SACRAMENT SATURNALIA: NYE Secret Art Rave feat. Benjamin Skepper x Halv Drøm (DE) + Kiki Ando (JP)

contrapuntal by Benjamin Skepper presents

SACRAMENT SATURNALIA

NYE SECRET WAREHOUSE RITUAL + ART RAVE

WED 31 DEC | 107–109 Victoria Street, Fitzroy

A Private Communal Gathering

Inside a decommissioned printing factory emerging as Melbourne’s foremost artist-led multi-arts studio, contrapuntal by Benjamin Skepper, opens the doors for a private gathering at year's end.

A RITUAL FOR THE NEW YEAR

feat. BENJAMIN SKEPPER (LIVE) x DJ Halv Drøm (DE) + Kiki Ando (JP)

GENETIC MUSIC SOUND BATH - LIVE PERFORMANCE - ART RAVE

100 tickets | Security on site
$50 early bird | $75 2nd Release | Door (if available)
Doors 8:00 PM - LIVE 830PM

THE OFFERING

Sacrament Saturnalia invites Melbourne’s creative underground to an intimate, elevated, and mythic end of year celebration. This is a gathering for those seeking depth and sensory refinement over excess and hype; where art eclipses entertainment, and connection replaces consumption.

As we farewell 2025, let the body exhale as we set new future agendas.

A three part midsummer ritual unfolds: Communal Sound Bath - Live Performance - Art Rave. The evening begins in stillness and ceremony, live music beckons introspection and transcendence, catharsis born through sounds from Berlin and afar bringing chaos into ritual.

Sacrament Saturnalia is the antidote to Melbourne’s commercial New Year’s noise. A ceremony of sensorial transcendence: intelligent, luxurious, safe and spiritually charged.
A requiem for the old year, and a rhythmic invocation for the one to come.

STRUCTURE + FLOW

ACT I: STUDIO LISTENING SESSION #1: WORLD FIRST

GENETIC MUSIC SOUND BATH + PURIFICATION CIRCLE
Patented Sonic Wellness, science-backed music from our molecules via the Moscow Conservatorium. Relax + Reset. Read about it via MIT here

ACT II: BENJAMIN SKEPPER + KIKI ANDO LIVE
Cinematic Ambient Dream-scapes for electric cello with internationally respected Butoh Contemporary Dancer Kiki Ando fresh from touring SE Asia.

ACT III: ART RAVE: feat. Halv Drøm (Berlin|Melb)

Producer and DJ Halv Drøm forges techno into ritual merging industrial post-punk intensity with polyrhythmic precision, transforming dance floors into a crucible of light, sweat, and ecstatic resistance. From Berlin with love.

Further details to flow.

SATURNALIA: A BACCANALIAN CONCEPT

Saturnalia was an ancient week-long Roman festival held in mid-December in honour of Saturn, the deity attributed to time and wealth. During this sacred season, roles were reversed, hierarchies dissolved, and society surrendered to revelry, liberation, and wild indulgence.

Paying homage to the ancient rite:

• Role Reversals: Hierarchies suspended: the sacred and profane intertwine

• Feast: Abundance shared: the table as altar

• Liberation: Costumes, music, and dance transform the ordinary self into the higher self

• Light: Candlelight and fire mark the return of the sun: the rebirth of time

• Ritual: Moral and social norms relax: the body becomes an offering, where ritual and chaos merge and transform
  

INTERNATIONAL MOMENTUM

Fresh from studio sessions in Los Angeles with L-Acoustics, Benjamin Skepper’s sonic artworks sit alongside Björk, Adele, Bon Iver, Dua Lipa, and David Byrne as he continues to bend genres and push boundaries with his music and sonic storytelling. Working on his 7th album, genetic music sonic wellness soundtracks, and multiple new collaborations, 2026 is set to become another ground breaking year, contrapuntal's 17th since inception.

This event marks a rare opportunity to experience Benjamin in his native territory, drawing Melbourne’s creative underground together with a world-class sound system that will alter your perception of sound forever.

Sound System: L-Acoustics (France / Los Angeles / AU)
System Support + Tuning: NORWEST (AU/NZ)
Floral Installations: Jessica Skepper (Melbourne)
Scent: contrapuntal (Kyoto)
Media Support: CX Mag (AU/NZ)

GENESIS

Melbourne’s creative energy unites us, yet independent practice remains subsumed by the State and bureaucracy.
This studio activation is a direct call to action: a grassroots fundraiser for contrapuntal — fresh from Tokyo, now establishing Melbourne’s home for sound, art, tech, and wellness.

A convergence of deep bass, subterranean sonic textures, performance art, and dance — igniting this secret warehouse in the heart of Fitzroy.
The creative underground has always driven culture forward — fearless, independent, borderless, and free.

Join us as we chart the path toward our Spring Activation and full Studio Launch in 2026. This is our collective platform for collaboration, experimentation, and radical creativity.

Performance, Sound Design, and Curation by Benjamin Skepper

IMPACT

Proceeds contribute directly to contrapuntal Studio’s 2026 Lease and Build Campaign, supporting the creation of Melbourne’s most ambitious artist-led multi-arts space. We are ready for lift-off! Let's build this ecosystem together.

SUPPORT

MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO OUR STUDIO
via the Australian Cultural Fund Giving Page

DRINKS BY

• Champagne Laurent-Perrier (France)

• Tsuki no Katsura Sake (Kyoto)

• COEDO Craft Brewery (Tokyo)

• + non alcoholic elixirs and offerings for health and hydration

NOTES

• Capacity capped to preserve intimacy and energy.

• This event operates under an inclusive, respectful, and consent-forward studio policy.

• Respect our neighbours and surrounds: this is our future playground. Let’s keep it safe, kind, and joyful.