Valentines Day saw the man who needs little introduction, DjJFalcon, grace the decks at the Art House. DJ Falcon (Stéphane Queme), a member of the Daft Crew returned to the Arthouse kicking off what is sure to be a sensational national tour.

Having followed DJ Falcon’s work with the likes of Cassius (remix of La Mouche) & Thomas Bangalter on recent quality house hits ‘So Much Love To Give’ and ‘Together’, I was ready for a big night of ‘cheese free’ house.

James Taylor kicked proceedings off for the night in the breaks room with some slightly laid back tunes, creating the perfect atmosphere for punters to grab a few beers and a seat on the ultra comfortable seats. As PM changed into AM, Mean Jean took over the decks, and got the feet tapping with Barcelona and some great scratching.

Next it was off to the main room to see an old favourite of mine, Shamus. I’ve always been impressed by Shamus’ funky anthem filled house sets at Sounds On Sunday, but it’s his uplifting tribal house sets often played at Arthouse that impress the pants off of me. Shamus provided a textbook example of a perfect support set. Starting of with some punchy tribal tunes he slowly started to fill the dance floor and build the energy. As the clock ticked ever so close to 1am Shamus pushed the crowd to frenzy point with great remixes of 7th Nation Army, Smells Like Teen Spirit and Goodluck.

One thing I love about dance music is its ability to bring so many different types of people together. From chicks in designer gear and high heels, to sweaty guys in bonds singlets, everyone seemed to be joined by the sounds of house music. Leaving their attitudes at the door, the crowd joined in unison to cheer on the hyped up headliner that everyone had been waiting for.

Playing directly off a laptop, DJ Falcon took no prisoners with what could only be described as a house music mash up. For the next hour we were teased with very short mixes and some breath taking tracks. However a roped off VIP area combined with Falcon’s 100% concentration to his live laptop mixes made it impossible for trainspotters like myself to grab these track names and remixes.

At around 1.30am a distinctive treble sound cut through the air and everyone knew they were about to get their moneys worth. The Arthouse speakers got a true workout as Falcon raised the roof with his dance floor killer So Much Love To Give. He stood front and centre of the stage, arms stretched up towards the sky, as if to say “Does it get any better then this?”. The crowd loved every second and went absolutely nuts.

At 2am Falcon folded down the lid of his laptop and took to the turntables. What followed was a deep dark progressive set, a total extreme to the uplifting sexy house music that he had played for the first hour of his set. The dance floor halved in size as many people popped next door to catch the rest of Ben James (Easy B -Vinyl Addiction UK).

Ben Morris backed up after Falcon and pushed through until 4.30am with a very solid set. Keeping with the Valentines Day theme, Morris dropped some very appropriate tunes including Just A Little More Love and Sweet Dreams.

Special mention again to the guys from Morph visuals, who added that little something special to the night with their unique and trippy visuals on the big screen.

-DURLS