The outstanding trance event Digital Society celebrated with true glory the 9th anniversary at the usual home base 02 Academy Leeds in a spectacular event that took place 5th of February and delivered unforgettable precious moments for all the lucky ones that have attended and took with them memories that will last for ever.
Digital Society is organised for 9th consecutive time and in the previous years Digital Society events were taken place in more frequent basis by inviting top names in the trance scene such as Above & Beyond, Paul van Dyk, Ferry Corsten, Markus Schulz, Gareth Emery and many more. For their 9th anniversary there were two stages operating the whole night. The mainstage was home of the wide variety of trance subgenres from big room to uplifting and psy tech trance presented by names such as Gareth Emery, John O Callaghan, Paul Oakenfold, Sean Tyas, Ben Gold, Luke Bond, Standerwick and Gareth Mitchel. The underground area in the basement was hosted by the world famous trance imprint In Trance We Trust with stars such as Menno de Jong, Alex M.O.R.P.H., Mark Sherry, Adam Ellis, Johan Ekman, Amir Hussain, David Rust, Alex Ryan and Paul Pearson. From 8 in the evening until 6 in the morning trance fans could enjoy their favourite side of trance music played by world famous and well-established artists.
The 9th Anniversary was my second time at Digital Society and my expectations was really high after the very well received 8th Anniversary event last year. I manage to be there around 9 and the place was absolutely packed. Luke Bond was in full effect at the mainstage delivering colourful positive uplifting sunkissed classy trance of the highest variety. Luke Bond is well known for rocking sounds and his latest collaboration with Cartel on Garuda is considered already as classic vocal trance anthem. His mixture of big room and pure uplifting magical sounds make the difference and captivate the audience.
At the same time in the ITWT stage Alex Ryan was pushing the adrenaline levels to the limits with intense professional mixing of full on euphoric trance bangers that relentlessly igniting the trancers who were flying in the sky for sure. The stage was packed and what was great is the intimacy that you had with the dj and the ability to feel close to him in contrast with the mainstage distance from the crowd. If you trust trance music for your emancipation and night entertainment this was the absolute place to be.
On the mainstage from 22.00-23.00 the always on great mood with big smile on his face Ben Gold was pumping the blood vessels and raised our heartbeats BPM with mixture of electro big room mainstage trance and feel good uplifting synths. The big screen behind him was remind us of his #Goldrush label and of course his set included releases from his own very successful imprint and top notch tunes like his ASOT anthem that is played on Armin van Buuren's famous festivals around the globe. The crowd was totally mesmerized from him and he provided one jam packed hour of pure class trance.
It was the first time that I checked Amir Hussain as dj except of his magnificent uplifting trance anthems and I was pleasantly surprised from his great mixing skills and ability to communicate with the crowd and party with them. His straight forward pure class trance sound was enjoyed and has attracted wide number of up for it tranceheads.
On the mainstage the good news become even better with Super8 and Tab from Finland who have lately releases on Armind and Anjunabeats amongst others and recently enjoyed the number 1 spot at the beatport trance chart with their explosive but at the same time delicate treatment of Above & Beyond future classic Little Something. Their set was packed with tracks from their album and there were no frontiers to stop your enjoyment and mental connection with the beats, melodies and great singers coming and going in their well-timed set. I had the pleasure to listen their sets and interview them many times and at Digital Society created truly special atmosphere with their beloved choices and big smile in their faces.
The German trance legend Alex M.O.R.P.H. was part of the line up and I must confess that I was taken by surprise with his move to the psy trance direction rather than his more uplifting or feel good progressive trance roots. His Universal Nation label signifies that psy trance direction and his set was mainly reflecting his new sound adventures that the crowd was pretty happy to move along with him.
In the mainstage from 00.00-01.30 one of the main headliners was rocking the crowd. Gareth Emery has electrified our days and nights for ever with his tight and solid dj set packed with mainstage electro sharp basslines and magnificently memorable melodies that uplift your senses and invite your soul to let the ordinary world and escape into another galaxy. His performance was class and you can sense definitely that this guy is playing regularly in USA clubs and festival mainstages. Fat throbbing grooves, pulsating insane basslines and good melody to whistle are the finest ingredients for success and Gareth knows how to handle and blend them into one. During his performance first class lazer shows, confetti explosions and other visual effects turn music into an alive spectacle beyond language. Gareth is at the very top of the dj pantheon for sure and his performance at Digital Society confirmed that with an emphatic way.
Regular name in the Digital Society events is Adam Ellis. The Sheffield based DJ was there too to celebrate the 9th anniversary in his own full on uplifting trance set jam packed with harder basslines, acid overtones and melodic pleasure that enhance your mind, body and soul. He always has that quality to get immersed in the music he plays and you can sense that he is part of the music that he plays and his super-excited to be part of the trance scene.
Digital Society anniversary without John O'Callaghan is like sea without salt so the presence of the uplifting trance veteran who represents the Irish trance family in the most honoured way added to the overall atmosphere and pushed the crowd to its limits. His set was very varied with moments of dark banging techno, relentless tech trance, vicious acid spankers and sun-shinning rays of melodic fulfilment. John is considered to be a true educator who takes his crowd by the hand without feeling obliged to drop only his well-known trance hits. He rather focuses on moving the boundaries and challenging perceptions by widening the scope of the available sonic signals.
On the underground realms of Digital Society the Scottish highlander Mark Sherry was banging the drums with edgy non-holes barred aggressive tech-trance goodness. His Outburst imprint is well established in the world of the harder naughty trance anthems with highlight for me his forthcoming remix of the classic Derb remix on Space Frog German Teutonic party crasher Follow Me. I was dancing and jumping like crazy particularly when that melodic riff was unleashed in his gigantic climax. Mark Sherry dj abilities are well documented and praised and his Digital Society hour was tailor made for this crowd. You can sense that this dj is there for his crowd and wants to make them happy without violating his own tech trance territory.
It was definitely big honour to have on this splendid line up the one and only Mr Trance himself Paul Oakenfold. This extremely gifted producer, label owner and most importantly dj manages to reinvent himself and be in tune with the younger generations. His definitely old school dj who loves to focus on what he plays with minimal interaction with the crowd as his mission is to bring to the front the virtues of the music and not to show off himself and overshadow his performance with his presence. His set was melodic, edgy and psy trance with Perfecto Fluoro touches that we adore so much.
The ITWT stage was about to get bigger, rougher and tougher with Menno de Jong who has reinvented himself after his Intuition days as label head of one of the most important trance labels from Black Hole recordings family. The crowd was definitely there for him and the trancers consider him as an idol. His very tall and his set was above and beyond the rest. Clean, crispy and clear uplifting pure trance with mainly instrumental and some great vocal moments as well. Can uplifting trance get more powerful than this, I don't think so and Menno's years of experience behind the decks are guarantee for any trance stage.
Digital Society invites regularly Sean Tyas and his Degenerate sound was shockingly explosive at the 9th anniversary. Pounding drums, razor sharp basslines and melodic psy trance releases were relentlessly bombarding the O2 Academy welcoming dancefloor that is the perfect space for a large scale event like Digital Society. Great visuals, cracking grooves, dark twisted moody melodies and perfect choices perfectly mixed by Sean Tyas who has years of success and experience in the biggest clubs and festivals around the world and all this encapsulated in his album released on Black Hole recordings.
The harder edge trance fans were awaiting for Johan Ekman to come in the decks and unleash his powerful energetic stomping trance dynamites. His dj set was well placed and perfectly spaced to elevate the trance family to higher places. Ethereal melodies combined with hard edged basslines and thumping drums were combined to deliver the perfect trance experience that Digital Society is well known and globally respected to provide to trance fanatics around the globe with djs like Johan Ekman perfectly illustrating the Digital Society attitude.
Last dj on the bill for the In Trance We Trust stage was David Rust who moved towards the more psy tech trance sound with less melodies and more in your face basslines. His very dark underground dj set was the perfect ending for the ITWT stage that included wide variety of uplifting energetic trance subgenres from the strongest labels and the finest artists. Great line up without doubts and dedicated fanbase who kept the stage busy the whole night and the sweating bodies pulsating on air.
The final set for the mainstage was offered to Standerwick who of course deserves to be there after all the hardwork and the great productions and remixes he has released in wide variety of record labels. His set was good balance of dark psy tech trance and feel good colorful positive pure trance tracks with excellent choices his remix on John O'Callaghan Find Yourself and the uplifting remix on Superhuman by Andrew Bayer. The mainstage was fully packed and energized until the very last minute.
When the end of this great night came I had some moments to reflect on it while I was making my way out from O2 Academy building. The top 5 points that will keep events like this in your memory are: 1) Line up selection, 2)Brilliant visuals, 3)Solid sound-system, 4)Great staff from bartenders to security and 5) the Digital Society crowd that love trance 4 life.
Many thanks to Harry for offering me press accreditation to attend this fantastic event.
Photography: Gemma Parker Photography and Dimitri Kechagias.
Dimitri Kechagias review:
[review top="1"]
[item value="10"]Line UP selection[/item]
[item value="10"] Line Up execution [/item]
[item value="10"]Dj Sets[/item]
[item value="10"]Visuals[/item]
[item value="10"]Decoration[/item]
[item value="10"]Goosebumps / Shivers moment[/item]
[item value="10"]Sound system[/item]
[item value="10"]Overall Atmosphere[/item]
[item value="10"]Spectacle[/item]
[item value="10"]Dancefloor[/item]
[item value="10"]Crowd / Trancers[/item]
[item value="10"]You can’t get this event out of your head because it is so memorable[/item]
[item value="10"]It has potential to be remembered as one of the best trance events of 2016[/item]
[item value="10"]Promotion of the event[/item]
[content title="Summary" label="Overall Score"]The 9th anniversary of Digital Society at O2 Academy was a massive success with djs and UK trance believers enjoying every single moment.[/content]
[/review]
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