“CRACKING COMBO” - AS ONE “ALL IN”
EASTER SUNDAY/MONDAY 4TH/5TH APRIL
CLUB REVIEW
The date was January 1st, marking the start of a new year, the start of a new decade and the start of a new clubbing combination which would literally captivate its audience, packing out its host venue with numbers that had rarely been seen in many months nay years, the collaboration between five clubbing brands & six club promoters ending up as mixing match made in heaven. Yes, the formulation of As One definitely was the talk of the town and joining together clubs Trannyshack, Megawoof, Lovechild, Orange & Lo-Profile, each having their own special area to flex their musical muscles, as well as the added inclusion of the Logan Presents promotions machine, bringing with it the glitz & glamour of their “Alice In Wonderland” SuperMartXe event held earlier in the day, worked like a dream and, despite all the amazing parties across gAylist/land London over the New Year each playing their part to heighten the sense of optimism for the new decade, As One short of stole the headlines, making the start to this new year one of those special moments in our lives.
So, when news came through that this amazing collaborative event would return for another prolific party, this time on the Easter weekend, it was a foregone conclusion that we would attend, even given the ravaging circumstances we found ourselves embroiled within, just two weeks before, that looked like irrevocably damaging our penchant for writing & reporting on the magnificent scene that we still love to be a part of. So, casting doubtful thoughts aside& putting best foot forward, we heeded warnings to get there early, making our way down to Fire in Vauxhall and arriving at a shade before 3 p.m. to an extremely healthy queue of hopefuls that had decided against the wise choice of buying a ticket in advance. With reports filtering out to the queue that the club was already very busy, our patience in waiting 15 minute paid off & saw us speed through the front of the throng, being graciously treated by the door team which included a warmingly welcome Dave Cross. Once inside Fire’s doors, we could see for ourselves a main room that was already brimming with a merry band of party animals, lapping up the pulsating musical pace being served up by Paul Martin, resident of this Orange themed club space.
Dropping our belongings off in the coat check, we were released in a trice to make our first of what would be a successive amount of tours around the extensive offerings, first checking out the lounge area, which was the adopted room of uber chic central London club Lo-Profile, then squeezing ourselves through the heaving main room, gloriously decorated with twirling As One emblems & accompanying production, the collection of screen visuals flickering between images of host club Orange & As One pictorials, all being set off brilliantly by the venues amazing laser lighting. Finding ourselves in the mirror-arch space, the area given away to Alex Erfan’s Lovechild brand, we approached the D.J. booth to find the magnificent Mattias in charge of the decks, finding his stride with a sequence of pumping yet funky tech infused sounds that had us dancing in an instant, seeing the room fill quickly in front of our eyes, a whole collection of familiar faces appearing to join in the fun we were already having. The sea of faces included D.J. friend Hugh Stevenson, who was letting his hair down in typical fashion, Danny Shubert & Roni Inan, both savouring the delights of their hard work on this collaborative clubbing venture and even the man himself, Alex Erfan, who was energetically running around, making sure everything was as it should be, pausing for a moment to say hello and obviously pleased just how busy it was so early on.
It was now a case of finding the best spot to dance, yet making sure we didn’t miss out on the veritable feast of fabulous D.J.’s on offer across all five spaces, whether it was Tasty Tim & crew over in the audaciously alternative Trannyshack space, in the Lightbox which filled to capacity the minute the doors swung open for the musclebear mainstream club Megawoof, with Daz Saund & Tim McLone in charge of the beefy beats, or the delightful choice between the three other spaces, Lovechild’s Mattias going head to head with The Sharp Boys in the Orange room & the lovely Phil Hewson in the Lo-Profile lounge. Making a selection proved a difficult one, all three rooms being absolutely rammed solid with a charismatic mix of a crowd, muscled bare chested men, glamorously garbed girls, cavorting club kids and many in between, each club brand attracting its own element of loyal followers, but all fusing delightfully to give As One a unique and “All In” flavour, just the ticket and the very ethos of this latest instalment in the success of the year so far.
So, spreading ourselves as thinly as we could, we attempted to take in slices of each space, although it was the Lovechild lounge that got the lion’s share of our devotions for well over half of the eight hour event, Mattais’s purple patch performance ending and then flowing delightfully into a scintillating set by Tony English, which included the live P.A. showing from vocal diva Janis K, she surrounded by the eye candy that was the gobsmackingly gorgeous go-go’s, muscles flexed & assets revealed in true Lovechild fashion. That was followed up by international megastar D.J. Paul Heron, who grabbed the room by the neck and gave it an energetic shake with his stupendous sounds, one deep tech infused beat intermixed with funky & uplifting tones that left us breathless in adoration & twirling on our spot, the one space we could find in the whole club to display our dancing delirium. But the fever pitch pace was set to continue in the hands of Alessandro Londra, who laid down a series of tantalising tunes that saw the Lovechild room packed to the rafters deep into Monday morning, all topped off by powerful pyrotechnics deployed to delightful effect by the delectable Dorin.
Meanwhile the Orange room was hitting the high notes too, as first D’Johnny drew us in, as we literally squeezed our way to a tiny vacant spot by the D.J. booth, rubbing shoulders & trading “get down” moves with our fierce partner in dancing crime, Lexi, soaking up the atmosphere with the lovely Mark Barrett, even entering into the spirit of this main room madness with D.J.'s Mis-White and Mikey D. But when Logan’s troupe of delectable dancers took to the stage, including the wonderful Naomi, we more used to seeing this scenestress hosting the happenings rather than parading the podium, the atmosphere increased a few notches, only to rise further with the arrival of, first, Terry Bryan, whom we caught munching on a crème egg, this extrovert Easter style moment bending us over in fits of laughter, then when Alan K took over the D.J. decks to delight. And when he picked our favourite track of the moment, Denis Chrisptopher’s remix of the Nightstyler’s track “No More Lies”, the dancefloor erupted and we were left in absolute awe of this multi mixing master at work.
Then there was the Lo-Profile lounge, just like all the other spaces, packed out with party people that were soaking up this special “All In” As One event, the succession of D.J.’s each giving this intimate yet spectacular space their own rapturous recipe of delicious dance music, from Phil Hewson’s huge house hit happenings, to Craig Daniels who followed with full on funky frolics, through to the iconic D.J. talent that is Stewart Who, absorbing us with a sweet selection of classic house heaven, that left us wanting more, each of these three ensuring the Lo-Profile space was a hive of audacious activity. Mind you, our night, well morning, was never going to be complete without the addition of the Antipodean disc spinning act that is Brent Nicholls, who continued where the other three had left off, yet took the crowd on a journey through his “Nu Funk” house that had the room raving ravenously, one inspired individual showing his appreciation with a strings of “whoop whoop” chants & cheers, leaving Brent & us amused yet in admiration of his antics, which only added to the amazing atmosphere and the magnificent music we were enjoying courtesy of this scene favourite star, who seemed to once again make this lounge space his own.
Well, we could gone on & on in explicit exuberance of what was an awesome As One “All In” outing, the whole eight hours filled with mesmeric music and prolific performances, the party feeling just as busy as the first event on New Year’s day, yet somehow, for us, working even better. The atmosphere across the whole night & in each & every room was electric, the effort put in by all the D.J’s to deliver the best in house music, bearing considerable fruit, thus making the choice of where to be when very tricky yet terrifically tempting and also meaning there was never a moment that left us lacklustre. Yes it was true that at times it felt so busy & so hot that we struggled to find suitable space to satisfy our dancing delectations, but the marvellous company we enjoyed paled those thoughts into insignificance and once again we came away from Fire having enjoyed a thoroughly entertaining event that will live in our memories for a long time to come.
As One yet again proved that it is a force to be reckoned with in the gAylist clubbing calendar and the combination of clubs definitely break down the barriers of what can too often be seen as a fiercely competitive and politically driven scene, which sometimes falls foul to the blood thirsty desires of rival promoters. Joining forces not only puts these machinations to bed, even if just for eight hours, but moreover proves that working together has spectacular results and very much reflects the desire of genuine clubbers that the disco dancing should be doing the talking. As a result, special thanks have to go to promotions teams Logan Presents, The Orange Group & Gaydar Events, to clubs Lo-Profile, Lovechild, Megawoof, Orange & Trannyshack and to promoters, Logan, Steven Sharp, Daz Saund, & Alex Erfan, without whom the whole As One concept would not be possible. But deserved mentions have to go to those behind the scenes, people like Simon Patrick, Dave Cross, Dorin Andrei, Roni Inan, Craig Elder and many more besides, whose tireless work & collaboration have made As One so special. But most of all, the thanks have to go to you, the clubbing public, without which, this Easter outing event would never have been possible. Roll on the next instalment in this epic clubbing combo, we cannot wait. (DISCO MATT)
EASTER SUNDAY/MONDAY 4TH/5TH APRIL
CLUB REVIEW
The date was January 1st, marking the start of a new year, the start of a new decade and the start of a new clubbing combination which would literally captivate its audience, packing out its host venue with numbers that had rarely been seen in many months nay years, the collaboration between five clubbing brands & six club promoters ending up as mixing match made in heaven. Yes, the formulation of As One definitely was the talk of the town and joining together clubs Trannyshack, Megawoof, Lovechild, Orange & Lo-Profile, each having their own special area to flex their musical muscles, as well as the added inclusion of the Logan Presents promotions machine, bringing with it the glitz & glamour of their “Alice In Wonderland” SuperMartXe event held earlier in the day, worked like a dream and, despite all the amazing parties across gAylist/land London over the New Year each playing their part to heighten the sense of optimism for the new decade, As One short of stole the headlines, making the start to this new year one of those special moments in our lives.
So, when news came through that this amazing collaborative event would return for another prolific party, this time on the Easter weekend, it was a foregone conclusion that we would attend, even given the ravaging circumstances we found ourselves embroiled within, just two weeks before, that looked like irrevocably damaging our penchant for writing & reporting on the magnificent scene that we still love to be a part of. So, casting doubtful thoughts aside& putting best foot forward, we heeded warnings to get there early, making our way down to Fire in Vauxhall and arriving at a shade before 3 p.m. to an extremely healthy queue of hopefuls that had decided against the wise choice of buying a ticket in advance. With reports filtering out to the queue that the club was already very busy, our patience in waiting 15 minute paid off & saw us speed through the front of the throng, being graciously treated by the door team which included a warmingly welcome Dave Cross. Once inside Fire’s doors, we could see for ourselves a main room that was already brimming with a merry band of party animals, lapping up the pulsating musical pace being served up by Paul Martin, resident of this Orange themed club space.
Dropping our belongings off in the coat check, we were released in a trice to make our first of what would be a successive amount of tours around the extensive offerings, first checking out the lounge area, which was the adopted room of uber chic central London club Lo-Profile, then squeezing ourselves through the heaving main room, gloriously decorated with twirling As One emblems & accompanying production, the collection of screen visuals flickering between images of host club Orange & As One pictorials, all being set off brilliantly by the venues amazing laser lighting. Finding ourselves in the mirror-arch space, the area given away to Alex Erfan’s Lovechild brand, we approached the D.J. booth to find the magnificent Mattias in charge of the decks, finding his stride with a sequence of pumping yet funky tech infused sounds that had us dancing in an instant, seeing the room fill quickly in front of our eyes, a whole collection of familiar faces appearing to join in the fun we were already having. The sea of faces included D.J. friend Hugh Stevenson, who was letting his hair down in typical fashion, Danny Shubert & Roni Inan, both savouring the delights of their hard work on this collaborative clubbing venture and even the man himself, Alex Erfan, who was energetically running around, making sure everything was as it should be, pausing for a moment to say hello and obviously pleased just how busy it was so early on.
It was now a case of finding the best spot to dance, yet making sure we didn’t miss out on the veritable feast of fabulous D.J.’s on offer across all five spaces, whether it was Tasty Tim & crew over in the audaciously alternative Trannyshack space, in the Lightbox which filled to capacity the minute the doors swung open for the musclebear mainstream club Megawoof, with Daz Saund & Tim McLone in charge of the beefy beats, or the delightful choice between the three other spaces, Lovechild’s Mattias going head to head with The Sharp Boys in the Orange room & the lovely Phil Hewson in the Lo-Profile lounge. Making a selection proved a difficult one, all three rooms being absolutely rammed solid with a charismatic mix of a crowd, muscled bare chested men, glamorously garbed girls, cavorting club kids and many in between, each club brand attracting its own element of loyal followers, but all fusing delightfully to give As One a unique and “All In” flavour, just the ticket and the very ethos of this latest instalment in the success of the year so far.
So, spreading ourselves as thinly as we could, we attempted to take in slices of each space, although it was the Lovechild lounge that got the lion’s share of our devotions for well over half of the eight hour event, Mattais’s purple patch performance ending and then flowing delightfully into a scintillating set by Tony English, which included the live P.A. showing from vocal diva Janis K, she surrounded by the eye candy that was the gobsmackingly gorgeous go-go’s, muscles flexed & assets revealed in true Lovechild fashion. That was followed up by international megastar D.J. Paul Heron, who grabbed the room by the neck and gave it an energetic shake with his stupendous sounds, one deep tech infused beat intermixed with funky & uplifting tones that left us breathless in adoration & twirling on our spot, the one space we could find in the whole club to display our dancing delirium. But the fever pitch pace was set to continue in the hands of Alessandro Londra, who laid down a series of tantalising tunes that saw the Lovechild room packed to the rafters deep into Monday morning, all topped off by powerful pyrotechnics deployed to delightful effect by the delectable Dorin.
Meanwhile the Orange room was hitting the high notes too, as first D’Johnny drew us in, as we literally squeezed our way to a tiny vacant spot by the D.J. booth, rubbing shoulders & trading “get down” moves with our fierce partner in dancing crime, Lexi, soaking up the atmosphere with the lovely Mark Barrett, even entering into the spirit of this main room madness with D.J.'s Mis-White and Mikey D. But when Logan’s troupe of delectable dancers took to the stage, including the wonderful Naomi, we more used to seeing this scenestress hosting the happenings rather than parading the podium, the atmosphere increased a few notches, only to rise further with the arrival of, first, Terry Bryan, whom we caught munching on a crème egg, this extrovert Easter style moment bending us over in fits of laughter, then when Alan K took over the D.J. decks to delight. And when he picked our favourite track of the moment, Denis Chrisptopher’s remix of the Nightstyler’s track “No More Lies”, the dancefloor erupted and we were left in absolute awe of this multi mixing master at work.
Then there was the Lo-Profile lounge, just like all the other spaces, packed out with party people that were soaking up this special “All In” As One event, the succession of D.J.’s each giving this intimate yet spectacular space their own rapturous recipe of delicious dance music, from Phil Hewson’s huge house hit happenings, to Craig Daniels who followed with full on funky frolics, through to the iconic D.J. talent that is Stewart Who, absorbing us with a sweet selection of classic house heaven, that left us wanting more, each of these three ensuring the Lo-Profile space was a hive of audacious activity. Mind you, our night, well morning, was never going to be complete without the addition of the Antipodean disc spinning act that is Brent Nicholls, who continued where the other three had left off, yet took the crowd on a journey through his “Nu Funk” house that had the room raving ravenously, one inspired individual showing his appreciation with a strings of “whoop whoop” chants & cheers, leaving Brent & us amused yet in admiration of his antics, which only added to the amazing atmosphere and the magnificent music we were enjoying courtesy of this scene favourite star, who seemed to once again make this lounge space his own.
Well, we could gone on & on in explicit exuberance of what was an awesome As One “All In” outing, the whole eight hours filled with mesmeric music and prolific performances, the party feeling just as busy as the first event on New Year’s day, yet somehow, for us, working even better. The atmosphere across the whole night & in each & every room was electric, the effort put in by all the D.J’s to deliver the best in house music, bearing considerable fruit, thus making the choice of where to be when very tricky yet terrifically tempting and also meaning there was never a moment that left us lacklustre. Yes it was true that at times it felt so busy & so hot that we struggled to find suitable space to satisfy our dancing delectations, but the marvellous company we enjoyed paled those thoughts into insignificance and once again we came away from Fire having enjoyed a thoroughly entertaining event that will live in our memories for a long time to come.
As One yet again proved that it is a force to be reckoned with in the gAylist clubbing calendar and the combination of clubs definitely break down the barriers of what can too often be seen as a fiercely competitive and politically driven scene, which sometimes falls foul to the blood thirsty desires of rival promoters. Joining forces not only puts these machinations to bed, even if just for eight hours, but moreover proves that working together has spectacular results and very much reflects the desire of genuine clubbers that the disco dancing should be doing the talking. As a result, special thanks have to go to promotions teams Logan Presents, The Orange Group & Gaydar Events, to clubs Lo-Profile, Lovechild, Megawoof, Orange & Trannyshack and to promoters, Logan, Steven Sharp, Daz Saund, & Alex Erfan, without whom the whole As One concept would not be possible. But deserved mentions have to go to those behind the scenes, people like Simon Patrick, Dave Cross, Dorin Andrei, Roni Inan, Craig Elder and many more besides, whose tireless work & collaboration have made As One so special. But most of all, the thanks have to go to you, the clubbing public, without which, this Easter outing event would never have been possible. Roll on the next instalment in this epic clubbing combo, we cannot wait. (DISCO MATT)
1 comment:
Sounds like you work for all those clubs!
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