In the Middle
Virgo vs Libra Season (S1E3): Florentino, India Jordan, Eruchie Queenie Qureshi-Wales (21/09/19)
The third event from Season’s astrology-themed club night made its Chunk debut last week, and it was a wonderfully intimate night. Season is the spiritual successor to the Come Thru parties and, just like its predecessor, it stands to be one of Leeds‘ most exciting and diverse parties. It’s the sort of night out that doesn’t really feel like a night out in the conventional sense. Often hosted in small, DIY venues, it attracts a wide range of partygoers and, while the sounds are heavy, frenetic and euphoric, it’s never overwhelming or alienating. It’s a club space that puts forward self-expression and true, joyful appreciation of music. And it’s all so fun- something that seems to be forgotten on a lot of nights out these days. While the music is experimental at times, it never feels distant or intimidating. The experimentation is less egodriven and self-indulgent and instead seems to come from a desire to transgress genre; a welcome change from the almost dogmatic dance scene at the moment,
where the idea of playing around on the decks involves the odd ‘ironic’ pop tune or hides under the guise of the pretentious ‘deconstructed club music’ label. Instead Season is wholeheartedly sincere in its celebration of all dance music and dancing itself. It benefits from its DIY venues as there is no (obvious) pressure to conform and turn a profit; instead, this is a communal event that makes even the reluctant clubber feel like they’re just dancing in their bedroom with a couple of mates.
Timedance
Freya Smith (21/09/19) Much like the previous time Batu brought his label Timedance to the Wire basement, he impressed the crowd with a set of songs that slowly increased in pace, intensity, and bass. However, unlike last time where Bruce played b2b with Batu all night long to a much smaller and more responsive crowd, this set was nothing unexpected; it felt as if he was playing it safe. While the music was good, it didn’t leave me awe-struck – understandably, this could be more of a reflection of my own music taste as opposed to the DJs’ performances. Leeds’ very own Chekov started the night off well with some nice, chuggy tunes which progressed smoothly
Our October Club Picks - PPG: Shanti Celeste, upsammy, Triple Point - Wire (05/10/19) - Deptford Northern Soul Club - Headrow House (18/10/19) - Equaliser x Slut Drop - Wire (19/10/19) - Eclair Fifi - HiFi (24/10/19) - Stretchy Dance Supply - Sheaf St (25/10/19) - Nik Nak Presents Melanin - Wharf Chambers (26/10/19)
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into Danielle’s more bass-driven techno, a style that can be traced back to her time spent in Bristol. Aside from the music, the crowd and atmosphere were on good form. Though the event sold out, it wasn’t quite as squished-sardines as it could have been, and the room didn’t feel like it was overrun with the intense nervous excitement of 18-year-old freshers. I ended up having a lot of fun, dancing to solid music whilst surrounded by great pals. Overall, Batu summed up the progression of the night pretty accurately, giving a meagre answer of “it’s alright” at the start, and when asked again at the end, a slightly less apathetic answer of “yeh…it was pretty good”.
