Club Review: Defected in the House @ Ministry of Sound

Image: Ryan Dinham

Defected in the House rocked up on Saturday 9th August to the Ministry of Sound for their bi monthly residency, the superclub nestled in the depths of Elephant & Castle in South London, and it’s safe to say we were pretty damn excited.

Having heard countless rave reviews about both the much-loved house party and the world-famous dance venue, hopes were high for a night of pure hedonistic revelry and classic house grooves, as we looked forward to experiencing both for the first time.

And as we approached the club, it appeared that we weren’t the only ones high on anticipation; it was an absolute roadblock, the queue snaking down the venue

With a stellar line-up including a Masters at Work take over alongside the likes of Defected's head honcho Simon Dunmore, house queen Sam Divine and resident DJ Andy Daniell, the influx of huge crowd of fans came as no surprise at all.

As we entered the club, we were soon surrounded by a mass of sweaty, heaving ravers; the party was definitely in full swing and the club was jam-packed, with Divine having already hit the decks.

Weekends Matter August 2014 - Guest Mix Sam Divine by Skiddle on Mixcloud

We bopped around with the swarms of fans as she impressed with her fervent floor-filling tunes, charging the 103 room with an enthusiastic set of deep and vocal house, much similar to the style she showcased on the mix she delivered for us in our August podcast above.

Peering round at all the heavily intoxicated faces in the crowd, we felt rather sober in comparison so decided to head up to the Loft to grab a drink or two where the room was also teeming, yet there was plenty of room to queue for the bar and even some areas to dance in.

There we enjoyed a more relaxed set from Greg Sawyer before heading back down to check out The Box room, where house duo MAW had already started their lengthy epic set.

We ended up spending a large chunk of the night dancing away to a set boasting remixed definitive hits such as ‘Do you want me baby?’ by Cloud 9 and Mousse T’s ultimate classic ‘I’m horny’, sending the crowd into an animated frenzy as huge cannons blasted cool air onto the dance floor, creating a truly euphoric atmosphere – a real highlight of the night.

A quick stop off back to 103 led us to catch part of Australian house star Sonny Fodera’s set, where he spun a varied selection of tracks, including an awesome remix of r’n’b sensation Tamia’s 1998 hit ‘So into you’ where the crowd slowed in time to the rhythmic beat.

 With just less than an hour left and time ticking on, we decided to head back to our favourite room, The box, where Kenny Dope, one of half of MAW had hit the decks independently. Here he was elevating the crowd in the early hours of the morning with anthemic funk and disco tunes such as the famed ‘Hot stuff’ by 70s siren Donna Summer (above).

Satisfied with the last set, we eventually sloped off home, entirely exhausted yet extremely thrilled with how amazingly epic the night had been, agreeing that a night at Defected would definitely be on the cards once again.