- New Year's Eve in Central London usually means overcrowded clubs, mediocre music and a rather large hole in your wallet. This year, however, due to the overwhelmingly good choice of lineups on offer, clubbing in the capital was more appealing than the habitual house party. Between Eastern Electrics and Circo Loco New Year's Day, you could catch some of techno's finest names, with the former having the added benefit of an eclectic mix of hosts—Mulletover, BLOC and MMM across three rooms. The something-for-everyone approach meant that you could share New Year's Eve with your house, electro and dubstep-loving friends. The venue for the night was, initially, kept as a "secret location," eventually revealing itself to be Arches. For those after a description, the clue is in the name, really; a succession of tall, bare brick arches, equipped with Port-a-Loos, puddles underfoot and colourful LED visuals.
Mulletover, known for its roadblock, sell-out events joined forces with Crosstown Rebels to present Rebel Rave in the main room. Label boss Damian Lazarus and Crosstown compatriots Jamie Jones and Seth Troxler were supported by Mulletover resident Geddes, who warmed the room up with chugging techno. Handing over to Jamie Jones to count the crowd down to midnight, I was expecting an event as big as Eastern Electrics to throw in some confetti or at least a balloon or two, but they kept it boringly cool with only a giant clock projected behind the decks.
Nevertheless, the uncomfortably packed-in crowd went wild while lager-swilling boys, who probably had no idea who Jamie Jones was, started spraying the air with beer. Any momentary doubts that the regular Mulletover ravers might be having were quickly dispelled as Jones treated them to his new remix of Green Velvet's "Flash." Keeping things current, he finished with the Hot Natured and Ali Love collaboration "Forward Motion," which, if the reaction of the dance floor is anything to go by, promises to be a big tune for the Hot Creations label in 2011.
The grimier room two's lineup catered to the dubstep and garage heads. With more room to move, there was plenty of skanking as Joker banged out the Ms Dynamite classic "Boo," continuing the old school vibes later on with a UKG mini-mix that climaxed with "Reach and Spin." Anyone needing a little downtime after reliving their early teens could find refuge on the sofas in the adjacent arch, only it wasn't quite the "Winter Wonderland" promised, with just a few sparse-looking Christmas trees dotted with fairy lights to be found. It did, however, lead the way to a gem of a room pumping out warm, feel good classics, where happy ravers sported big grins to tracks like Loco Dice favourite "El Gallo Negro" and Nathan Fake's "The Sky Was Pink."
Back in the main room, Lazarus provided some harder, tech-y bass, eventually ending his set with Reboot's version of "Easy Lee" and the crowd's hands in the air. It was hard to fit in BLOC headliner Matthew Dear as Seth Troxler, rocking a shirt, skinny tie and his rather large, trademark moustache, kicked off with energetic, bouncy techno. Aside from proving why he was voted RA's #3 DJ in 2010, he displayed a charisma and presence that engages the crowd and sets him apart from his contemporaries. Dancing confidently behind the decks while swigging from a bottle of Jack Daniels, he did as he typically does and had fun with his timeslot, throwing a drum & bass remix of Claude VonStroke's "Aundy," "I Get Deep" and a housed-up version of Gypsy Woman's "Crystal Waters," scattered amongst more obvious techno choices. At 6:30 AM the dancefloor was still heaving and Instra:mental was doing well to keep the party going, albeit a much more chilled one, next door. For those that stayed in, next New Year's Eve might be time to consider venturing out of the house.