Arriving at 4pm we were greeted by a 30 metre line and restlessness among the sun-effected would-be patrons. Once at the front of the line the vacant-faced security and staff seemed more interested in chatting to each other than focusing on the situation at hand (a one hour wait in the queue). I don’t understand the tactic of letting 2 people in then holding the queue for 5 minutes, pulling the females from their group to get in, with 95% of people already in possession of a ticket or having their name on the list.

My crew didn’t let that dampen our spirits as we took a seat outside with some Coronas. It was my first time at SOS since the Sounds Group left the controls; a notable difference was breaks instead of trance in the chapel. The crowd hasn’t changed, awash with Tsubi, short shorts, white t-shirts, crazy black and white triangle print jeans and a few faithfuls still wearing oversize sunglasses. Enjoying the sun, a growing crowd was bouncing along to the funky goodness provided by Illya. As his set progressed so did the capacity of the dancefloor, filling notable. Illya’s consistent ability to play funky, fresh, dancefloor-friendly non-cheesy house made him a perfect choice to warm the crowd up.

At 7pm Illya punched his closing beat to a massive cheer that was only overpowered by the crowd’s exhilaration when Kaskade appeared behind the decks. For those in a state of musical hibernation, San Francisco bred Kaskade (Ryan Raddon) is the man responsible for all things soulful and sexy. With two first-class albums under his belt his rise to the top has been fast and eventful, touring the globe madly and winning awards for an emotionally-inspired music.

Wasting no time Ryan began with his signature track ‘It’s You It’s Me’, the dancefloor was absolutely full with people jumping around, moshing and hugging. His two hour set was not one for the chin strokers, all the classics were there; ‘Steppin Out’, ‘Gonna Make It’, ‘In This Life’, and ‘Everything’. The big tunes were held together by a fresh selection of chart toppers such as Tom Novy’s ‘Your Body’ and the Mylo remix of ‘No More Conversations’ and future hits like ‘Is My Love’ by Toby Neal. Unfortunately Kaskade didn’t play much soulful Chicago house, although he did dabble with the Om sound early in his set.

Other highlights included MC Losty and Elroy laying it down real smooth in the chapel, friendly bar and cloakroom staff and the vibe in the place – it was very friendly. All in all music-wise is was a great day, but there are definitely some organisational and technical problems (needle skipping, sound issues, slow entry process) that could be overcome for the next big international DJ visit.