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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!

Review: Serious 9th Birthday @ The Cross Reported by Alix / Submitted 25-08-05 00:06 It was a night full of hot, sweaty, pumping, jumping aural action… You might be forgiven for thinking I’m quoting a line from a Jilly Cooper novel, but no… Saturday night was the 9th birthday of Serious held at London’s classiest, trendiest and funkiest of venues — The Cross. Hard to believe that it’s tucked away behind London’s King’s Cross station and once upon a time used to be a horse hospital for the canal that runs behind it! A far cry from the now palm tree-bedecked terraces, twinkling fairy lights and luxurious leather sofas. Serious have just celebrated their 9th birthday, which is no mean feat in a day and age where promotions are dropping like flies due to the fierce competition and clubbers becoming much more clued up. We’re a much fussier bunch these days, whose tastes have grown and matured, but who still need a taste of that hedonistic lifestyle where the beats have to match up. But Serious has always been there ruling the roost and if Saturday night was anything to go by then the end is nowhere near in sight. Something which I personally find remarkable and which proves the promotion’s unique allure or perhaps the talent and dedication of the team behind it is that it started at the Cross, it rose to magnificence at the Cross and it’s still there now 9 years later… just moving next door to Canvas for their yearly mammoth clubbing extravaganza, Seriousworld. Serious has that magic which so many promotions lack, which has kept it fresh and at the forefront of the dance music industry. This is thanks to the unsurpassed quality and talent of their resident DJs and the management; other than being seasoned professionals, they all know how to party hard till the sun comes up. Normally I don’t make my way to a club until it’s well past midnight, but as I’d received a kind invitation to attend the champagne reception beforehand and the Trophy Twins were on first, how I could I resist. It was a nice luxury to arrive at the club in my own time, greeted by main man Sam O’Riordan himself, and have that half an hour or so to chill in the exclusive company of the members, staff and DJs with a glass of bubbly (or two, or three…) Who was I to say no? Nicely warmed up with the champagne flowing through my blood and the rhythm starting to take over my body, I decided it was time to take a wonder through to the rest of the club. My initial aim was to head straight for the trance room and see Albert Vorne, the much-acclaimed, swiss born, Italian producer and DJ extraordinaire, but unfortunately I only made it far enough to hear the odd pounding beats over the top of a breakdown in the Dusted Arch. This was once again thanks to the Trophy Twins. Now what can I tell you about these two – they started playing at Gatecrasher and Goodgreef, they hold residencies at Kissdafunk and Judgment Sundays and they have been hailed Mixmag’s future heroes. So you’d think this would give them reason and right to hold their heads high and maybe look down their noses at us mere mortals. No chance! These two are the most entertaining performers (as well as great DJs) that you will meet. To be quite honest I think this is down to their love of music, their great friendship and just knowing how to have a bloody good time. Oh and Adam — if you’re reading this, I’ll see if I can dig out that photo for you of your naked butt cheeks! The Trophy Twins got the night off to a flying start — warming the crowds up nicely with some quality party house music. With the blood rushing through my veins and the energy flowing I headed next door into the trance room (the Serious Arch) where Simon Patterson, Serious resident and trance wunderkind was absolutely tearing it up like there was no tomorrow. I dragged a poor unsuspecting funk fanatic in there with me and to protect his reputation he shall remain nameless, but I believe even he had a big grin on his face, infected with the electric atmosphere, the flashing lights and the glorious riffs. Simon was relentlessly pumping them out, one after another, and treated the crowd to another of his patented Dogzilla medleys, the highlight of which was the piano mix of Dogzilla ‘Without You’. Solex ‘Close to the Edge’ and Sander Van Doorn ‘AKA’ also stirred up the mayhem on the dancefloor. Simon was going to prove to be a hard act to follow, but the young Irish turntablist Greg Downey was sure to take on this challenge with ease. But before catching Greg’s set it was impossible to resist going back into the Dusted Arch where I saw the hands up in air and lungs heaving as the crowds were belting out the vocals to the anthems that Dan 2Funky was dropping. As resident and one of the figureheads behind the superbrand Serious you would expect Dan to know how to work it and this he did with unscrupulous ferocity. He had the crowd exactly where he wanted them, screaming, shouting, their hands firmly up in the air, just begging for more. This is what Serious is all about. You just look around you and the number of smiling faces is like a ray of sunshine in the dimly lit arches. Dan delivered his usual style of anthemic, vocal, funky house for which he is renowned and by this point the Arch was already heaving with hot, grooving bodies. I then quickly headed back into the trance room to catch what I thought would be the end of Greg’s set, but it turned out that Eddie Halliwell was yet to make an appearance and the crowd had the pleasure of enjoying another hour of Greg’s unique blend of techno and uplifting trance. Greg played some absolutely stunning tracks, one of which is one of my current favourites, Inertia — ‘The Chamber’. It seems that Mr Downey has been causing quite a stir recently being tipped by many as a name to watch this year, with his production work regularly in the boxes of the likes of Paul Van Dyk and John Askew. He pushed it down the tough, pumping, energetic tip of the trance scale with some awesome, spine-tingling breakdowns. His set would not have been complete without his very own ‘Cued Recall’, which has recently been signed by John Askew to his label Recover and with which he has been causing chaos across the country. This was actually the first time I’d heard Greg play, but he’s clearly a name that will be featuring on more and more line-ups. After depleting my energy levels by dancing like mad to some quality trance, it was time to go and recharge my batteries in the Members Arch, where Davey DMX, Sol da Prima and Ben De Sausmarez (Dan 2Funky’s brother) had captivated their own exclusive crowd all night. The vibe in there was much more chilled out, groovy disco house, which engulfed the revellers in a blanket of blissful melodies and tender beats. This arch was so popular that the loyal followers spilled out into the cloarkroom area and were dancing anywhere they could put their feet down — tables, sofas, chairs and stairs. But as they say, there’s no rest for the wicked and soon enough a certain magnetic compulsion propelled me back into the Dusted Arch right to the front to see what all the fuss was about. All the gorgeous gals flocked to the front armed with their cameras and fluttering eyelashes to catch a smoldering look from ladies’ man Rob Marmot. Rob has been a Serious regular for many years now and clearly knew what was required of him. Playing the peak time slot he tore up the dancefloor with his unique style of tough, dirty, chunky house music, interspersed with the odd vocals here and there. The atmosphere and music was very much reminiscent of the terrace at Space on the White Isle. Although focused on what he was doing behind the decks every now and then the music would get hold of him just as it did the rest of the crowd and he was grooving along with the rest of us. His set on Saturday night was a testament to his skill, talent, and intuition as a DJ and artist, but it was the last track he played which signed and sealed this claim: 'Superstylin' by Groove Armada and my God did this one tear the roof off the Cross… I’m sure it’s still floating around up there in the sky! I was having such a fantastic time that I simply could not tear myself away from the Dusted arch and who would even want to when the next man assigned the task of tickling our musical tastebuds was the legendary Godfather of house music, Norman Jay. Should there be some unfortunate soul out there who doesn’t know of him, then let me explain his monumental status. This man first took to the turntables at the tender age of 8, has people begging him for VIP tickets to his infamous and famous Good Times Sound System at the Notting Hill Carnival and in 2002 was awarded an MBE for services to music and djing. I think that really says it all. Norman has a unique way of staying ahead of the times, despite being one of the oldest veterans around and he always bonds with the crowd through the art of his music, every time pulling out a surprise. He played his own mix of ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’ and every single party person in that arch could not stop grinning and has been talking about that magical moment non-stop. Another highlight was the Hoxton Whores mix of ‘Sunshine of My Love’. The music was a combination of some anthemic vocal numbers, some tougher, chunkier house music with a smattering of unique touches, but it’s all in the delivery and Norman clearly has such a sweltering passion for his music that it spreads like wildfire. I’d been so caught up with the Dusted Arch that I missed the imminent arrival of Mr. Halliwell who apparently did take to the decks and quickly turned the music around with his trademark funky techno, quick samples and laser-quick hands. Half way through his set, he did give the trance faithful something to cheer about, and then carried on with his final tracks until the expected introduction of Taka. Unfortunately as it turned out Taka had missed his plane and was not going to make an appearance that night. But to the loyal followers who had turned up in droves to support Greg Downey, this turned out to be a rather welcome surprise as Greg returned to the booth to finish off the night with great style and panache. I suppose my one and only complaint would be that the venue was rather hot and very crowded, but I suppose that’s when you’re thankful for the garden terrace areas. In that respect I think Serious is a victim of its own success, but as it ticks all the other boxes for a fantastic night out, let’s not make too big a deal out of it. And what else can you expect when a long-standing superclub celebrates its 9th birthday! Well, what else remains for me to say other than Sam, Charlie and the rest of the Serious crew, all the DJs and mainly all the clubbers… you all made the Serious 9th birthday an incredible night to remember and I certainly won’t be a stranger for as long as I was… and maybe next time I might even make it across to the renowned afterparty Formulate at the Key where I gather two young gentleman going by the names of Paul B and Stu Hinge have been smashing it up week after week… And now bring on SW4!!! Photos courtesy of Alix and Don1. Not to be reproduced without permission. Share this :: : : : Follow HarderFaster :: Other Features By Alix: Subliminal Sessions: Reviewed An interview with Sophie Sugar — the leading lady of trance shows the boys how it’s done! On the way to the top with Greg Downey Trance Generation Preview: Matt Hardwick He’s back…. Interview with Matt Clarke 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: ben (bs2) on 25th Aug 2005 09:00.10 Nice to Greg Downey getting a well deserved mention. I have had the pleasure of being able to watch Greg perform over the last 3 years, and he just keeps getting better and better. Well done that man. From: otterluvin on 25th Aug 2005 09:50.12 Fantastic review Alix....what a superb night it was!!! Serious@The Cross never fails to amaze me in it's ability to keep up such a fantastic standard of clubbing month after month. It's been my favourite night for at least 2 years and with nights like last saturday there's no sign of it slipping. Thank to everyone for making it what it is. xx From: spangledwench on 25th Aug 2005 10:25.55 Wickford review babe! xxx From: Darz on 25th Aug 2005 12:33.11 best night in the country, FACT. only a matter of opinion of course. From: Lysa on 25th Aug 2005 18:33.00 Excellent review Alix! Fair play to greg, well done mate! From: Janie Mac on 26th Aug 2005 14:54.36 Wicked review my ickly scrumptious one! Love the piccies too! x From: Alix on 26th Aug 2005 15:48.23 Fanx for the nice comments! The people piccies are mine, but the club ones are Don's... good aren't they?! From: Andy Dunford on 1st Sep 2005 21:56.34 Saw Greg play at Scream in Bristol back in May. He played alongside Judge Jules, BK, Above & Beyond and Guy Ornadel (hmmm not a bad line up!) and I reckon he just edged it. From: Andyking on 7th Sep 2005 10:26.20 A whole review and not one mention of sausages. Blimey.

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