Australia’s finest underground and extreme acts, many of which had never played in Canberra before,” he says.
“Authenticity is everything, and Essence had plenty of it. It was run as a non-profit exercise, so after production and promotion costs, every cent went back to the bands. You don’t see that much anymore, especially on a large, organised scale.”
Essence is the brainchild of Dan Nahum, who’s been playing in extreme bands for more than 20 years. He says there’s something addictive about the metal world – not just the sound it curates, but the relationships built behind it.
“Essence is my love letter to Canberra, in the form of a destination festival presenting confronting, awe-inspiring, ever-evolving art,” he says.
“I found my way into this world looking for something that felt transgressive and maybe a little dangerous, but where I also felt a sense of home. It’s been a huge part of my life ever since, and my story is one echoed by many in our community.
“I see a lot of love for our community in cities like Sydney and Melbourne, but Canberra tends to miss out. It’s such a beautiful city, so I thought why not create a festival that supports alternative music in the capital and attracts listeners from further afield, with a super-diverse line-up?”
Brendan Sloan is the vocalist for Altars, an ”unorthodox death metal” band that draws from a variety of sounds to defy the constructs of its genre.
“There are many kinds of extremities in art, so why not in music?” he says.
”Whether you’re into bestial, blasty death metal, post-punk or sinister, melodic doom, you’d be hard-pressed to find any line-up as diverse as what we saw at Essence.
“There are, of course, a variety of metal festivals curated around the country by really passionate people, but the last one that was really ‘Canberra’ was Metal for the Brain, which ended in 2006.
“Essence gives the capital back a metal flagship of its own and pushes the narrative that even in a world burning, the one thing we can always rely on is our art.”
Mik and Nicole Bergersen are The Baso’s proud co-owners. As caretakers of one of the few venues in the capital that regularly host metal and alternative bands, the importance of diverse local music is not lost on them.
“We saw such a brilliant standard of quality at Essence over the weekend,” Mik says. ”Being presented with the opportunity to have so many bands under our roof over two massive days was certainly exciting.
“Everything flowed very well. Because we have two stages, we are able to keep the energy going by having one band set up as the other concludes their set, so the crowd is pretty much never without sound.
“Essence was a great opportunity for hardcore fans, who may not usually listen outside of their usual scope, to explore diverse, extreme and innovative sounds that showcase music as a true art form.”
There was definitely something in the air that felt like success, on both nights. And with Dan keen to make the festival an annual event, this is certainly a space to watch.
Follow the Essence journey on Instagram at @essence_festival.
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