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A Magazine for Sheffield
Live / stage review

Sybil & Proteus, 11 Jan

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If it wasn't for the music, it'd be like a church in there. At a secret location, with a DJ's pulpit and ethereal lights, Control have assembled a lineup of selectors headlined by Sybil and Proteus that preach a gospel of the future. The initiation ceremony is just as loud as it is intimate.

I spend the warm-up with my body humming almost motionless, my back jolting under the weight of the bass. I am on a sofa by the wall, a sacrificial altar, where the music finds me in waves and reaches my altered consciousness through the nerve endings in my back. Every sneaky bass drop is a silent explosion pinning me in place, but the space between them is pure weightlessness. When I return from the astral spheres for the main attraction, I have already been christened by the sound.

I enjoy the rest of the night with the rapture of the initiated and by the time it has ended I am convinced that I have experienced something different, something great. This is not due to my blood-alcohol levels, nor to my recent conversion. I have been absolutely loving it.

Control have put themselves on the Sheffield techno scene with a supremely solid event that balanced a deep, sweeping scope of quality music with a small and understated setup. This has an impact that a traditional nightclub could not.

It's an impressive start for an impressive bunch who curate artists seeking something more nuanced than your usual Friday night lineup. Now it will be interesting to see where the prophets, and us apostles, take it in the future. I for one am in all the way. Amen.

Máté Mohos

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