Melbourne Is Getting a Brand New Basement Club, XE54

In good news for people who like raw dance clubs, a raw dance club is opening! Come August 12, Melbourne will have a new place to party with XE54 opening in an underground basement on City Road.

The new venue (in Southbank, of all places) comes from some powerful collective hospo chops. Simon Digby, Tony Perna and Nick Vas of Roar Projects have drawn on the team behind Beyond the Valley to book some killer nights, including a flagship Saturday offering. Resident DJs will take the venue from week-to-week, but you can also expect a curated blend of electronic, house, techno, disco and an eclectic mix of international and local headliners.

"We aim to create something that, regardless of the time of year or which specific week you attend, there will be a Saturday nightspot for electronic music lovers with the right attitude to come together and enjoy good music," says head booker and promoter Mike Christidis of Beyond the Valley.

They've also called on the team International Worldwide to do the interior design. FYI, International Worldwide are the big wigs behind Holy Moly, Honkytonks (RIP) and The Bottom End. They've done it up right with raw graf murals in primary colours to delineate the warehouse-y space. Neon accents do the rest of the work to create the unpretentious atmosphere they're aiming for.

XE54 will open at 334 City Road, Southbank on August 12. For more info, visit their Facebook page.