- SQ is often said to be the best club in Poland at the moment, a claim that stems directly from its stellar bookings and generally positive spirit inside the rather small venue. One of its finest regular events, the long-lasting Automatik Nights, is the destination for those DJs and live performers who prefer a more techno—and less house-inspired—side of electronic music.
The star of the latest Automatik was British-born DJ and Crosstown Rebels boss Damian Lazarus. Upon my arrival at midnight, Hagal—the club's resident DJ—was spinning his well-built groovy tech-house set to a virtually empty dance floor. Despite my apprehension, the crowd sitting at the bar soon started to dance and in only 30 minutes the floor was pretty packed. Lazarus took control of the decks at 1 AM, and he set off with pretty abstract and eerie-sounding tracks—clearly not afraid of constructing lengthy built-ups and spicing the beats with atonal sounds. Topping this part of the set with Luciano & Guy Gerber's new collaboration on Cadenza, he then smoothly took the set in a more straightforward and energetic direction. With some excursions into deep house from Cécille's rapidly growing catalog, Lazarus provided a collection of chugging and sometimes blatant and uninspiring tunes.
Though I was slightly disappointed with the track selection after the mesmerizing beginning, the crowd seemed to feel the vibe, and when the level of energy among the partiers seemed ready for the climax, Lazarus dropped Jamie Jones' "Summertime" to rapturous effect. The two-and-a-half hour set ended with warm applause from the audience and a polite nod from the cap-wearing DJ.
Regardless of the music emanating from the speakers, Lazarus was constantly controlling the flow of the set. The chemistry between him, the music and the dancers was clearly visible at all times. His stage persona, cheering, dancing and the general feeling that he was like a human Winamp equalizer gave the party very positive and warm feeling. Despite some dips in intensity during the middle of the party, I came home quite exhausted with legs aching the next day, which is about all you can ask for.