As the dust settles on yet another sold-out Defected In The House event at Ministry of Sound, lifelong Defected fan Ali Miraj gives us his personal take on how the night went.
The fun at a Defected Party starts in the queue outside the club. And so it was last Saturday, 13th April, as a diverse, excited and discerning crowd descended on the Ministry of Sound for the latest instalment of Defected in the House. Following sell-out events in February and on New Year’s Eve, as well as an ever-growing following both in the UK and around the rest of the world, expectations were high for another fantastic night of house music.
As people got into the groove in 103 – the main bar – complete with its energetic resident dancing girls, Copyright provided the tunes, while proceedings in the iconic Box - appropriately adorned with a host of huge trademark “D” signs - were opened by Lovebirds of ‘Want You in My Soul’ fame. The crowd was pumped and the scene was set.
Up stepped Dennis Ferrer, who has established himself as one of the pre-eminent DJ’s on the dance music scene. With his Apple laptop strategically placed to his left and hooked up to the mixer, Ferrer was in the zone as soon as he took control of the CDJ decks complete with their hypnotic orange and green flashing lights.
Dropping the KINK Beat Mix of ‘Follow the Step’ by Rachel Row early in his set resulted in a unexpected dance-off involving five people in a large circle in the centre of the main room, myself included; I’ve never been one to back away from a bit of foot-steppin’. If anyone was in any doubt about the ability of House music to draw people of different backgrounds together, this little episode put paid to that.
The last time I saw Ferrer play was at a pool party at the Shelbourne Hotel at the Winter Music Conference in Miami in 2009. I had noticed two things at the time. First, the range of music he played and second, his boundless energy, wildly gesticulating with his headphones continuously planted on his head. Both were evident on Saturday night.
The New Jersey-based DJ played tracks as varied as ‘Jo Johnson’ from wAFF and Summertime Sadness (Mk Lee Foss Cold Blooded Remix) by Lana Del Rey. But there were two particularly special moments for me. One was when he dropped Reverse Skydiving (Shadow Child Remix) by Hot Natured which blew the roof off. There were hundreds of hands in the air with smartphones duly recording the mayhem for later consumption on Youtube. The other was when Ferrer - who first caught my attention after releasing the gospel-inspired anthem ‘Church Lady’ - spun Mass Order’s ‘Lift Every Voice’ (Classic Boot Mix; take me away). That was game, set and match for me.
The night continued with Noir, NICe7 and Santé pumping out the pulsating beats until 7am. I returned home with an “I Am Defected” badge adorning my battered Barbour jacket and a weary smile plastered across my face; another triumphant night for both Defected and the music it so exceptionally represents. For The Love Of House!
Words: Ali Miraj (banker, former politician and DJ)
Picture credit: Tim Kantoch. Check back soon for a full photo report
