Sounding out

The destination was Wadduwa… the reason we were heading all that way on a relatively lazy Saturday evening was because we were told that there would be one night of amazing partying awaiting us.

Who was but making this party a head-thumping affair… they were the Ministry of Sound (MoS), who were back in Sri Lanka for 'Round Two' of heart-thumping partying and hard pumping bass.

And why were they back in Sri Lanka? It was because the psychedelic sounds of the MoS crew were celebrating their 16th anniversary of worldwide franchise.

We found out that this party was to be a casual affair, and yes, casual the attire was as a pool party awaited us… Partygoers were greeted at the gate with flower chains and glow sticks, while heavy bass trance music could be tasted through the salty air. And then walking towards the poolside party, we came face-to-face with the large stage and DJ consoles along with a large screen at the back showing various images which enhanced the setting.

Yellow tape which read 'CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS' as well as silver heart shaped MoS balloons were all part of the décor. In addition there were tents as well as miniature swimming pools situated around the main pool which added to the atmosphere of this wet and wild party! These were in fact two seemingly contrasting atmospheres which were combined to create the wildest roller coaster ride you could ever experience!

Party goers were promised 'the biggest 12-hour outdoor party ever' which therefore left trance lovers and party animals in Sri Lanka, as well as visiting foreigners with high expectations.

It would not be wrong to say that their expectations were all exceeded, hands down, once the glow sticks cracked and the music started playing at the River View, Wadduwa on September 8, as the party gathered momentum and the crowd refused to stand down.

Sri Lanka's very own DJ's Shiyam and Van Luup, based in Qatar, set the stage for the all-nighter with their impressive trance and house mixes which kept the crowd on their toes. Among the crowd favourites were DJ Tiesto's classic, “Adagio For Strings,” “Higher State Of Consciousness” by Josh Wink and the well-known soundtrack for the movie Trainspotting, and all-time classic “Born Slippy” by Underworld.

Newcomers to the trance arena were not disappointed as some of the club-hot house tracks were also incorporated in most of the mixes. Colombo club favourites such as Bob Sinclair and Freddie Le Grand were also some of the featured tracks for the night.

The main attraction for the night was DJ Richard Dinsdale, the Ministry DJ from Surrey, London, whose base-heavy house and trance notched the party one gear higher as the Ministry shooter girls set the stage alight with their skills.

DJ Dinsdale's mixes of progressive trance and hard bass tracks kept the crowd dancing tirelessly for hours on end and well into the next morning as the twelve-hour party was extended by a few more hours while the crowd went crazy making the most of the pools in the compound as they jumped in and out and danced in the pool and floated on the floats. Nothing and absolutely nothing, was going to get their spirits down!

The party which began at 6 p.m. refused to die down as the music and ambience ensured that the crowd could not get enough of the deeply psychedelic atmosphere created within the vast compound.

Most importantly, the featured DJs kept pure trance lovers content enough to say that no Hip Hop or highly popularized capitalist sounds made it to the ears of the faithful.

The waves of this seemingly unheard of music style which seeped into the unsuspecting Sri Lankan streets convinced many sceptics to flock under the banner of the genre which is now steadily gaining popularity amongst music lovers and socialites in Sri Lanka.

It would therefore not be wrong to state that 'The biggest outdoor party of the year' certainly was a head thumping, smashing and roaring success…

The Ministry of Sound event was made possible by Action Station and En-V Productions, the platinum sponsor was AXE VICE. While the official electronic media sponsors were Yes FM and Channel 1 MTV and the official print media sponsors were The Daily Mirror, Hi Magazine and The Sunday Times. The event partners were The Z World, Jetwing Events Sri Lanka and The Blue Waters, Wadduwa.