Back in the day, 3.a.m sharp meant lights on for all clubs in Singapore. With the implementation of the 24-hour entertainment license by the Singapore government, however, Centro has been given the right to party all day and night on special occasions, while normal weekend opening hours have been extended to 4a.m.. Perhaps that was the reason for the clubbers crowding the dance floor later than usual for DJ Josh's head-to-head with Australian DJ Simon Digby at Revolver that night.

Josh kicked off a tech house set, warming up the handful of clubbers (most of them corporate, 'there-to-be-seen' crowd) who are already on the dance floor. Despite the SMS that was being forwarded amongst cellphone-happy clubbers entitling them to a free entry before midnight, the crowd started spilling in only after 1a.m..

Nevertheless, all of them seemed to be right on time, for Simon Digby, who forms production team and music label Wetmusik with fellow Melbourne resident Will-E-Tell, took over the decks around 1am. Continuing with the tech house beats for another half an hour or so, and slowly progressing to his trademark tribal-infused techo beats thereafter. The hard percussion and rock-solid drums seemed to shock some members of the commercial crowd initially, but soon after everyone was enjoying themselves. Someone even commented jokingly 'Check out those wicked tracks! Let's go steal his records!'

On some occasions, hands were held aloft and bodies bounced when familiar tunes were dropped, while braver souls danced on the platforms flanking the DJ console. Throughout, Digby kept a watchful eye from his console, stealing occasional glances at the crowd.

The music eventually got harder at around 4a.m., but by then the club was only three-quarters full. Perhaps Singapore's clubbers have yet to unlearn behaviour ingrained over many years - supper at 3, anyone?

 

-Words: Marilyn Tong / Stock photo

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