Picture this: you’re laid out on a lush picnic set up with your mates, sipping on natural wines and filling up on gourmet nibbles as a top-notch line-up of DJs set the tone with chilled, atmospheric beats – all as dusk settles over Sydney Harbour. Oh, and you’re on the helicopter landing pad of an enormous navy ship.
After debuting with sold-out events earlier this year, Audamus is back for one final event on Friday June 11. With the reinvigoration of Sydney's nightlife calling for innovative concepts, EMC, Lazydaze and the Australian National Maritime Museum have again teamed up to present us with a lo-fi session on the HMAS Vampire.
One half of Aussie electronica duo the Presets, K.I.M, and underground scene veteran Phil Smart head up the line-up of respected taste-making DJs. The soundtrck to the evening is inspired by the downtempo, trip-hop era of the ‘90s, and the lost ‘chill-out’ rooms in nightclubs of yore.
Quality beats are always accompanied by quality eats on this ship. Previous events have seen Audamus team up with Redfern's Bart Jr and Surry Hills chook slingers Henrietta. Next up, Newtown's kickass modern Japanese café (and motorcycle workshop) Rising Sun Workshop is at the culinary helm. This is no basic picnic, on the menu is chargrilled broccolini with kikurage, stracciatella and lager salsa for first course, with miso and orange lamb or mushroom asado with koshihikari rice, umami pumpkin and tsukemono pickles for the main.
Audamus takes its name from the ship’s motto, which in Latin means “Let us be daring”. We don’t know about daring, but there is something delicious about the contrast of chilling out to some beats while sitting on top of all the heavy metal of an all-welded war machine built at Cockatoo Island Dockyard in the 1950s. Your group will have its own designated ‘pod’ complete with Turkish rugs, comfortable ottomans and cushions.
Tickets can be bought in pods of two or four and are going for $165 plus booking fee, which includes the entertainment, an arrival drink, a gourmet picnic and two glasses of paired natural wine. Non-alcoholic options are available, as is the option to purchase more drinks. This will be the final event in Audamus' four-show run. Snap up tickets here.