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Logically this should have been one of the events of the year. Recloose, who originally burst onto the scene in '99 with his awesome genre disregarding "I Can't Take It", was in Sheffield to help promote the release of his debut LP. Simultaneously released on Carl Craig's revered Planet E imprint, and Berlin's forward thinking !K7 it has been hailed in the press as an LP of 2002.
The venue embodied the type of vibe associated with underground anti-establishment parties, where everything is about the MUSIC. A place totally opposed to the crass commerciality of super-clubs like bed and others, who are squeezing the lifeblood and every last penny they can, focussing on a watered down lukewarm version of music, which sells. However keeping things underground can come at a great cost. There were barely a hundred people in the venue all night.
Considering the fame of the artist on at least the underground scene, questions need to be asked. A lack of press coverage and few flyers and posters must have had something to do with the small turnout, but the fact that the '3 Chairs' at the NCPM the week before was barely half full, would suggest a more serious problem. While established regular nights such as 'Scuba' and 'Remedy' can pack them in easily, one off events seem to be a completely different story. The amount of people at both nights would suggest a lack of people in Sheffield into good quality music, but thriving record shops such as Lowlife and The Store would question this. Regardless of the problems, hopefully the low turnouts and huge losses from both events won't dissuade the promoters of Sheffield from booking such amazing underground names again.
What of the music? Recloose's allotted set proved to be the musical highlight of the night to make up for the lack of atmosphere, as he mixed Hip Hop, Techno, House, Breaks and more for the duration of his set. For those who had made the effort, they were rewarded handsomely. The night was understandably cut short, finishing at 3 instead of 6, with local genius Chris Duckenfield's record box left unopened. The banner on the wall read "sounds of the underground" which was truly the case, especially poignant for the 20 or so who stayed until the end... Jon Freer