Origin NYE 2016… kind of sucked. After an electrifying performance from the ultimate Denzel Curry, the rest of the night was a huge let-down. Chance the Rapper pulling out soured the atmosphere, while sound issues and a laconic performance from A$AP Rocky to see in the new year left a lot of people feeling disappointed.

But the less than ideal start to 2017 balanced out with an amazing end to the year! Origin NYE 2017 was simply sensational, with terrific acts throughout the night and a much nicer vibe (by Origin NYE’s standards anyway)!

Because of who we are as people, we didn’t arrive until the late afternoon, just missing out on the one and only alt-rapper Danny Brown. But we did make it in time for Atlanta singer-songwriter and rapper 6lack, who was back in Perth already after recently supporting his fellow Atlantans — trap trio Migos, in October.

6lack, pronounced ‘black’, put on a terrific show with a wonderful orchestral twist. We then briefly crossed over to the Base tent to check out the frantic electronic beats of Welsh producer High Contrast, before returning to the Pod stage for 'Man’s Not Hot' internet sensation Big Shaq!

The fictional grime MC is the invention of British meme rapper-comedian Michael Dapaah. His hilarious hit song 'Man’s Not Hot' has blown up to such an extent that, despite being his only song, it has propelled Big Shaq to currently be the 153rd most listened artist in the world on Spotify this past month.

The first half of his set was a mixture of stand-up and playing various songs before the time finally came for the moment everyone had been waiting for. The anticipation rose as the beat built up to crescendo, to which the drop then came and… 'Wonderwall' began to play.

Finally, Big Shaq turned the heat up (but didn’t get hot himself, of course) with back-to-back performances of his one song, which was equally funny and genuinely good. Skitty-kat-kat!

As day turned to night, the Pod stage took a darker turn with New Orleans rap duo $uicideboy$ hitting the stage with their raw and gritty, bass-heavy sound. The demonic vibe and powerful presence ensured the rising hip hop stars $lick and Ruby Da Cherry were among the highlights of the night.

But whilst we had expected $uicideboy$ to be a highlight, perhaps the biggest surprise packet was seasoned British Grime MC and rapper Giggs, with his tight flow and smooth, high-tempo beats.

However, stealing the night as my personal favourite set were Brooklyn hip-hop trio the Flatbush Zombies. With their raw, psychedelic-inspired sound combining East Coast hip hop with horrorcore, the Flatbush Zombies are arguably the best rising rap outfit around right now.

With a consistently dope beat, smooth yet grizzly flow and a revolutionary presence, their 2016 debut album 3001: A Laced Odyssey is a must-listen, and only marks the beginning for the Brooklyn hip hop group. As well as that, I’m also a real sucker for entrancing psychedelic backdrops, and the Flatbush Zombies certainly delivered in this regard, with each song being accompanied by a gorgeous and captivating scene.

We then made our way over to the broccoli tree decorated Forrest stage, a new addition to Origin, to see Nu-disco sensation Mura Masa. The multi-instrumental electronic producer and songwriter was nothing short of brilliant with his synth-heavy wonky pop and alt-R&B.

We briefly popped back over to the Pod to see London Grime MC and rapper, Perth favourite Stormzy, before returning to Forrest to see in the new year with the funky and experimental celestial beats of Montreal producer Kaytranada.

The Haitian-born and Canadian-raised sound innovator was at his crisp and cosmic best, creating the ideal atmosphere to see off 2017 and kick off 2018! The final five minutes of the year covered a range of the funniest and most memorable moments and phases of the weird year that was, before fireworks erupted and everyone turned to embrace their loved ones.

After another half hour of happy vibes and boogie-ing we decided to catch the end of LA hip hop artist Schoolboy Q’s set. He was losing his voice a bit and had to deal with the infamous low energy of Perth crowds (we’re sorry), but he still performed admirably.

And so 2018 had begun. Incredibly enough, it was actually a really fantastic night, thanks to the lovely weather, a line-up so insane that we had to miss the likes of French producer DJ Snake, singer-songwriter-dancer Kehlani and iconic English DJ Andy C, and just generally a far more lovely vibe than the previous year.

Sure, there were a few dickheads around — like the guy swinging elbows in the $uicideboy$ mosh, the idiot who jumped up on the stage during the Flatbush Zombies set and the lovely people who found/stole my wallet and proceeded to buy $324 worth of drinks using PayPass — but hey, if that’s how you want to live your life, I’m sure it’s going to go real great.

Thank you, Origin NYE, for a wonderful end to 2017. Here’s to the New Year! Hopefully it’s filled with love, progress and plenty of awesome music.