A Night Of Trance vs Frantic - a heavyweight bout staged at Arq nightclub. In the ‘team uplifting’ corner, representing A Night Of Trance, were DJs Josh Van Aalst, Stama, Marishka, Jayde and Rob Noble, as well as live act Karvan & Condivi. In the ‘team hard’ corner were Frantic DJs Ian Betts (from the UK), Micky D, Chia, Paul Doran, James Loader and Krazy Joe. Battle-stations, here we go!

I arrived at Arq just after 10.30. For those not familiar with Arq, upon entry on the right there are steps that lead up to the main room, and on the left steps that take you downstairs to a smaller room decked out with comfy leather lounges, a pool table and podiums to dance on. This is where I found myself, as the main arena was not opening until later on in the evening.

DJs Marishka, Jayde, Rob Noble, Paul Doran, James Loader and Krazy Joe were in control of the lower level room. By 11.30 the room was packed and the tunes were pumping hard with a great selection of uplifting trance, melodic trance and hard house. At about two minutes to midnight the main arena opened and a massive exodus of people all made there way upstairs.

DJ Stama was first up with a solid mix of uplifting and melodic trance, followed by Karvan & Condivi performing live. I thought were very impressive with some awesome uplifting trance productions. Next was Joshua van Aalst who did something totally out of the blue by playing his electric viloin while he was DJing. It reminded me of the track Braveheart by DJ Sakin and friends and it went down pretty well with the punters!

After reading a lot of good things about Ian Betts from the UK, including that he’s played alongside the likes of Paul Van Dyk and Tall Paul, I was very keen to hear him play. He was outstanding and definitely a DJ to keep an eye out for in the future! He played some brilliant new tunes and a great set including uplifting trance, melodic trance and some harder stuff that worked the crowd into a frenzy.

Micky D came on at 3.30 and kept the vibe alive with a good selection of uplifting trance and hard house. DJ Chia closed the night in style with a great set of hard house until 6am in the morning.

All in all it was a great night of trance and hard house, with great people, a great venue, and great sound. If you’re wondering who won the battle between ‘team uplifting’ and ‘team hard’, it’s hard to say. Overall, I’d have to say the outright winner was dance music!