I arrived at Arq to a nice, friendly greeting from ANOT promoter Josh van Aalst and a lovely young lady dressed as a fairy offering fairy bread. What a lovely way to start the night is all I can say. You could tell Josh and Friends Presents had put in a lot of effort to make the club feel as inviting as possible. With balloons and signs and posters everywhere you definitely knew you were in for a big night.

One thing I must say before going anywhere is just how good a job JAFP did in preparation before and on the night. Just watching Josh and Tennille work the room making sure everyone was having a good time was wonderful to see. And Tennille’s introduction of every DJ worked a treat. Was great to know who you were listening to without having to hunt down a poster with set times.

As an up and coming DJ myself I always pay attention to track selection and the manner in which a DJ brings their music to the crowd. Every single DJ that played at A Night of Trance truly showed their talents. While I’m not a fan of the hard style that was played in the downstairs room, the few tracks I did hear subjectively sounded like wise choices were being made. As for the main room, there was not one track that made me think “time for a breather”.

Between them all, DJs Jumping Jack, Thrillseekers, Josh van Aalst, Marishka and Jayde all ripped out some brilliant anthems – it really was amazing. Thrillseekers played tracks like Matt Darey – Liberation, Yahel – Behind Silence, E-Craig – Call It A Day (212PM Mix), Tiesto – Adagio For Strings and ended main set with Underworld – Born Slippy Nuxx… absolute genius is all I can say!

Josh came on after Thrillseekers, with his reflective shirt making for a rather interesting lighting display. On a lighting note, the night was well thought out and added to the brilliant atmosphere. Arq is an excellent choice of venue for this reason alone. Although touted as a gay nightclub I don’t think it should matter what your sexual preference is, you definitely shouldn’t let that stop you from heading to Arq or future A Night of Trance events.

I unfortunately called it a night earlier than I really should have, as based on news I heard through the grapevine that Thrillseekers were on the decks on and off right up until about 8am, playing with Marishka and Jayde! So, I’ve made one big revelation after A Night of Trance’s 2nd birthday – stay to the end!

Big ups to Josh and the crew for a top night of the good ole stuff they call trance. From the preparation, promotion and organisation of the event, it’s obvious that JAFP certainly know what they are doing and I plan on making sure I don’t ever miss another instalment of A Night of Trance in the future.