Melbourne’s techno faithful are being given one very good reason to keep Saturday, 12 December clear.
French producer and DJ I Hate Models is returning to Australia at the end of 2026 — but this time there’s a catch. There will be just one Australian show, and Melbourne has landed it.
The enigmatic techno heavyweight will take over 42B Marine Parade, Elwood, delivering an exclusive four-hour open-air set that promises to push well beyond the boundaries of a standard club appearance.
For anyone familiar with I Hate Models, that extended set should mean plenty of room to move.
His music has always been difficult to pin neatly into one corner of electronic music. Techno forms the backbone, but industrial textures, pounding percussion, trance, acid and moments of almost euphoric melody regularly crash into one another. The result can be brutal one minute and strangely emotional the next.
It is that unpredictability that has helped turn I Hate Models into one of the more distinctive figures on the international techno circuit.
Rather than simply hammering through peak-time tracks, his longer sets tend to work as journeys — building, breaking apart and changing direction as the night develops.
And Melbourne audiences are going to get four hours of it.
The December appearance comes as I Hate Models continues a huge international run, including his WE1 performance at Tomorrowland 2026, before heading south for this rare Australian appearance.
There are no Sydney dates, no Brisbane stop and no second Melbourne night currently announced.
For Australian fans, Elwood is it.
The open-air setting should also give the night a different character from the dark warehouses and clubs normally associated with industrial techno. Marine Parade, summer air and four uninterrupted hours of one of Europe’s most uncompromising electronic artists make for an intriguing combination.
Ticket information
The Live Nation presale begins Tuesday, 11 August at 12pm and runs until Wednesday, 12 August at 12pm. No presale code is required, although fans will need to sign in to access tickets.
General tickets go on sale Wednesday, 12 August at 1pm.
I Hate Models — Melbourne
Saturday, 12 December 2026
42B Marine Parade, Elwood, Victoria 3184
One Australian appearance.
Four hours.
Open air.
And, presumably, very little mercy for the dancefloor.
