We’ve all heard the songs, we’ve all bought the CD, but what was the party like?  Mixed by John Course and Mark Dynamix, Ministry of Sound’s 2005 Annual boasts all of those popular dance hits that we’ve all heard throughout 2004 – so I was not surprised when Kink pulled in another sell-out crowd, with reports suggesting a total sell-out sometime before 2.00am. 

The last time Course and Dynamix hit the main room at the Arthouse was exactly three months ago for the launch of Ministry of Sound’s Sessions One CD – and what a night that was!  With the memories of the Sessions launch going down as probably one of my favourite nights at Kink, I was extremely excited to see if Course and Dynamix could top their previous performances in the Verge.

Upon my arrival at 11.00pm (thank goodness I didn’t have to queue for long this week), I heard a number of reports that the Attic bar was open, so for a change of scenery I went straight upstairs to chill out, have a beer and catch up with some friends.  For all those who haven’t yet been up to the Attic, I highly recommend it if you feel like chilling out. Got to love those comfy lounges!!

But be careful, because time will get away from you up there, before I knew it, it was 12.30 and I was running down the stairs in an endeavour to catch the start of Course’s set.  When I arrived, I was not surprised to see the Verge packed.  Course had already stepped up to centre stage and the masses of bods that filled the room were bopping away to some smooth house. I quickly fell into beat with the music and the crowd whilst Course launched the 2005 Annual in his usual upbeat style, rocking the house with an array of tracks from the album including Better Things, I am Tha 1, Flashdance and, probably one of my favourite tracks, Strings of Life.  Course also pumped out a number of funky house tracks not found on the CD, including Stand By Me, by Mr Timothy and Inaya Day.

Before it was Dynamix’s turn to step up the tempo, I ventured out to the courtyard for some much needed rest and to get away from the crowd and heat.  In the usual Arthouse style, the courtyard is a great place to have a chat and meet some new friends, presuming you can get a seat!  Then a funny thing happened which I think deserves a mention – a small group of people started singing happy birthday to one of their friends, and before the first line of the song was over, the entire courtyard had stopped their own conversations and joined in with the singing – a moving event, to say the least!

Nice and rested I braved the crowd once more and re-entered the Verge, sometime after 2.30, to hear the familiar sound of some slightly harder house – which I knew could only be the work of Dynamix pumping up the crowd.  Dynamix’s style always seems to have a bit of an edge with almost an industrial flavour, topped with a funky beat – I couldn’t stop myself from bopping along if I tried!  Again, Dynamix went to work with many tracks from the 2005 Annual including Call On Me, Drop the Pressure and Don’t Stop. 

To end the night Ben Morris took charge of the floor with his regular morning set – admittedly my favourite part of the night!  As the floor clears slowly on the lead up to closing time, the room available to dance becomes greater and greater and Morris always delivers with the tunes.  Sunday morning was no exception, with Morris keeping the dancing going with an assortment of tracks including Supernatural Thing, Move a Little Closer and a remix of Scribe’s Not Many.

I should probably make mention of Saturday’s night’s crowd, which can only be described as commercial.  There was a complete mix of people, displaying an array of, albeit sometimes interesting, dancing styles!  I can only put this down to the large mix of people who have now heard the 2005 Annual – after it has been advertised relentlessly on both television and radio, thereby becoming incredibly popular and appealing to a diverse range of people.

Upon reflection as the sun was coming up, I couldn’t help but realise how far dance music has come.  I remember when the words “dance music” or “techno” were considered dirty words, reserved for those people known as “ravers” – who were often considered strange or weird by the general public (perhaps I should be careful not to show my age here… hehe).  These days dance music has seemingly taken over the radio waves (in particular, house music), with many of the tunes found on Ministry of Sound’s 2005 Annual being readily played on commercial radio.  So is this a good thing or a bad thing?....  I will leave that for you to decide.