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Features
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| 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! | | N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood! | | Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna | | A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! | | 'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! |
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Zoology — 4th Birthday shenanigans: reviewed
Reported by K8-e
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Submitted 15-11-05 13:36
The dictionary definition of Zoology leads me to believe it’s the scientific study of animals, especially their structure. I’m not sure there’s going to be much scientific about my excursion to Brixton tonight — except perhaps using my partner’s new sat nav to get me to 414 from Portsmouth without getting lost/pulling hair out/calling home for assistance/crying in a cul-de-sac somewhere <- true story. Still I’m looking forward to meeting the residents of said Zoo and of course the zookeeper himself Dan — Latex Zebra. Armed with aforementioned sat nav, two partners in crime, and a party attitude we set forth on a Friday night clubbing mission.
Already slightly late due to one of our party scoffing last minute pizza we whizzed up the A3 Brixton bound with an ETA of about 10:30pm. I was keen to arrive in plenty of time to hear the first set, a B2B between Markus Buhmann and Latex Zebra. Luckily (and unbeknownst to me at the time) they were doing a 3 hour warm up so I needed have worried too much about missing the beginning, which was just as well really given my amazing inability to trust the sat nav, thus adding 30 mins onto our journey. Never having been to 414 before I wasn’t convinced we were quite in the right place and despite having been able to park really close (as I was later to realise) I decided it probably wasn’t close enough and set off again in search of somewhere closer. Unfortunately we (read I) ended up taking a wrong turn as I circled round the block (for the second time) and we suddenly found ourselves en route out of Brixton…. The sat nav is designed to recalculate routes so I sincerely hoped crying in a cul-de-sac was not on the agenda tonight but as we hit heavy traffic and the disembodied voice still refused to speak to me I actually began to wonder if she’d just decided I was beyond hope and had given up altogether. Somehow we made it back to Coldharbour lane and were greeted by BSE who took us to a parking space much further away than the original one but by then I didn’t much care… I just wanted to get inside and start the party!
Some crazy ladies
First impressions of 414 were that it was a bit smaller than I’d imagined, I’m not sure why though as I knew it had a capacity of 400 so I wasn’t expecting Camden Palace. Still small isn't bad. In my old age I'm getting increasingly fussy about the parties I frequent, having decided that larger events are perhaps best left to the young folk and rare occassions where I feel brave. There's a lot to be said for initimate settings and smaller nights that I didn't really appreciate when I was a clubbing novice. Walking straight on to the dancefloor as you come in is a bit hectic but we quickly ditched out coats and found a leather sofa to camp on and survey the situation. It was at this point I found the set times for the night and realized I hadn’t missed Markus and Dan’s warm up which pleased me greatly. The music was a great blend of uplifting techy trance, perfect for the time of night (about 11:45pm). There seemed a good crowd gathering, some dancing, and some chatting at the bar. Décor wise the 414 was a lot nicer than some posts on here would have you believe. There were lots of balloons around the venue (signaling the 4th birthday), UV lighting and drapes (and I believe there was even some punch floating around being named as the culprit for a lot of people in a sorry state!). As I haven’t been to Zoology or 414 before I’m not sure what is generally in situ or what Zoology bought to the party but as far as “underground” venues go I wish we had somewhere like the 414 in Portsmouth. Definitely a great venue for smaller parties in my opinion.
There was one particularly annoying (aggressive) bloke who was probably my only complaint of the night actually who made his presence felt at this point. Apologies if he’s anyone’s mate — although if you recognize him by that description I’m guessing not. I just don’t like attitude when I go out and he seemed to have it by the bucket load. However I’m pretty good at ignoring people when I choose to and I certainly wasn’t going to let it spoil my enjoyment of what was turning out to be a cracking display from Markus and Dan.
Amusingly enough the first tune to tempt me from the sofa was none other than BK’s ‘Revolution’ (actually one of my favourite tunes and definitely still a crowd pleaser but one I certainly wasn’t expecting to hear in that set!) but it was also the signal that the music was moving in a new direction. Still mixed in with uplifting techy beats and flowing really well, tunes like Mauro Picotto — ‘Pulsar’ and Steve Blake — ‘I Get A Rush’ got an airing. I was definitely enjoying the variety and the pace of the set and the dancefloor echoed my sentiments. Later Mr Zebra told me this was the first time he and Markus had played together but it didn’t show and the end of their set came around all too soon.
Gordon Bennett!
Still it was time to progress the night as the ingeniously named Gordon Bennett Experience (Gordon Darley and Ben Bennett) took to the wheels of steel. During this next set I wandered extensively, managed to chat sh*t to quite a few people (you know who you are!), got told I looked like undercover old bill by some girls who looked like they’d just turned 18 and was then treated to their amazement that clubbers could be over 21 when they asked Zem how old she was. “You don’t get many older clubbers do you?” one gaily chirped. Er and moving on.... Some great tunes caught my attention in this set. Round the start we were treated to ‘New York’ by Valentino Kanzyani — one of my favourite tunes of his and a surprise for me to hear it played out. Also ‘Bitch’ by Ed Real and James Lawson and ‘Party People’ — Rumble & Maddox, two other favourites on my list at the moment. It’s always pleasing to hear tunes you love to play being played out as you can assess their impact on the dancefloor and really let loose and enjoy them (rathen than focusing on mixing out of them!). Anyway this was a really great set with a lot of energy and a lot of variety, ended in a really unique manner with the Pendulum mix of the Prodigy’s ‘Voodoo People’. All in all a set that kept me guessing and fully entertained. Top marks to these lads, definitely talented and not just a funny name!
Up next was the techno fest I’d been looking forward to — although to be fair there had been a fair bit of techno and tech-trance throughout the night already blended in with the hard trance and house. Slacky of Redtrip/Audiotrash fame and Zoology’s own BSE took to the decks. The pairing was pegged as a fearsome set of earth shaking techno that would take Zoologists back to their early days and it didn’t disappoint. Taking the pace down a bit at that time of night (2:45am) is always a bit of a gamble but I think it worked well and allowed a build up to the second part of the night. You don’t always need the music to be bosh bosh bosh and this broke things up nicely. I wasn’t really in the dancing mood though and used this time to chill out on the comfy leather sofas and soak in the music. Big WOOT to the boys for playing Christiaan Kouijzer — ‘Let Da Record Work’, a totally phat tune, I was so excited to hear it! I had noticed the dance floor had thinned out a bit for the techno and I thought maybe people had gone home early but it started filling up again as we neared 4am (I guess people had been upstairs) it was time for Dirty DJ Jim Wild and Zoology resident RedCaT to pump the place up with some energetic hard dance.
BSE
I had decided to leave at 5am as I knew I wanted to get home by 7am if I could and that would allow time for drop offs etc as well as the mission back down the A3. So 4-5am was my last hour; I remember recognizing loads of tunes and the dancefloor slowly filling up again as people found renewed vigour. I remember thinking that actually the mixing had been pretty good ALL night as I’d hardly noticed any stray beats (unusual as I’m usually unable to stop myself listening for it). I also remember hearing Azure — ‘Sunset’, The Edison Factor — ‘Hallucination’ and the Dark by Design Mix of Heaven’s Cry — ‘Till Tears Do us Part’. I also managed to have some more random chats with... well randoms. Everyone seemd to be enjoying themselves and there were people there for the birthday celebrations mixed in with those who had just come to 414 on the off chance. All in all it reminded me of a clubbing night of old and I felt very much at home.
So I’m sorry to Seany Sean and Elvis that I didn’t get to stay for the last hour but I’m sure it was a blinder. The pace was right back up again by the time I left and I can only imagine what treats they had in store to keep people going till close at 6am. All in all I left 414 with a smile. I’d been treated to some brilliant tunes and a real mix across the genres I am passionate about and there was a good vibe and an up for it crowd — you can’t ask for much more when you are out clubbing really. Never having been to Zoology before I have no yardstick to measure it against but if the acid test is would I go again then the answer is yes!
So what about the drive home I hear you ask? Considerably easier with less traffic about and one would think relatively straightforward, that is until the petrol light came on and all the services between London and Hindhead decided to be closed… this very nearly was a cautionary tale about remembering to plan ahead and fill up your tank before you set off on long journeys, but luckily after driving on air for a good 20 miles we found somewhere open at Hindheads. It doesn’t make such a good story but I think my panic deserves a mention.
Well done to the Zoology crew and djs for pulling a great party out of the bag! I’ll see you sometime in the new year.
Photos copyright Tommy69.
Catch the Christmas Party on the 2nd of December:
Zoology's Christmas Party
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On:
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Friday 2nd December 2005
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At:
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CLUB 414 [map]
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From:
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10pm till 6am
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Cost:
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£10 all night - £8 with Flyer/Paying Guest list
Full names to guest@vinylzoo.co.uk
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Website:
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www.vinylzoo.com
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Ticket Info:
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Full names to guest@vinylzoo.co.uk
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More:
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Zoology moves into its fifth year of parties and offers you a sumptuous Christmas Party with all the trimmings.
Let us help you burn of the calories before you put them up with a line up that is sure to have you on the floor from start to finish.
As well as a bit of Tech House for the warm up we have a returning guest, one who that very weekend will stop playing Hard Dance, a guest who was due to play for us in September but didn't get the chance and finally one of the DJs girlfiends making her Zoology debut for a bit of back to back action with her man.
Added to that your residents will be whipping up the cream of the tunes to get the silly season of to a stomping start with a Christmas Cracker of a party. (I can’t believe I actually write this stuff )
So lets meet the players.
Mark Taylor
People around these parts are unlikely to have heard of Mark Taylor, an extremely talented Tech House DJ, who will be getting things started for us in December.
He plays regularly at Prologue at Egg and is a resident at Therapy London.
Grinding Funked up beats with a Dirty Edge will be the order for the day. Arrive early for this one.
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Shimmer
Known by many for her dancing skills Shimmer, the long time suffering girlfriend of Elvis, will be making her Zoology debut for a bit of Christmas Back to Back fun with her Boyfriend.
Having already played for Paradoxx, she now moves up the set times for a set of Hard Trance anthems to really take things up a gear.
Alex Parsons
Alex has quickly earned a reputation as a highly skilled and extremely versatile DJ. Playing everything from House, Breaks and Electro to full on Hard House. His second set for Zoology after wowing us back in September.
This however will be the last weekend ever that you can catch Alex playing Hard Dance as he makes a permanent switch to the Housier sounds. Catch him while you can.
Marc Johnson
Marc should need no introductions at all; he is promoter and resident of the storming Insekt and Insekt:AM parties at Fire Club and also runs his own record label Flashpoint as well as doing A&R for Tripoli Trax. Oh, he’s made a few tunes as well.
Known for his fearsome, NRG driven Hard House sets. Marc will finish the night at breakneck speeds. Get ready to hold on tight for this set.
All the residents will be there for this one and for the first time ever, anywhere, Markus Buhmann and B.S.E will team up for a bit of a Techno Back to Back. Latex Zebra, RedCaT and of course Elvis make up the rest of the players.
And remember Zoology is for life, not just for Christmas.
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Flyer:
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Other Features By K8-e:
The One and Only Eddie Halliwell
PunchFunk & Geushky Presents "Let's Make Rave" with Ian Void & Chris Vaux
Cream @ Amnesia - Ibiza 2010 - Reviewed
Pure Gold: Interview with Will Gold
Turning the Corner - Interview with IAMX
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.
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Nice one Katie 
@ Zem “You don’t get many older clubbers do you?”
Jesus, Dan: You played 'Revolution' during a b2b with Markus and you're still alive?
)
I had fun