On Saturday evening, I had the privilege of heading back to my old stomping ground as Darklands (York’s premier goth night) re-launched at Stereo (formerly Speakeasy and Certificate 18).
It was a great occasion and I thoroughly enjoyed dancing the night away with some of SPHERE’s lovely readers and also many of the most prolific acts on the current northern alternative and dark music scene in the UK. Indeed, it was great to see members of GLASS, Uninvited Guest, Alice Moving Under Skies, The Screaming Banshee Aircrew and A-FX enjoying themselves alongside nationally acclaimed DJ Natasha Scharf, DV8Fest organiser Christopher Sherrington and Norwich-based model and SPHERE scribe Lenore.
Of course the positive reaction to this re-launch is testament to the work put in by Stereo’s new management and the night’s masterminds Jared Hardwick (DJ Batastrophe) and Anna Plews (Black Widow) who collectively grabbed some fantastic talent to “spin” during the event. Alongside Batastrophe, Natasha (Inferno – London), DJs De’Ath (Black Veil – Leeds) and D-Ject (Bunker 13 – Whitby) were on hand with some serious dancefloor stompers to appease every facet of the dark alternative community – we had everything from Mindless Self Indulgence to She Wants Revenge via VNV Nation to keep us moving and these sounds, alongside the ever-friendly atmosphere was enough to ensure that the whole event was a success and I was glad to be in attendance on behalf of this publication.
Here’s hoping that Darklands receives a similar reaction for the next event. Wherever you are based, if you are into EBM, industrial, deathrock or goth music then you really have to give this night a try.
For more information visit the official MySpace.
