Home News What's On Annual Poll Photos Forums DJs Features Music Venues Reviews Links

Features Introducing NEM3SI$’s new label Infinite Resistance! Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters!

Spangulation: Reviewed Reported by Andy Dunford / Submitted 19-02-08 21:13 The 414: an important part of the London scene or a blot on the clubbing landscape? A few years ago there would have been quite some debate on this board. However, with a new refit, a much cleaner image and a HarderFaster Club Of The Year award to boot, it seems the corner has been turned by this small but well known venue in the heart of Brixton. It certainly has its own magic – the fish tank, the giant TV screen, the extremely narrow spiral staircase, the trippy murals, the tea and coffee, the gigantic decorative holly (presumably left over from Christmas?) and until recently a DJ booth that looked reminiscent of a 1940's wartime wireless. Nowhere has quite the same level of bizarreness in such a small space, but I guess that is one of the things that appeals, along with a number of different styles of harder edged music, and regular faces which sometimes make it feel like a big house party with no neighbours to worry about. There have been many nights over the years that have come and gone, both at the 414 and within more trancey circles generally, however this particular one has been running longer than most. From the definition in the dictionary, the word spangle means "a small sparkling object", so it follows nicely that Spangulation can be described as a small sparkling club night. Whether the name came from this definition or the more urban dictionary definition of "spangled" is open to interpretation. (I know where my bets lie!). Whatever the origin of the name, Spangulation has been running for well over 5 years now so they must be doing something right. Having been a semi-regular visitor now for a couple of years, and with a good line up on offer it seemed January would provide a great opportunity for a review of a night which has been a staple for not just trance fans but London's clubbers in general. I had hoped to get there as the club opened but with other commitments in the form of my brother's drinks and 40th birthday celebrations this wasn’t to be. Still, not to be deterred I wolfed down my sushi, chucked some money on the table and raced home to have a quick freshen up and to pick up those all important ear-plugs (I never go clubbing without these anymore). In the end I got there at about twenty past eleven, plenty of time to get a good feel for the warm up which I had wanted to do. On warm up duties was Josie, who probably knows more about trance (and the people who play it) than most of the people on this website and has also recently earned title of Mixmag trance reviewer. Things were already looking good when I got there and by the time the John O’Callaghan mix of No In Between and Duderstadt’s incredibly uplifting Beautitude were dropped towards the end of Josie’s set things were warming up nicely with a half full dancefloor. Spangulation has proved itself a breeding ground for new up and coming talent (remember Sophie Sugar) so it was good to see a debut and a very able one at that. One of the secrets of Spangulation's success seems to be in the crowd it attracts. There are a lot of loyal people who turn up month in month out as well as the club acting as a focal point for people out in Brixton who want to party on past bar closing times. I hadn’t really been out since New Year, as I’m sure a lot of people hadn’t so it was great to catch up with a number of people who I hadn’t seen in several months and judging by the packed bar area and the amount of chatter going on I wasn’t the only one. Resident Pandora S-K was up next. Pandora is one of my favourite DJs for the simple reason that she always seems to manage to pull out a couple of tunes per set that nobody else would ever think of playing. For me personally, that works just as well as hearing the latest big release. Tracks like the Robert Nickson’s mix of Passion or Firewall’s Kilamanjaro have been dug out by Pandora before where most other people would have consigned these to the metaphorical trash can never to be heard again. It was around this time that I was catching up with a lot of people but the music was good and the dancefloor having got a bit of a head start from Josie had pretty much reached capacity. It says a lot about the party that they can attract someone of the profile of Adam White and it was he to whom Pandora handed over at half past one. He took things in a more techy direction, as I’d expected him to, with what has now become almost a trademark electro edged set but not before first dropping his awesome new remix of Paul Oakenfold's Hypnotised. I remember hearing the original when it first came out some 4 or 5 years ago but the new remix turns it into a peak time anthem. It was about this point when I decided to wander upstairs for a cigarette and out onto the roof garden. Having been a visitor to the 414 for over 3 years now I'd always wanted to see what the roof garden was like but it seemed like one of those eternal mysteries - a little like Leichenstein - everyone says it's there but you don't know anyone who's actually been there. The smoking ban changed all that - I guess the management have realised just how useful it is now. After the five minute fag break had turned into over half an hour due to somehow getting stuck in a conversation about the new motorway system in Poland (don't ask) I eventually ventured back downstairs to the trademark tougher sound of Pathfinder. Richard, as he's better known to his friends was recently made resident and I remember thinking at the time that there couldn't have been many better people for the job. Given the reaction of the crowd it seemed the decision was well justified. The Spangulation faithful seem to know what they like and the harder edged sounds are certainly popular. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the set which musically was probably the best part of the night for me. The second half took it up a notch and was a little hard for my tastes but clearly wasn't for the majority. Resident and promoter Steve Hitch joined the fray at 4.30 and I gather from people who have been going to Spangulation a lot longer than me that his final sets are somewhat legendary, along the lines of Anthony Dean for Knowwhere although perhaps with a difference in style. There was certainly plenty of energy still left in the room. The last set can sometimes be make or break - if you lose the floor then it's not always easy to get it back but then Steve has been playing at the 414 and for Spangulation for years so there was no way he was going to do that. I was getting pretty tired by this point but there was certainly enough to keep me interested – Cern's Go Fly and the ever dependable Generator by Parker & Clind. By the time the last tune sounded – Fluclicht's mix of Expander I was positively done in. For me, it was time to leave but not for everybody. After a quick spit and polish it was on with the show for the morning party Sunrise. This 414 place – it never stops. Spangulation is every fourth Friday of the month. Full details for the next party can be found here. Photos courtesy of the HarderFaster archive. Not to be reproduced without permission. Share this :: : : : Follow HarderFaster :: Other Features By Andy Dunford: Electronic Sessions: Reviewed You can bank on Alan Banks Knowwhere preview with Alphazone The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable. Comments: From: suzy-q on 20th Feb 2008 01:19.43 aaaah Spangulation. always good times. From: ~deleted1390 on 20th Feb 2008 08:46.40 Great review, great party. See you Friday. From: Alan-Banks on 20th Feb 2008 10:34.21 Great party, great crowd and one of my favourite places to have a party. Nice review Andy From: Pandora S-K on 20th Feb 2008 10:56.08 I concur! see you Friday for 2 ressie Bday's , Marc and Rich From: Dirty Old Bastard on 20th Feb 2008 12:21.22 Yes, I totally agree - a great night out, lovely people, great djs - the best Hip Hop night I have ever been to. From: Hitch the Knife on 20th Feb 2008 15:39.55 I've been celebrating all day with ladyboys. From: Carine on 21st Feb 2008 20:43.24 Andy - thanks for the kind words and your support x From: Karl Alexander on 22nd Feb 2008 00:57.55 Top people, top night, top music - go there !! From: Sara on 22nd Feb 2008 09:53.08 Thanks Andy. Great review. We love putting on this party. From: Lizzie Curious on 22nd Feb 2008 12:48.15 That was a great review and brilliant to hear that Pathfinder has been resident, congrats Richard! From: K.A.R.L. on 23rd Feb 2008 14:52.45 Spangulation is definately my favourite party to both play at and party at. It's run by great people and the atmosphere is second to none. From: Ped on 24th Feb 2008 21:40.28 Having not missed one for over 2 years, I can vouch with complete authority that there are very few better parties than this! (And Sunrise, the afterparty, ain't half bad either!) From: pablo on 28th Feb 2008 11:49.41 I think Spangulation and Knowwhere are the two best trance parties in london (can I have a set please) Great review Andy See you at the next one Pablo From: Mike Harris on 3rd Mar 2008 19:32.01 Great party, cool ppl, some of the friendliest promoters in London and always a pleasure to party and play at, just wish i could get there more often! Next ime im down im gonna bring cake to throw at hitchy while he's playing From: Timmy Whiz on 4th Mar 2008 11:40.05 wicked wicked party, given me many great nights out and many broken mornings From: anushka007 on 2nd Apr 2008 09:54.09 Fab read guys, gosh I Spangulation

All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies. All other content is (c) 2001-2024 HarderFaster.

Terms and Conditions | Privacy Statement | Text Mode