MACEO PLEX @ DISTRICT 8 DUBLIN

Last Friday District 8 (one of the pillars of the electronic music scene in Dublin town) together with @Sense (Dublin based Agency) hosted Texas-born Barcelona based Eric Estornel, known as Maceo Plex, MAETRIK

With a friend over from Amsterdam for the weekend I had the pleasure to show her how we do things around here – enjoying the night and listening one of the DJs / producers who feed on all kinds of techno, house, funk, dark and electro sounds that he combines in his different productions creating totally unique atmospheres and environments that only he knows how to create.

We arrived just before midnight when Architectural was about end his performance (pity I missed him). We had a few minutes to grab a beer and find a good spot. The Dance floor, of course, was overcrowded and looked a bit scary.

A Mix of hipster music geeks, lads wearing sunglasses with t-shirts in hands, their female matches in miniskirts and high heels, were warming up. Welcome to Ireland I said to my friend whose face was a bit shocked, looking around. I was a little overwhelmed myself by the enthusiasm displayed by the crowd on the dance floor, but shortly found out why.

It took me a while to find the right spot where I could have 30 centimeters of personal space and not be poked by slightly overdosed kids walking around and not being aware of “what the hell is going on?”

The lights in the venue were going from warm purple and reds to cool blue and green, truly setting the room for a musical experience for all senses but especially for the soul.

Then he appeared, and from the minute he jumped behind the decks, he did not beat around the bush! He lighted up the dance floor with his funky and emotion – rooted music in minutes.

After their busy summer with Mosaic in Ibiza and festivals around the globe, they this incredible energy to a cold and wet Ireland sharing and spreading it amongst all the raving dancers. Constantly building and rebuilding tracks, Maceo Plex manipulated the crowd getting them to move in every way he desired.

His music flowed harmoniously and the energy ramped up higher and higher, from moment to moment. I heard Cuts Laces with such colossal bass and soulful undertones, emotions, and euphoria mixed, it blew my mind!

40 minutes and 3 beers later, I didn’t really care about anything anymore, not my wet shoes, nor the friends I left behind! I couldn’t resist and had to escape into the middle of the dance floor, from where an unusual tension and energy was calling me. I had to be part of it!

Playing some old tracks Iron Curtain – The Condos • (Maceo Plex Remix), or anthemic masterpieces like ‘Solitary Daze’ while teasing up with some unrealised ones. It was so hypnotic, the atmosphere was electric, all hands up, I was gone, the crowd was gone and Maceo was gone.

Two pure hours of energy euphoric techno cuts! Building moments of tension proved once again why he is at the top of his game. I was thinking, not many DJs can successfully maintain the crowd’s focus but then, not every DJ is Maceo Plex.

To keep it short, another fantastic experience with electronic music, another time left with a huge smile on my face. The only thing that I can complain about was he didn’t play long enough. I left thinking how “poor” we are having parties only until 3 am. There was only one solution, quickly move to an after party to listen more Maceo!