Noun 1.Godspeed – a successful journey; “they wished him Godspeed”.

No mention of gabber, check. Or happy hard. Nor hardstyle for that matter. Neither do breaks, techno, psy, electro, house or dnb get a mention. Yet Godspeed, the Powerhouse party (just in case you have been living in Nimbin for the last 10 years), has always been a predominately hardcore/gabber event. Little wonder then that PHP courted such controversy when it announced Godspeed: White Night. Shades of Sensation White anyone? Thank goodness PHP didn’t get Erick Morillo to play…

The queue outside Acer Arena was, perhaps, more eclectic than usual. Hardstyle junkies mixed with raver babies mixed with hardcore gabber fans mixed with trance aficionados. Hello the EDM melting pot. Were there raised eyebrows over the distinct lack of clothing worn by some chicks (next time girls, remember to put clothes on over your underwear ok…)? Did they bother to enforce the much hyped “16+ ID or no entry” policy? Not from what I heard. Did anyone care? Hardly. The line flew by quickly, no one got stuck in the inclement weather, and the party began…

We entered the main room to the sounds of Luke Spellbound. Builder – Hardbeat Market, Alpha Twins – The Darkside, Wild Motherf**kers – F**k It Up, and Vortex & Zatox – Overload Anthem… just like that…bang, bang, bang. Tasty track selection, shame he was opening the main room. I would have loved those tunes, in that order, at, oh, 4am. Hint, hint, wink, wink to PHP – this guy needs to play main stage again!

T’was rather odd going from banging bass-driven hardstyle to the melodious sounds of Johan Gielen. He played some top tracks but, if I give you the Yves de Ruyter remix of ‘Born Slippy’ and Tiesto’s ‘Lethal Industry’ as examples, you can clearly see why a large question mark developed over the heads of the crowd. That bemused look of confusion started pulsating in hyper colour when Gielen mashed ‘Put your Hands up for Detroit’ in his last 10mins. But hey, you know what, the crowd got into it!

Marcel Woods, the man behind the massively overplayed ‘Advanced’, took to those hard-working wheels of steel next. His set was rather disappointing. Too flat and didn’t build the atmosphere from where Gielen left off. Thankfully local champion PeeWee Ferris whipped the crowd into a frenzy (‘Let The Music Play’ never fails) before two of hardstyle’s biggest names decimated the dance floor.

Luna. If you don’t know the name you don’t know hardstyle. Admittedly he has been favouring kick drum heavy/bassline scarce hardstyle lately, but let’s not quibble about genres. If you dig his style, his Godspeed set would have pressed all your buttons. Personally I liked ‘Kick This Mutha’ by Deepack Vs Luna. He also dropped ‘Bring that Shit Back’ and some Headhunterz.

Pavo. I have flashbacks to him opening with Tricky Nation. Personal joke involved. Despite this unusual start he easily gets my vote for set of the night. Lots of nice driving bass, just the way hardstyle should be! Oh, and his set contained my tune of the night: Mike Phobos – Cross Over (DJ Slideout Rmx) – ch00n! Two awesome DJs, much thanks to PHP for giving them decent 1.5hr sets.

A quick flick through the others rooms. The mammoth Vs set between Brisk, Kevin Energy and Sharkey had the ravers in ecstatics, prompting some to argue that these 3 DJs should always play together. Impact, despite being stuck in the mash-up room, kept the crowds happy with ‘Inspirations’ and ‘Elements’. The NuBreed room featured DJs as voted by you – an assorted mix from the likes of Patrik Carerra, Raziel and S Dee.

Variety has become something of a byword for PHP events. There have been mutterings, by ravers intent on only hearing one or two genres per party, against this frankly sound business policy. But seriously, PHP utilise one of the best venues in Sydney (nay, Australia) for raves. They also have a great reputation and financial pulling power. With some many underrated yet extraordinarily talented international DJs (from numerous genres) just begging to be let loose amongst the Acer Arena, PHP would be nuts not to secure their services. I say bring on diversity – musical education is a blessing (and if you want any suggestions on what DJs you should book next, I have a very impressive list…).

Let us look back to that definition: “a successful journey”. We came, we marvelled at the lasers (again to the high quality standards we have come to expect from BLM), we rode the music waves through hardstyle/trance/tech/hardcore/happy hard/gabber, we hugged, danced, and blinked confusedly as the harsh sunlight signalled the end of yet another successful PHP event. Godspeed indeed!