8th May 2009 @ Hidden, Vauxhall

ALAN stands for Awareness, Love and All Nighters. It aims not only to entertain through music but also inform through bringing a host of NGOs to the table, which reminds me of the currently dormant Synergy Project/Luminopolis event. On paper at least, ALAN sounded very good, but would it stand up in real life? Words: Will Poole
Pics: Provided by the ALAN Crew



ALAN can be described in one word; mental. On entering the event at Hidden, in Vauxhall, it felt like you had walked into one of those crazy squat parties you never remember getting back from. Everything had been touched by mischievous hands. A large collective of friends runs the event and they had clearly pulled out all the stops to get everything in order. A lot of the décor felt a bit rough around the edges, but surprisingly gave the whole place a certain charm much like the Secret Garden Party, or a village fete. Everywhere you walked there were recycling bins for all manner of waste and there were even NGOs, as promised, sat with leaflets and posters in the chill room. Things certainly looked promising.

The party resided in only one half of Hidden, with the central corridor and main room off to the right, whilst another separate grimier event took place in the other half of venue. What became immediately apparent was how full ALAN was getting and how empty the other was, so much so the promoter next door couldn't even give free tickets away. So what was it that made ALAN so much better?

The music at ALAN took on a mix of flavours; there was drum n' bass, breaks, psybreaks, dubstep, jungle and - sad to say - my less favourite hardcore, breakcore and psycore. Yuk! But that's just me, and other people loved it. I did, however, like a lot of the music being blasted from the speakers, enough so I always had something to listen to in either room. There were no big acts this time, mostly a mix of mates and small time DJs but that didn't bother me, especially when much bigger acts are promised for the next one.

During the course of the night there were different acts scheduled and unscheduled, including short performances and dances. My favourite was a pair of breakdancers who just spontaneously broke out in dance in the middle of the floor. All of these paled in significance to the one thing ALAN really hit home on - the atmosphere. They managed to create an ambience other events take years to master. You could genuinely walk in there with a mate and walk out with a crew of new friends. One of my favourite things at parties, and the trademark of a good one, is when you can sit down next to anyone, start a conversation and enjoy it, and ALAN didn't come up short. They managed to achieve the same sort of relaxed feel you get at special places like Whirl-Y-Gig, so hats off to them.

Next event: ALAWeen 23rd October @ Hidden

More details: www.wearealan.comNot only was the event a success, pulling in a big crowd of about 500 and generally packing the place to the brim, but also they managed to live up to their name. So I'm pleased to say, if you're looking for a good night out, with a relaxed atmosphere and are prepared to ask a few questions along the way then I can't stress heading to ALAN more. With this being just their launch party, I can barely wait to see what their next one - scheduled for Halloween and titled 'Alaween' - has in store.