When Privilege opens all corners and chasms of its two floored main chamber, it is an eyeshot that barely loses a speck of its shock factor. Natural for the biggest club in the world, the biggest of anything is going to do that, especially when it's been chucked through a whirlwind of excess to create SupermartXé's flashy extravaganza that could leave you feeling like a clubbing virgin all over again. Busy? Yes, very, but oxygen invading rammed it wasn't and with the performance parade that's titillating your pupils, you're going to be grateful for the extra space to body spin.
Another night, another theme and for the closing it was like a spunked-up fairground on steroids with glowing red pinball machine-esque sphered lights climbing the sides, Disney characters and the silhouette of an arch backed pinup holding your central vision…unless the gold leafed titties emblazoned across the dancers was what took you down to town. With LED lights, tasty drenched chicas in oversized cocktail glasses, high wigs, glitter, confetti and bodies with their kit off, it's visually over the top and then some. Audibly it's just as mental. Unless I'm getting in there after some soft and gentle segment, it's pure and utter EDM in your face, off its face and into remix mash-up heaven – if that's your bag, you're getting your fill here. The two match on an even-keeled level, neither punching above their weight as they come in on the same scale of carnage. For me and no doubt plenty of others, it's the show that makes it. If you could buckle yourself into one of those assimilators that were part of your trip to the pictures, then you'd be on it in a flashier flash than a Peeping Tom's exposure dash.
I arrived on Yves V and got a battery bass, hi-tempo remix of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit. From there, it dipped into all genres of music pies, from being fully into dance in Swedish House Mafia's vocal hook of Leave The World Behind, then falling into the foray of hip-hop with DMX's Up In Here and O.T Genasis' I'm In Love With The Coco before being rolled back into the classic electro house quarter with Benny Benassi's Satisfaction and Kenkraft 400's Zombie Nation. For me, in danger of sounding like a whiny old nutbag, most of the time you can't beat the original; the constant stream of remixes I find a bit unecessary. Satisfaction is an old belter of a track and I was hoping that they might leave this bad boy to its original devices but then the anticipated mashed-in remix took its powergrip on transforming it into new scaling territory. But that's just me. Just look at the nice boobies the robot-esque guy bouncing about on a bungee bike. Bungees, boobs and bikes. And dodgems…live dodgems cutting about on stage behind the DJ booth. I asked the bar dude if a mere punter could get behind the steering wheel. It was an absolute no. I could probably navigate a goat on a skateboard through a swimming pool of rice pudding easier than driving a car anywhere, so that's definitely for the best.
Yves V, hung up the headphones and in was the blonde twin tidy duo, NERVO, with identity defining hair doos to take you into domes of dance music creamery. Alesso's We Could Be Heroes was one of the first of the chosen ones for the lashing from the energetic pair who continued to keep the pace snappy in a sonic rampage with David Guetta & Showtek's vocally catchy grinder Bad and Dannic and Shermanology lyrically intwined drop ready Wait For You.
Privilege closed with SupermartXé in a coup of zealous gusto. It was big, it was brash and it was bold.
WORDS | Aimee Lawrence PHOTOGRAPHY | Tilllate
