Medusa?
Amazed it still stands where so many other “dives” have gone by the wayside. It has a feel like Camberwell’s Imperial Gardens once had. It’s barely a step up from the type of squat you’d find in a warehouse furnished with the most basic of amenities but resources of comfort are more often the product of the mind’s imagination. Well let’s just say it is a place for partying free of bureaucratic obstacles and hassles. Who cares about another dodgy toilet? When the security is ok and the staff gentle with a smile if somewhat elusive at times.

The night?
Again with trepidation, adrenaline rushing, we entered ready for the night, without end, to take us on a journey of the senses. And we were not disappointed. From that moment on the magical mystery tour by DJ Peace and the gang increased its momentum and never let go. Electro, beats and an astute mix of techno embellished what was essentiallt psy-trance experience but like no other. It oozed with invention or should I say experimentation. It dared to challenge us from our “blasé” state of partying boredom…you know, that “done it all and seen it all attitude” etcetera... But the experience was being lived there, with every step, on the dance floor. New forms of expression were evolving out of these mixes. There was so much more to be heard which hadn’t yet been collaged into forms and colours. And as they blossomed, our senses were progressively overawed and the dancing logically took over taking us beyond our usual moves. Hats off to Spacedout Infinity Sounds!

Atmospheric heat alert!
Hardly anyone was to be found upstairs in the wooden panelled chill-out room where a cocktail was being served up of funky beats with a more than reasonable smattering of various “riddims” and some minimal techno, which always reminds me of tech house without the fake tan. The oven-like conditions were compelled by a restriction from the local council to keep the noise down for the local residents benefit. So the door to the roof there is kept shut, by order, which is a shame, as over the years it had relieved us with some well-appreciated coolness. The room therefore never filled to capacity, Yes shame! It had loads of potential music-wise while being lit in a surreal red glow that gave the impression that the whole space had been dyed red from top to bottom.

Bar?
Or is that a saloon with too much attitude? But that goes with the territory in this part of Colharbour Lane. It too often feels like re-entering Babylon when your mind is going cosmic and your body still heats from the dancing. The journey has begun and cannot end. You are buzzing and the adrenaline is now in full throttle mode. But wait! This bar. Pause to think about this point: Its something that always seems to clash with the overall mood of the party. You enter normality with a hint of dodge. As if shielded by its own protection screen this watering hole still resists the parties that come a visiting. May be also because it is never decorated. There is no follow through in the theme that illustrates the event. It has the look and feel of a pub and nothing more.

Fourth gear and counting…
Predominantly black with hints of blues and white sparkly lights accompanied the action in the main psy-trance arena. It was just enough to be effective. Quite dark and moody but always tempting to stay and linger in. Tickled all over by electric tension before the dancing finally takes us away and we are truly gone. By far, the best room with the added bonus of an upstairs gallery. A black painted staircase takes you to a hidden dimension. It has a feel to it that adds to the wild journeys of the imagination that are ridden by a host of sensations.
This night remains quite clear where so many other nights, of late, have troubled my waking state with feelings of blurredness.

Often failing me in proper recall. Too elaborate for me to grasp or explain. To clearly describe from my addled memory…Hmm indeed! What types of visuals had enthralled me on those nights? And the music… a thumping mishmash that still resonates in the cranium and it’s Tuesday! Wicked!

This was a great night of the senses by Spacedout Infinity Sounds while it mingled with that regular lot of connoisseurs. Yeah you! The “Dudes and Duchesses”: Mature and international travellers that you are. All of us are astronauts of the mind with sentimental bollocks shared to the endless spiral of the musical onslaught.
Yeah!
We’ll be back, I mean they...
©Le Mufti

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