Audiation Magazine AM048 Digital | Page 42

Happiness is fragile. A moving statement from ‘Flashback’ by T8PES. The tuneful piano lulls you whilst his bubbly flow reminisces of the raving days. The obsession of music. The beat drops into a hazy good feeling with little glittery touches here and there. The gorgeous soulful female is an interesting contrast to the piece. A retro break drags us into euphoria.

Before selfies, checking in, emojis, online invites, crowdsourcing, instagram, downloading, uploading and pre-loading, there was a time when clubbing was king. A time when grime was the stuff underneath your nails that came from being at an after-after-club in a disused factory on a Sunday morning. When Sunday afternoon was as popular for raving as Friday night. A time when arranging to meet someone meant arranging to see them on the dancefloor.

A time when club bouncers wanted everyone to be high; the highs were most definitely illegal and the lows came midweek. A time when clubbers would roam the streets looking for somewhere else to go well after the sun had come up.

The Government passed laws to break up outdoor raves but the demand to be loved up meant pre-clubs, super-clubs, post clubs, club nights in social clubs, and pubs pretending to be clubs replaced them. And Birmingham had them all. A city big enough to have all types of clubs but small enough so everyone would know someone in each. Clubs like Tin Tins, The Q Club, The Steering Wheel, Nosey Parkers, Code, Bakers, Bonds, Snobs, The Dome, Liberties, Toots, The Institute, Pulse, and The Venue could all be full at the same time. And when ‘wide-eyed’ people wandered out of those, there was Dusk til Dawn, Hush, and The West End Bar to welcome them.

Inspiration…

The track was inspired by a love for 90's rave & garage culture: the music, the clubnights, the feeling of belonging. Flashback is a trip down that renowned lane of memories full of highs and lows, but mainly highs. The agony and ecstasy of misspent youth, tribal fever that came with 90's dance culture, the euphoric rush of togetherness that could only be found on the packed dancefloors of nightclubs and raves around the country. Everything comes with a label nowadays, ‘is it Garage, House, Dubstep?’ No mate, it's a nostalgic homage to a period of time that defined our lives. An era that is still well and truly alive in the hearts of many.

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