- Boxing Day is a risky choice for the launch of a new clubbing night. Nevertheless, it was chosen as the birth date of Doblar, a concept by local Middlesbrough DJ and record label boss Paul Bowen held at The Medicine Bar. Doblar began by entrusting an unknown local DJ competition winner, Rob Alderson, to warm-up for Cocoon and Crosstown Rebels associate Dinky. Bar grooves were in abundance as Alderson prepped the crowd with an hour of mellow house before picking up the pace as people started to group inside the club. By 11:30 PM, the space was packed as thoughts seemingly started to turn to the start of a four-hour set by the headliner downstairs.
Dinky said in a pre-interview for the night that, as a DJ, she loves to mix records—that's it. Rather than placing emphasis on the use of effects, she prefers to allow the individual personalities of tracks she plays to dominate. This was obvious, as many of the records she spun were used without manipulation and in their entirety, giving a classic sound to her set. Dinky managed to entwine past and present, as the lyrics of Danny Tengalia's "Music Is the Answer" and Eddie Amador's "House Music" blended perfectly in to more recent efforts like "Amame" from Intruder and Subb-an's remix of Noir & Haze's "Around." A beautiful moment came as the crowd was lifted by the haunting voice of Arthur Russell through Justin Harris' "Moon," with a sing-along following, much to the delight of the headliner.
The Chilean born jock definitely brings her own flair, but in an understated way. She constantly looked relaxed, and interacted with a crowd, who were, at times, rather overbearing in their enthusiasm for the tracks she was playing. And even politics between promoter and club, which saw Dinky's set cut half an hour short, could not ruin the atmosphere at the end of the night, as people hung around waiting for more.