LDMS have been at it again…

There’s a phenomenon some of you as students will have no doubt experienced: the ‘Second year slump’ is a well documented occurrence, whereby the fresh faced optimism of first year study goes down like the sun over Sefton Park, to be replaced with a sullen apathy about education, your degree, and scary words like ‘Phd’ and ‘graduation’ loom large in the all too near future.

This phenomenon is in the same category as the ‘shit second album’ (just ask the xx), and also goes some way to explain the multitude of awful film sequels (don’t you dare badmouth Speed II).

While I don’t think ‘second night slump’ has been chartered before, I’m sure that on Tuesday, Liverpool Dance Music Society were eager to prove that the overwhelming success of their first club night was not a one time thing. (click here to read the review).

In light of this, LDMS had booked an artist who has deservedly had an enormous upsurge in popularity over the course of the last year – Darius Syrossian. Champion of the “True. House. Music.” movement, he is a regular face at Sankeys in Manchester, as well as having residencies in Ibiza and touring non stop for the past few months. On the night, he also had support from two northern duo’s, Butler & Murt and Nerram & Tarro.

The location was once again The Magnet, one of the most versatile venues found in Liverpool, playing host to artists such as Skrillex last year to Gentlemens Dub Club this week, and everyone else in between.

Upon entry, it was clear this was going to be a busier affair. Most events of this type tend to fill up slowly from 11 up until 1 or even later. Yet at half 11, it was already noticeably more packed out, with people waiting longer than usual to get through to the bar.

Although there’s no formula for success, clearly (and rightly so) word had gotten round regarding the success of the previous night.

The music from the get go was not too dissimilar from Oliver $’s output, with Butler and Murt playing a low key grooving house set, nothing too extraordinary but enough to loosen people up in time for Darius Syrossian at 1am. When it was time for the man himself to entertain, the dance-floor was pretty much as full as The Magnet gets, save perhaps certain Juicy nights.

What followed from 1 until 3 was a DJ very much in his prime, playing a strong mixture of tech and deep house, while still keeping a recognisable jacking feel exclusive to himself. The crowd reacted well to each drop, and Syrossian showed a knack for playing with the crowd that one would expect from a man who’s been in the music scene for years; he demonstrated complete mastery at times, acting almost like a puppeteer to the transfixed audience.

There’s a refreshing lack of pretension at these events –  herding like minded people into the same spot, you get the feeling that it’s just a group of people, thoroughly enjoying themselves, with the same passion for music.

LDMS organisers and friends were once again up on stage, surveying the crowd and stopping for the occasional picture to document yet another great night.

On the whole, I’d say it was another extremely successful night and one that the organisers will no doubt be very pleased with.

As I search my brain for even the smallest of criticisms, it would be that now LDMS have established themselves amongst the big players in the Liverpool dance scene, they should perhaps branch out and host an artist of a slightly different style.

Both Oliver $ and Darius Syrossian play similar types of house music, and considering the breadth of genres that dance music encapsulates, it wouldn’t hurt to take a small gamble and look further afield for possible bookings, just to keep things fresh.

As Soon as I typed that up, however, I was made to eat my words when the announcement came that LDMS’s next booking on the 20th of November will be AND.ID performing his live set; a melodic mix of house and techno with live brass thrown in – trust me – it’s incredible.

LDMS will also be hosting an open deck night on the 6th of November at The Magnet. Make sure you get yourself down there, you won’t regret it!