Maxwell Byrne, better known as 1tbsp, has quickly become a dancefloor staple over the past few years. After a dazzling world tour, including performances at Coachella and a residency at London’s renowned Phonox club, Byrne returned for his domestic Bubble Tour, with Melbourne’s Northcote Theatre as his last stop. There’s a curious whimsiness to 1tbsp’s approach to electronic music. The Brisbane native has built a career making electronic without ever feeling intimidating or esoteric, and his Melbourne show offered an opportunity to experience what makes his music so well loved.

The concert opened with a seamless back-to-back set by local DJs Hannah D and Ed Kent. With some lush, rolling prog house, it was clear these seasoned selectors knew how to warm up the floor. As the audience filled out, chit-chat over drinks gradually eased into a dancefloor in full motion. By the time Byrne took the stage, the room was buzzing with anticipatory energy. He began with some mid-tempo tracks, as hazy hues of pink and purple washed over a stage scattered with pulsating inflatable bubble balls. The audience was immediately receptive, quickly falling into the groove. As the set progressed, the intensity built, the bass thumped harder, and the lights morphed from atmospheric washes into percussive strobes, responding to the increasing ferocity of the music. The crowd responded, bouncing in collective cadence.

There’s a particular challenge to being a DJ onstage. Confined to the decks, it can be difficult to fully engage with the audience. Whilst many DJs turn to elaborate or technical spectacles, 1tbsp’s performance doesn’t demand attention, instead letting his music do the work. Drawing from everything from tech house to synth-pop and reggaeton, 1tbsp folds these sounds together with a certain playfulness. With textured percussion, Latin-inspired beats, shimmering synths and catchy vocal hooks, he creates a sound that is as fresh as it is off-kilter. At several moments during the set, he would pick up a mic and deliver live, dreamlike vocals, sometimes stepping outside the booth and into the front of the stage. These moments brought a more intimate presence to the performance. Throughout the set, Byrne maintained a seamless flow, mixing between styles with ease, never once losing the pulse of the crowd.

I had brought my sister, someone who had little familiarity with electronic music and had decided to come on a whim. Throughout the night, I kept looking back at her, gauging her reaction, a little apprehensive that I had taken her free evening to attend a concert she wouldn’t really enjoy. But my fears were quickly dismissed, as she was almost instantaneously taken by the music, bobbing her head back and forth passionately, in sync with the rest of the audience. On the tram home, I asked my sister what she thought, to which she emphatically responded, “I need to listen to more of this kind of music!”

1tbsp’s poppy vocal samples and structures make for a sound that’s effortlessly approachable and undeniably groovy, even with its DNA being firmly rooted in the electronic genre. At a time when pop music is being increasingly influenced by the dancefloor, 1tbsp’s music provides the ideal entry point to the world of electronic music.