Reviews
SUPERCHARGED
- Words
- Reviews
- Clubs
Where Digital, King’s Road Arches and Audio, Marine Parade, Brighton
When Every Wednesday at Audio,monthly at Digital
Music D’n’b, dubstep, breaks
“We just like bass music,” a bespectacled student says, as we huddle together for warmth in Brighton’s biting sea air. The stag party dressed in Where’s Wally? outfits passing the smoking area/pen don’t seem so sure. The throbbing sounds leaking from the club act as a deterrent to all but the most open-minded of seaside tourists.
D’n’b, dubstep, breaks… Supercharged provides nourishment to a loyal, studenty crowd nurtured on a diet of twisted sounds and bowel-bothering basslines. Tonight is their monthly big-name blowout at Digital, a venue that manages to balance underground respectability with flawless production levels. Nearby, Audio provides an eclectic testing ground for the club every Wednesday, too.
Ninety minutes into the night people pour into the main room from all sides. By the time Jack Beats are visible the stage and dancefloor may as well be cordoned off. Inexplicably, the crowd by the stage suddenly turn to face the rest, all pulling the kind of warped facial expressions that this wobble-bassed music was made for.
The punters stay put for d’n’b duo Friction and MC Dynamite, giving kudos to the club’s faith in their broad but bassy music policy. Again, it’s a mixture of old and new as the open-minded punters show respect for the genre’s musical heritage. Of course, no d’n’b nostalgia night would be complete without topless sweaty men, but on this occasion only one can be seen pulling a screwface on the podium amid a room full of trendy but casually dressed ravers.
With so many events, labels and artists calling the town home, Brighton is far from an easy place to maintain a brand. But by balancing a keen ear for current trends with a passion for the sounds that preceded them, Supercharged is sure to remain a staple of the town’s clubbing culture for years to come.
