Lost in White Chapel, wandering down the street in the freezing cold wearing my mate’s checked red and green forester’s jacket (which I have now stolen because it’s awesome). This same mate was playing that night and had no clue where he was going. I thought to myself, yep, this is pretty much the typical way we start out the night when hanging out with majority boys and people from Wales but I still knew it was guarantee to be great in London Town.

The night was “Infected” at the Rhythm Factory, it was organised by Acidic Records through the Virus Project. The Virus Project is a Non-Profit Organisation; its aim is to become a part of a large creative community set on creating the best in alternative media, art, music and events. Acidic Records is an extension of this organisation; that focuses on alternative electronic music, i.e. anything experimental that doesn't fit with any other main stream genre. This was definitely the vibe of “Infected” on Friday Night, which was somewhat dampen by the hour wait outside in the queue due to extensive security checks. When we did finally get in, the party really started, after my drink of choice cider and a shot. We made our way to the dance floor; there were two rooms, the Chill out room and the Main room or the Virus Room as it was known.

There was a collectic mix of Psybreaks, Drum and Bass, Breaks, Psytrance, Dubstep, Triphop, Chill, Jungle, Glitchstep and much much more. Now I could tell you that I was in a completely sober state of mind but that would a lie. To be honest, I love this kind of music (when I say this kind of music I mean more electro, DnB, dubstep to an extent) but honestly sometimes they seem to make up the most pretentious name for a ‘new’ brand of music just to seem fashionable, judgemental I know. This being said, there was some really good tunes, my favourites artists were “Cellardore”, “Equalizers”, “Far Too Loud” and “Vaetxh”.

“Cellardore” aka Joe Sheldrick has a real club vibe with a mixture of Drum and Bass and breaks, and some classical instrumental influences from time to time. Joe Sheldrick knows how to get a rave going; his music was epically euphoric. The dance floor was vibrating and pulsating with his electric beats, imagine green, blue, red lasers and strobe lighting, a sea of arms in the air and the dance floor engulfed by the beat, or in this case, many beats.  It also really fitted the vibe of the main room. “Tubular Bass” by far is his best track, check it out on his MySpace and wait for the drop.

 “Equalizers” and “Far Too Loud” are more electro breakbeat but this is definitely what I love. Equalizers have a more club vibe, with their euphoric catchy beats. Most probably easier to move to than “Far Too Loud” but the latter was still my stand out favourite. “Far Too Loud” aka Oli Cash was definitely the act of the night for me. I enjoyed his psychedelic electro breaks partnered with Oli Cash’s cheeky style. Check the Lilly Allen remix on his MySpace, it is pure genius, and so much better than the original. “Bass Association” and “DanceFloor Destroyer” are also two fantastic tracks.

“Vaetxh” was without doubt the most interesting artist of the night. He played in the Chill out room as his music is less of a club/dance vibe and more experimental electronica and Glitchstep. He made his music more accessible than what is on his MySpace page, simplifying it for a live environment, which seemed a sensible choice. He is most certainly one to watch, with his dark psychedelic beats; his energy and charisma really tapped into the mood of the crowd in the Chill out room. Check out his track “The Dust Mote to Mars”.

If this sounds like your scene, watch out for Acidic Records as they will be organising more events all over London and it’s definitely worth a gander, some might say their nights are infectious (bad pun, I know!). 

Bethan Haycock

Member of the music team @ Pulse