Beneath the streets of Nottingham lie many secrets. We have all heard of the labyrinthian networks of secret caves, places where our ancestors ate, worshipped and presumably also celebrated. It seems fitting therefore that the pilot event for brand new Techno party “MÜLLRAUM” would take place in a hallowed, subterranean space. A Nottingham tradition…
Having seen esoteric posters for this mysterious new event plastered around town for a while now, I decided that I would have to investigate it even though I’m not the most avid Techno fan. On arrival at the The Lord Roberts pub I was numb from the January wind and curious as to where the aptly named “Prohibition Bar” could possibly fit into this Hockley mainstay. The Lord Roberts is a wonderful, friendly venue with a welcoming and relaxing vibe. Looking around the clientele I began to realise I was definitely in the right place. Excited ravers with piercings, dark clothes, wild dystopian make-up and a lot of practical looking dance-ready footwear surrounded me. You could feel the anticipation building in the air, after all, Nottingham doesn’t really have a dedicated place for this bass-loving, hi-octane Techno tribe.
Around this point the floor of the Lord Roberts started to rumble, and it was clear that something powerful was stirring beneath us. People next to the door of the basement area shouted their approval as the DJs began sound-checking the PA system like a team of engineers systematically firing up a nuclear reactor. A tall guy with a very trendy looking mullet announces that the doors to the Müllraum are now open and half the people upstairs clamour for the queue. I descended the concrete stairs into the darkness and the rumbling turned into a chest-throbbing pulse, I’m absolutely blown away to see a fully equipped nightclub under The Lord Roberts. The three DJs already have a crowd of rabid Techno fans dancing in front of them in a smoke-filled room with only red lighting and strobes to illuminate the space.
The music is unlike anything I’ve heard locally, absolutely visceral and bombastic waves of rhythm ripple through the room, synchronising the heart rates of the crowd as they become lost in an incredible atmosphere. ‘Cherry Emoji’ and ‘DJ Luxxxury’ are opening proceedings together with deep and hypnotic Techno tracks, both have massive grins on their faces as they are clearly just as ecstatic as the crowd with how things are shaping up. Slowly shifting up the gears the music starts becoming gradually faster as each DJ passes the decks to the next, feeding off each others energy and upping the ante.
The room is really filling up now, and the numbness I’d felt earlier from the cold outside is a distant memory, down here the heat is on! As the night powers on I come up for a couple of quick breaks to get drinks, the pub upstairs makes for a great chill-out area to catch your breath. I get chatting to some of the revellers and it becomes clear that something exciting is happening here. People have come from Sheffield, Birmingham and one guy from Skegness for a piece of the action! How can a debut event have gained this much traction?
Towards the end of the evening the music turns into a blunt-force instrument. DJ Luxxxury (who is now cooling himself, his laptop and the front row of dancers with a huge hand-fan) seamlessly blends Hard Techno into remixes of floor-filling sassy pop songs like My Humps by the Black Eyed Peas. A bold and risky move, but the crowd are clearly loving it! DJ Boz’s approach however appears to be to go to the jugular, dropping a breakneck kickdrum-heavy assault of hyperdrive Techno that has people throughout the room shouting with pure joy. Cherry has the difficult task of closing what has clearly been an absolutely incredible first night for team Müllraum and their new family of guests, but she does so without breaking a sweat.
Deep, warehouse-style kick drums shake the crowd’s bones in a powerful display of gorgeous, dark music that at this point feels like a true catharsis. The crowd have truly left it all on the dancefloor this evening. As I surface from Müllraum the concrete walls of the staircase are now heavy with condensation, and the ceiling downstairs is now dripping. It feels as though something truly important and primal happened down there, a full cleansing of all emotions and a much needed reset for myself (and I suspect others). DJ Luxxxury (actual name Loz Stone, who along with DJ Boz makes up the yin-yang team behind Müllraum) is individually thanking the guests as they leave. He tells me with a big smile that this is just the beginning and he can’t wait to show us what the future holds for the event, and I can’t wait to see.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
