The night before the Love Parade, my friends and I were off to a new venue in Leeds to see two of the most respected DJ's in the music industry; Darren Emerson previously of 'Underworld' fame and Sasha who needs no introduction at all. The event promised a lot, being the new residency of the boys behind 'Global Underground'. We were not to be disappointed….
We arrived at the club around 11:00pm and as the event was ticket only, we had only a short wait before going in. The club was split into two rooms, one playing more aggressive beats whilst the other put out funky disco house, played to a more amiable crowd. At this point, the atmosphere in the main room was pretty much non-existent with temperatures making it near impossible to dance. Thus, we found ourselves some space in the cooler back room and enjoyed the more chilled, deep house on offer.
Around midnight, we ventured to the main room to see Darren Emerson. His opening mixes were amongst the worst I have heard, with beats going off in all directions, whilst the crowd stared on in bewilderment! Apparently there were technical difficulties with the mixer. Nevertheless, Emerson soon took a firm grip of the crowd, locking them into his unmistakable, wobbly techno beat! Taking full advantage of the club's sound system, he cranked the bass right up, much to the amusement of myself and the others around me, who were now right in the groove. His programming was consistent, with the tracks never digressing from the down right deep and funky. His mixing on the other hand was of a poor standard throughout and we couldn't help but think that he'd got a bit too cained prior to playing!
With around 20 minutes of Emerson's set left, a massive cheer went around the main room. It could mean only one thing; Sasha had entered the building. The crowd by this point were all in full spirit and as he took over, there was little doubt that he was going to rock it. His set began with some of his more recognisable house tunes as he began his build up, and the less energetic nature of these tunes, meant that some of the 'beer boys' who had been dominating the dance floor got tired and went home. This had two great effects, one that the temperature in the main room decreased and two, that there was much more room on the dance floor for the people who actually appreciated his sound. As his set progressed, Sasha began to show why he is seen to be amongst the best DJ's in the world, as he began to display a new side to his musical entourage as the tunes became deeper and groovier. His deep tech-house sent the crowd wild, and time, as often, seemed to pass way too quickly. By the end of his set his tunes had moved to a darker progressive sound and everyone began to realise that they had just witnessed one of the best sets they would hear all year.
Therefore, it would be fair to say that we had a pretty good time and that the boys from Global Underground had succeeded in putting on a good night. Moreover, they proved that it is still possible to have a great night without a hint of trance or the appearance of any glow-sticks and hopefully, this is an indication of things to come for the dance music industry this autumn.
Review sumbitted by Paul Mertens