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Sunrise - the longest running psytrance night in the UK
Reported by Agnes Klos
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Submitted 20-07-11 06:22
Sunrise is one of the longest running nights in the UK. For over 15 years it has brought cutting edge psychedelic trance to the UK and established a deserved reputation among clubbers as a party that delivers. With top acts, stunning décor, mind-blowing visuals and quality sound at one of the north of England's most psy friendly venues, the West Indian Centre, Sunrise creates a temptation hard to resist. As a dedicated psytrance lover, Agnes Klos gave into the temptation and made a trip all the way from London to Leeds on 30th April curious to see how clubbers party up north.
Travelling to a different city or country always gives me a thrill, especially if the aim of the trip is to follow my passion for psytrance. After getting to know the London psytrance scene inside out, I decided it was time to experience some psytrance in other parts of the UK. Never before had I partied up north but over the years I had gathered a rather impressive collection of recommendations from my friends. The list grew longer and longer and included Cabbage (Leeds), Illuminaughty (Manchester), Kulu (Bradford), Planet Zogg (Sheffield), Remedy (Leeds) and Shanti (Liverpool). I have been told that the events keep good relations and make sure they do not clash on dates as they are well aware of the fact that the survival of the northern scene is based on the motto 'Together we stand, divided we fall'. With that concept ingrained in my head, Sunrise quickly became my first choice and I was excited about having a chance to taste the northern style of partying for the very first time.
Arriving a few hours before the party fun commenced, I decided to use the time productively and grab the perfect opportunity to talk to the promoter, Ed Tangent. I managed to find out a couple of juicy details about Sunrise history, which helped me understand the real core of the party. "Sunrise came about when I met Christo K, a Greek DJ who moved to Manchester back in 1996. He used to be a resident at Sunrise Zone Athens and decided to put a Sunrise Zone party in Manchester. I went down to the night and met Christo and Matt Allaby (Nano Records). We decided to start a new night in Manchester together and Matt came up with the name Global Sunrise. We ran the night as Global Sunrise for five years, then the night morphed into Sunrise. We were lucky enough to work with Potential Development (the same company which managed Mr Scruff) and secured the Music Box, one of Manchester’s best underground Venues."
After a quick visit to the bar and a few happy drinks, I listened with a great dose of interest to Ed telling me the story further: "In the very early days we used to run Sunrise every two weeks from a small 230 capacity club called the Park, that was great but two weeks comes around very fast. We were at the Music Box monthly for 8-9 years but I moved out just before the smoking ban as the venue had no outside space. I then waited till a slot came up at our current venue, the West Indian Centre in Leeds as I really like it as a space. We need to put a lot of work into getting it right but it is worth it. There is no deep rooted ideology in the concept of Sunrise. We simply aim at producing a night when friends can meet and enjoy some of the best production and music values in the North of England.
"We have a really good, clued up crowd who attend our nights. Some of our regulars have been with us for 10-12-14 years. Some have only found us since we moved to Leeds. But what you can expect is a really friendly atmosphere, we have some people who are not even that into psy music but say they enjoy the night because of the people and vibe."
Just as Ed finished telling me the fascinating story of the birth of Sunrise, it was time for the party to get started and for me to change into my psychedelic gear before hitting the dancefloor. As I walked in I felt as if I entered an enchanted wonderland. My eyes were bombarded with an ocean of psychedelic décor, visuals and multi-coloured lasers shooting in the air, together creating the most desirable clubbing environment any raver could imagine. I have to admit that it is rare to find a party where so much effort and attention is paid to filling in every single corner of the space with mind-blowing backdrops on the walls, colourful mushrooms surrounding the DJ box and projections displaying eye-popping images. The 2D and 3D décor was provided by Fairy Jayne, Buttons, Onney and Keith Fox. Magic lantern, Atomic Bong and Commander Photon did an excellent job with live visualisations in both rooms and Explicit Lighting put up a fantastic full lights and lazer show. With the darkness in the main room and the UV décor surrounding us, I knew it was a place, miles away from my home, where I could get lost in music for that one night only.
After a bit of delay in the main room, music finally kicked off with DJ Ascent rocking behind the decks. This talented DJ who has been playing psytrance for over ten years is well known to many as the brains behind the popular radio station AudioAddictz (www.audioaddictz.com). Keep your eyes peeled for AudioAddictz End of Festival Season Show 2011 on 21-22nd October that sounds promising with the likes of Astral Projection on the line-up among others.
Even though DJ Ascent said that his warming up set was different from what he usually played, it seemed to be heavy on the beats and enjoyable enough to those gathered in the club. "Sunrise was a fantastic night and I enjoyed every minute of it. The crew and the crowd were both lovely, the decor the lighting and the sound system were amazing, I felt very comfortable DJing there. I was first on and when I started my set there was mainly crew and a few hard trancers in the room, but it soon filled up and I merrily danced around like a loon behind the decks, loved it  Greeted by shiny happy people as I left the decks, looking forward very much to playing my live set there at some point," said DJ Ascent.
Next up on the decks was DJ Extrax, another talent hailing from north and a part of décor crew Platonix. With his high octane energy and confidence oozing from the DJ box, he appeared to be a storming force that kept us literally glued to the dancefloor. The flow of his set was rising with each track, a well-planned choice of tunes put everyone on a wave, yearning for more psychedelic delights to come.
As the evening progressed, the atmosphere began to build and more dressed-up psytrance fans filled in the room, adding a playful flavour to the party. Control of the music was then taken on by Ben Fraser from Sabretooth Records who played an excellent live set. With his deep, dark and driving sound he introduced a new level to the party. Stomping tracks were pumped out at across the growing crowd and Ben kept on turning up the energy with a vibrant set of his own productions. "Sunrise always put on a great party with quality music and awesome decor. The latest one was no exception, and the vibe was friendly and relaxed as ever. A pleasure to play!"
Ed Tangent was the next DJ on the line-up who was greeted with a mix of cheers and whoops from the audience. Ed who has been into electronic music since the early electro days and moved through to early techno, acid and eventually to psytrance in mid-nineties, knew exactly how to infuse the crowd with energy. His well crafted set was brimming with beautiful build-ups followed by stomping powerful beats. "The party was great, all the elements were right and that is why Sunrise has such a good reputation. I am so careful to programme the night just right so that musically everyone fits perfectly into the night as a whole. Visually we were spot on as well. And as I always say thank you to our Sun-risers; You are the Party," said Ed after getting off the decks.
Finally, the time came for the most anticipated act of the evening. Even though they are quite new on the scene they have already made a storming impression on the music-lovers all over the world, appearing at many major festivals this summer, Sonic Species are definitely the ones to look out for. The duo consists by Joe Markendale (G-Nome) and Alex Story (previously Fromem Ory) who after a number of years producing their own solo live sets finally joined forces in 2006. They shot to fame with their first release ‘Lost Transmission’ after signing to Alchemy Records in 2008. Since then their dynamic and powerful sets have become their trademark known around the globe. The unique sound of Sonic Species was easily recognisable on the dancefloor at Sunrise as it provided a cutting-edge blend of digital and organic elements that literally pumped the audience into a different dimension.
Sunrise resident and a part of décor crew Platonix, DJ Onney, took the reins at the close, wrapping up with a driving set of stomping full on psytrance and when the last record finally crackled to the end, it was clear that the crowd needed more. It was therefore a pity to hear the news of the planned afterparty being cancelled.
In the other room called The Beats Bizarre, the night was filled with mischief and magic too. The space was decorated with a gigantic UV flowers growing out of the ceiling and its branches hugging the entire room. With backdrops on the walls, projector behind the DJ box and psychedelic stalls with jewellery and psy gadgets, the room created a cosy alternative space to be. The line up included such names as Magiclantern, Wolfie, Nanook, Bad Tango and of course the act of the evening, Hedflux.
Stephen Mckeown aka Magiclantern was the first to kick off beats in this room. When the party was finished and I had nowhere to go in Leeds due to the cancellation of the afterparty so Stephen was kind enough to look after me and provide shelter until my train back home. I asked him what his favourite moments of the night were: "Well, that would be two moments: the moment in my set right at the start of the night when I dropped ‘Balkan Tourist’ by Ticon and then 'Slavistico' by Maddox in the back room. The dancefloor just filled with joyous 'whooping'. some guys were literally hugging the speaker with joy. The next moment was when Hedflux played 'Revolve' in the backroom. He is such an amazing producer and now friend. It was amazing to have him play his recent hit tune in a room I had helped create. The atmosphere was amazing when he was on. I would gladly have him as a resident if we could afford the fees and travel."
After Magiclantern, Wolfie took the stage bringing interesting flavours to the party with his fun and funky psy-trance, brimming with electro synths and bouncing basslines. Nanook drove the crowded room into a frenzy with his selection of electro tunes from Massive Music UK - the label he is signed to. To add more musical ingredients to the room, Bad Tango took ravers on a journey of sonic wizardry with his own unique sound of twisted squelchy psy-breaks.
Steve Young aka Hedflux, known and loved for his psychedelic tech-funk, was definitely my highlight of the evening in The Beats Bizarre room. He has taken his pulsating sound to the dancefloor around the globe and become to many the master of spine-tingling hypnotic beats. Combining chunky tech-funk with psychedelia was an interesting musical experience for me which I would say: "has to be seen to be believed" (better to be heard surely! - Ed). The unrelenting energy of Hedflux was contagious on the dancefloor which stayed packed till the last track of his set.
To sum up, with the train ticket as cheap as £30 return bought in advance there is no excuse not to make a journey to Leeds where the beautiful party called Sunrise is guaranteed to take you away on one of the best psychedelic discoveries you can experience in the UK.
Images courtesy of Agnes Klos. Not to be reproduced without permission.
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Other Features By Agnes Klos:
Back2Basics - 10 Years of Party Productions & Tomorrowland Stage Hosts
Atmosphere Records - The opening of IBIZA 1936
Entering the world of Waldfrieden in Germany with DJoanna
Piracy is not a crime – sail away with Feestgedruis!
Progressive flavours with DJ R'Deem ahead of Neelix party
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.
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Comments:
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From: Agnes Klos on 23rd Jul 2011 11:49.56
If anyone wonders what soundsystem is being used at Sunrise it is of course the powerful OPUS rig )
From: hejro on 26th Aug 2011 14:50.33
im not usually a big fan of pystrance at all but i saw this ed tangent dude at a festival a couple of years ago and he was fucking awesome, i spoke with him briefly after his set too and he was sound as fuck and really tolerant of pilled up twats telling him how awesome he was i imagine his parties would be just as awesome i might have to find out where leeds is
From: Nikki S on 12th Sep 2011 18:53.17
Fantastic review Agnes xx
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