Easter celebrations were in full swing last weekend as the first bank holiday of 2015 had finally crept upon us. Whilst others may have opted for gluttonising eggs, soaking up the sun or spending quality time with the fam, I saw Easter Sunday as the perfect excuse to go out raving!
Half Baked (HB) at Studio 338 was the party of choice amongst my gang of friends – there is no denying that the Half Baked Records crew really know how to throw a celebration. Sunday was no exception. A 15 hour mystical marathon full of love, glitter and amazing Disco music surrounding the venue of 3,000 revellers.
Studio 338 is a slick super-club; its massive outside heated terrace in the main room creates an Ibiza-esque vibe. However, when you reach upstairs into the hidden loft the venue contrasts completely, hitting the grit of south-east London's clubbing scene to its very core. Dark, with low ceilings, it's like visiting two venues at once!
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| Photobooth fun |
The party was decorated true Half Baked style. The labels iconic bicycle hung from the main room ceiling outlined with flashing fairy lights and flowers to really get the celebratory mood going. They even added a photo booth, glitter bath and glitter stall so that we could get our SPARKLE ON whilst raving thanks to Starlight Boutique Facepaint! If you think that was enough glamour for the night, Half Baked added some extra surprises - including a fashion stall by Tallulah Minxy.
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My best friend and I arrived at around 8pm where we were greeted with - "Just A Little Disco..." at the entrance. It was as if I had entered Narnia; beautiful people wearing feather headdresses brushed passed me, whilst unicorns circled the room singing and cheering. As I walked inside it was already heaving with friendly faces all dancing to up-beat House music - an immense vibe that always makes me keep going back to HB.
After we covered ourselves in glitter and took to the dancefloor, it was time for Motor City Drum Ensemble (MCDE) to take to the stage. My anticipation grew for MCDE's set all night; since I saw him at Dimensions Festival last year my love for him has always remained! His ability to mix Soul music into House and Techno is one of a kind and he is undeniably one of the most talented artists around at the moment (in my opinion).
As he jumped on the decks to take the party to a whole new level of music pleasure, my friends and I moved straight to the front to get the perfect view of our favourite DJ.
He did not disappoint! His set kept getting better and better as he mixed massive tunes all the way from Bileo's You Can Win, Jamie3:26 & Cratebug's Hit It N Quit It and Syclop's Jump Bug. Characterised by sassy vocals and classic Disco bangers, everyone erupted as each record dropped. He even concluded his set with Ain't NoMountain High Enough - tell me that ain't brave to finish to a crowd of Techno ravers!? As glitter fell down from the ceiling, the crowd sang along, hugged and kissed each other sending a loving, atmospheric vibe all around.
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| Motor City Drum Ensemble |
I floated around most of the night after MCDE's set - mostly staying in the loft room, lounging on sofas and catching up with friends. I didn't want to feel as if I had wasted the last couple of hours of the night, so I headed down towards the main room again into daytime (when all the weird and wonderful starts to happen).
Resident DJ's, Hold Youth were smashing it out with increasingly sleek, bass-led Techno to keep the party going. I've got to end this post with this video...cracks me every time! GO ON JAMIE.
Last Sunday offered a music spectacle full of flawless mixing of feel-good tracks laced with beaut House and Techno beats. Half Baked worked really hard to create the ultimate raving experience with so many extra special features. This makes HB a party like no other. So thank you HB....until next time!
Tania x
