After a truly unbelievable night at Halcyon:cloud 9 and Alt. Relaunch it was hard to believe that Sydney’s premiere uplifting trance/breaks night could get any better. This time round Halcyon staged a space invaders theme as Gas Nightclub was “invaded” by Melbourne trance DJs Albert Mangler and Steve Strangis and Canberra breaks DJs Mikah Freeman and Jeff Drake. After hearing nothing but impressive reviews about the guys over the previous weeks and with promise of something different on offer, we knew we were up for another memorable evening.
We arrived just before 11 to find the usual Bohem entrance closed with clubbers allowed access through the Gas nightclub doors. After making it inside, we passed through a strange tunnel of lasers and sci-fi music, then downstairs and into an outer-space wonderland. After looking around the room, it was apparent that once again the Alt boys had put in a huge effort. The Gas balcony was stylishly decorated with hanging stars, and huge screens with trippy visuals were visible up front. In the centre of the dance floor, a computer hosting the original “Space Invaders” game was set up for punters to play and was projected on to the front screen keeping with the theme of the night. At this stage, we were treated to a dance display from the increasingly popular “liquid dancers” who performed to some sci-fi classic music themes such as the X-Files. All this combined to make the perfect accompaniment to the theme of the night.
First to invade the Sydney scene was Melbourne DJ Albert Mangler. Albert is responsible for the running of the highly successful trance night 5AM held at Melbourne’s Room680 along with fellow space invader Steve Strangis. The night also hosts resident Miss Mel who blew Sydney away with her performance at Altitude Xmas last December. This time he lived up to his reputation by building up the vibe quite nicely playing a good selection of new and old tunes despite the small but intimate crowd building on the dance floor. Halfway through the set, a few lucky punters were able to get their hands on a copy of his own demo CD as he launched several copies into the crowd. Amongst the tracks played were Solar Stone anthems Solarcoaster and Seven Cities as well as new tunes Solid Globe – North Pole, Plummet – Damaged and the new version of Coldplay’s clocks – Clokx – Clocks.
As the club began to reach full capacity, it was time for resident duo Diggs and Morro to take on the evidently huge task of showing up the invaders. From the minute they began, they elevated the vibe even higher as more people packed onto the dance floor. As I listened to their set, it was apparent that the guys are improving with each and every performance and this was reflected by the sea of smiling faces that cheered them along from start to finish.
Halfway through the set, I decided it was time to venture upstairs to the breaks room to see what Canberra DJs Mikah Freeman and Jeff Drake had to offer. Both DJs well known outside the Canberra scene have played alongside a slew of international talent with a vast array of diversity including Sander Kleinenberg, Steve Lawler, Armin Van Buuren, Tiesto, Satoshi Tomiie, James Zabiela, Lucien Foort and many more. Although I was not familiar with the tracks played, I immediately noticed that these guys were definitely no ordinary DJs as I watched them seamlessly mix track after track using an impressive setup of three vinyl and two CD decks and two mixers. The crowd loved every minute of it as they layered vocals into the breakdowns of a set that was more of the progressive breaks persuasion. Feeling inspired that I had seen another great display of talent it was time to head back downstairs to catch the next act.
Back in the main room, Diggs and Morro were finishing up and making way for the final invader of the night, Steve Strangis. Introduced on stage to the sound of the Star Wars “storm trooper” music, he embraced the decks dressed in a cloak fitting nicely with the invader theme. He opened his set with the track Impact – Inspiration followed by the massive tune System F – Solstice. As the atmosphere intensified, Strangis pushed the vibe even higher as he continued an onslaught of amazing uplifting tracks such as System F – SpaceMan, Paul Van Dyk – Nothing But You, and the dreamy classic Rank 1 – Airwave. Undoubtedly the highlight of the set was when he dropped the beautiful melodic tune Delerium – Silence where he had the crowd going absolutely insane.
Last but definitely not least, local heavyweights Liquid M stepped up to perform a DJ set that took us to the end of the night. Once again the boys did not disappoint and even at a late hour they created a euphoric atmosphere right until the last track dropping an amazing selection of tunes including their very own productions Sound of Arena and Dream Machine.
Overall the night was a truly memorable event. The Alt crew had outdone themselves once again with their unique concepts and the production, sound and lighting all being top notch. I have strived to find a better club night in Sydney, but in my opinion Halcyon always wins hands down. With the familiar faces, friendly down-to-earth people, and tremendous atmosphere all for the tiny price of $15, it is most definitely the best value club night in Sydney. See you all at the next one!
