skip-a-beat showcase AT NOW OR NEVER 2026

Venue - Max Watt's, 125 Swanston Street, Melbourne

Date - Friday 21 August 2026

EVENT OVERVIEW

Next gen club sounds, new media expressions and south asian identity collide: loud, layered, unapologetic. Now or Never links with Mumbai based transmedia label,skip-a-beat, transmedia label, for a special showcase at Max Watt's.

The evening unfolds in three parts: an in-conversation session on cultural identity and new media, a contemporary visual arts exhibition, and a music program that brings together the best of Mumbai and Melbourne.

SHOW FLOW

6:30pm: Doors open

7.00pm: Conversations & Mixer

8pm: Media Arts Exhibition & Neural Natak | A Technomagic Film

9pm-2am: A/V & DJ sets

2am: Venue Close

PART ONE: TALKS & MIXER

7:00 to 7:10pm - Welcome Note

Lord Mayor/Member from City of Melbourne (TBC) delivers brief opening remarks.

7:10 to 7:50pm - In Conversation: Identity & New Media

An intimate panel or in-conversation session featuring artists, curators, and thought leaders from the Indian and Australian independent scenes. Topics to explore may include identity in contemporary music, new media performance, and the evolving relationship between sound and image, with a special focus on strong ties between the independent scenes across Australia & India.

Moderated by Amrit Gill.

Panel: Spryk (skip-a-beat), Harrison Hall (Pseudo Digital), Nuala Furtado (Substation).

8:00 to 9:00pm - Community Mixer

Open floor, exhibition pre-opens informally as guests arrive ahead of the official 9pm open.

PART TWO: EXHIBITION

Opens 8:00pm

A media arts exhibition co-curated with Melbourne collective Pseudo, presented across 5 screens (expandable if needed). This phase creates an accessible entry point for audiences beyond the electronic music world and positions the showcase as more than a performance event. This is where the community gathers.

Artists: Aniruddh Mehta, Nikunj Patel (Moebius), Othersoul, Rel Pham, Luca Dante, Passive Kneeling, Era Namjoshi, Damini Gupta, Amalendu Kaushik, Abhijit Vinayak & more.

PART THREE: MUSIC PROGRAM

8:00pm to 2:00am

01:00 - 2:00 AM - B2B2B2B

12:00 - 01:00 AM - Spryk x Dave Court (A/V)

11:15 - 12:00 AM - Chor Bazaar Live

10:30 - 11:15 PM - Mowgli DJ set (kerfew)

09:45 - 10:30 PM - Primary Thug DJ Set (kerfew)

9:00 - 09:45 PM - CTRL V DJ Set

8:00 - 9:00 PM - Neural Natak Screening

Tickets:

$20 - Early Bird

$25 - General Access

$30 - Gate

Bios:

Spryk

https://spryk.in/

https://www.instagram.com/spryk.in/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/16U1VoCTUdHaTWUMKx2dUM?si=q3DmDCIMTTmxcmQVYnShJw

Spryk is the electronic music and media art practice of Mumbai-based Tejas Nair, one of India's leading electronic musicians and media artists. His decade-long practice spans large-scale AV performances, immersive installations and experimental club music, alongside curating EyeMyth Media Arts Festival. Key works include APEX (Magnetic Fields, 2019; Boiler Room x Wild City, 2020), a 2025 Lollapalooza India set spanning 7 Indian languages, Neural Natak (British Council Creative Convergence, 2025), and WAVY RGB, a 2026 collaboration with Switzerland's Floating Point Studio at Mapping Festival, Geneva.

Dave Court

https://www.davecourt.art/

https://www.instagram.com/dave.court/

Dave Court is an Adelaide-based visual artist working across painting, sculpture and installation, known for bold, painterly abstraction and immersive interactive environments. Founder of Washdog Studios, board member of Renew Adelaide and the Arts Industry Council of South Australia. Recent work includes EyeMyth Media Arts Festival Delhi (2026), a Goa residency with Unbox Labs (2026), and visuals for Ninajirachi's UK tour (2026).

Mowgli

https://www.instagram.com/mowglithedj/

Melbourne-based DJ and dancefloor powerhouse fusing cultural influences with global club sound. 2023 to 2024 highlights include Splendour In The Grass, headline sets at Section 8 and One22, international shows in Argentina, India and Bali, a back-to-back with Fred again.., and a nine-show Asia tour. Co-founder of Kerfew and HIVE, presenter on RTRFM, with guest mixes for Triple J, CADA and Boxout FM India.

Primary Thug

https://www.instagram.com/primarythug/

Broken, dark and sexy: Primary Thug blends South Asian and Latin rhythms with hard drums, breaks and global club into some of the most rhythmically pleasurable music in the local scene. Multiple releases 2023 to 2025 have established them as a vital voice in the club zeitgeist.

Chor Bazaar

CHOR BAZAA₹

https://www.instagram.com/chorbazaar.au/

Australian electronic music group and record label founded 2023, rooted in South Asian heritage and pioneering the "New Desi Wave." Six members: AYWY, Chagar, Daku, DDG, Maania & Saie, spanning DJs, producers, performers and visual artists.

Neural Natak

https://www.instagram.com/neuralnatak/

A technomagic feature presentation by Spryk: GEN-AI assisted AV work imagining neural networks as practitioners of Indian street magic, built from electronic music, generative AI visuals and remixed archives. Premiered at the British Council's Creative Convergence (2025), expanded to Chennai and Mumbai (G5A) in 2026.

Pseudo

https://www.instagram.com/pseudo_au/

https://www.pseudo-digital.com/

PSEUDO is a new media art platform and not-for-profit organisation that creates hybrid digital performances grounded in interdisciplinary new media art and digital embodiment. The collective is dedicated to supporting artists working across art forms with a particular focus on new media and expanded performance.

Kerfew

https://www.instagram.com/kerfew_au/

A collective bounded by South Asian heritage and culture, Kerfew continues to redefine boundaries with their music and arts events across Eora and Naarm.

CNTRL V

https://www.instagram.com/veetangri/

Naarm-based selector Vee brings an uncompromising blend of rolling drum lines, heavyweight bass, and restless energy to the dance floor. Moving fluidly through the lineage of UK sound system culture and her diasporic roots, her sets are physical, percussive, and built to keep bodies in motion.

Having played across iconic Naarm venues including Music Room, Howler, Section 8, The Toff and Wax Music Lounge, she continues to expand her sound through the city’s many scenes, pulling from global bass, percussive club and crate digs.

skip-a-beat presents - transmedia takeover at Now or Never 2026