Dance Yourself Clean

If you love to dance, then this weekend should wear you out. Two of Hawaii’s biggest fixtures in dance music are celebrating important milestones – with Soulgasm Hawaii turning eight and Asylum Afterhours turning seven.

These crews are two of my absolute favorites for bringing underground dance music to Honolulu nightlife, and were actually a big reason for me to feel comfortable moving back from the East Coast without feeling like I was giving up too much culture. The first all-night dance party that I stayed at until the end was during my time living in New York City. Although, that was mainly because my roommate lost his keys in the club, so I was waiting for the lights to come up so we could try to find them. It was pretty rough and weird to stay awake for that long, but afterward, I kind of got hooked on the feeling – it was like the music didn’t need to end. I couldn’t imagine life in Hawaii without the opportunity to dance until the sun comes up.

Asylum is the island’s safest refuge away from the commercial playlists that plague most clubs. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind getting down to whatever, but I like to go somewhere and hear not only tracks that I’ve never heard before, but also new music that’s on the cutting-edge of electronic production. Going to Asylum, I expect to hear some dark, trippy music that makes me feel like I’m warped into a whole different universe. Plus, their sound system is top-notch; you can feel the music pulse through you with maximum clarity. Well, sound quality is something that you possibly cannot compromise on right? Someone who is in the music industry can surely relate to it. However, if you are someone who is planning to have a studio set up for yourself or to casually experiment with music, you may want to have a look at Music Lowdown and other such websites that can provide you with the correct knowledge and advice on the audio gear that you may plan on buying.

Coming back to Asylum, three years into their endeavor, the owners built out a killer music studio, and two years ago, they started their own record label that has been making waves on the international dance scene.

Saturday night (Nov. 21), they’re bringing out DJ J.Phlip from Dirtybird Records to celebrate with some rugged, bouncy beats. I’m so proud of the guys at Asylum and what they bring to the music scene in Hawaii. Be on the lookout for a big release from them next month!

Soulgasm is Hawaii’s longest-running house music party. The type of dance music they play is very different from what you would hear at an EDM festival or rave. The music is much more rooted in soul, disco and R&B, with much of it featuring drum breaks, basslines and samples – versus the big synth electronic-driven sound of contemporary raves. This is the kind of music that really gets you grooving, shaking and moving – versus swinging around glow sticks or sucking on a pacifier, dressing up like you got electrocuted at a neon circus. To understand how this music makes you feel along with all the nitty-gritty of the tempo and the bass, you could read up a guide to house music that you can easily find online.

Coming back, to celebrate their anniversary, they’re bringing out DJ Brian “The Wizard” Coxx from NYC to bless the decks on Friday (Nov. 20) at Bar 35. They’re also throwing a special afterhours set at Asylum after their main event, so the party will keep going through the early-morning hours.

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