When you can’t imagine festival without a Pre-Party: night before Transmission 2017

While most of my friends were waiting for a premiere of new Transmission “The Spirit Of The Warrior”, I was waiting for the event which came before, and all thanks to my previous Transmission experience. It was my third time coming to Prague for this music event, and if I go back in time to 2015, it so was different than it was now, but every time it is something to remember.

At that time I was travelling alone, had no Trance Family friends and came just for a festival, but thanks to the Pre-Party I got to know that making new friends and talking to DJs is quite easy if you really want it. The intimacy of this club event was one of the main reasons why I kept returning to Prague after too, and even if things are changing a bit, it’s difficult for me to imagine Transmission without the night in Mecca club.

First thing you need to remember about the pre-party is that it will always be full and sold-out. Last year’s it was free event for Transmission ticket holders, but there was always a huge line already when doors were open, and as the club has limited capacity, you could stand in that line for two hours and then find out that due to being full you need to wait for someone to come out before you can get inside.

This atmosphere…

This year was the first time when you needed to buy tickets for it, and no wonder they were sold out very quickly. If you want to skip lines and have some more space, my advice would be to buy VIP tickets, but if you are a crazy raver who wants to be in front of the DJ all the time, then the regular ticket will be totally fine for you. And who knows – maybe there will be another location in the future, as Mecca is actually getting too small for pre-party, and the same goes for the O2 Arena hosting the Transmission festival.

Another advice from me – come at the beginning. Even if it’s just some growing DJ playing warm-up, it’s always a nice atmosphere, getting a first drink, watching the dance floor as it gets full, meeting friends who also came early and simply chilling, because soon it will get wild.

The night is ready to begin

Just done with sound check and ready to start!

Thanks to my friend playing the warm-up, I came to the club even before it was open, for the sound check. It was funny for me, because I met Andrey aka Dreamseekers exactly 2 years ago in the same club during that year’s pre-party, and that meeting made us become really good friends, because we all know – music unites. This year he was very excited to play, maybe even a bit scared, but I could understand – it was probably the highlight of his music career. Let’s hope that it’s still the beginning for him.

Soundcheck done, not even at its loudest, and shortly after 21:30 Andrey started to play. For a while people were not coming in because of some organisational delay and security, but that wasn’t for too long. The dance floor was getting fuller along with a progressive sound of music playing, not typical for Dreamseekers’ productions, but usual for warm-up sets.

During the second hour he turned to the Anjunabeats side of trance and progressive, which always sounds massive in the clubs… and even if there were no Anjuna artists in Prague, you could see that people still love it. “Only Good Mistake” by Alpha 9, “Mega” by Super8 & Tab, a remixed version of “Nana” by Orkidea, “Counting Down The Days” by Above & Beyond, the Kryder remix on “Saltwater” by Chicane and so on – so many different tracks mixed into one good  two-hour set, but it couldn’t last forever as the next DJ was taking his place by the decks.

What do you think – is Rodg enjoying the night?

For me, it was nice seeing Rodg… again. I couldn’t catch him before the set, but we talked later… Every time when some artists remember me, it makes me wonder, but well, it’s possible if you’ve met already more than three times in three different countries. After hearing him playing for the first time in Miami I fell in love with his progressive sound, and after release of his album “Togetherr” with Ruben de Ronde, I understood that this artist has a great future. Rodg is also known for mostly playing his own works during sets, and even if he plays something else, he gives it a touch of his sound. A good example is the mash-up of “Intergalactic” with “Sunny Days” by Armin van Buuren.

I’m not gonna describe all the tracks he played from the aforementioned album, but I can say one thing – I was surprised to hear “Northern Soul” by Above & Beyond and Richard Bedford – one of my favorite voices in Trance scene. Even if I was skeptical about it in the beginning, every time I hear it live, I fall in love with it more and more… that’s why I want to give thanks to Rodg for playing it during the pre-party and later Super8 & Tab during the festival.

After one and a half hours of progressive, the sound needed a change, to turn into something more classic and uplifting. It was a time for Ferry Corsten and his “Blueprint” set, mixed also with some of his Gouryella tracks, older versions and reworked (oh, that new and exclusive “Drum’s A Weapon”..). Of course you could hear “Anahera”, as well as “Venera (Vee’s Theme)” – a track which will probably land on the top of 2017, and as usually Ferry closed his set with “Eternity”, the final track of the album. As I’ve had heard “Blueprint” special set already in June, it wasn’t as good as that time, but I’m sure that the ones who heard it live for the first time – loved it! (But it’s still sad that he didn’t play “Another Sunrise” which is one of my favorites of this year).

Who looks the happiest?

Next was Driftmoon with an even more uplifting sound, but still with beautiful melodies as a part of it. This DJ is a usual guest at Transmission, now also part of the United Music team, but even without these facts I’m always happy to hear him playing, concentrating on the music and feeling it with every part of his body. Tracks like “Trust In The Wind” still are well supported by the crowd, but I was more intrigued about a new remixed version of “Tonight” by Cosmic Gate ft. Emma Hewitt, which will hopefully be announced soon, same as a bunch of ID tracks, probably taken from upcoming album, on which he has been working already since the beginning of the year. Anyway, it was another set to enjoy!

Who’s not sleeping at 5 AM? ME!

The last one to play was DIM3NSION, who became known enough for his releases not only on Flashover Recordings, but also on other labels. I’ve been following this name since his track “Origami” was released, but after “Dopamina” I understood that I’m curious to hear him playing, so finally I got this chance (and also heard this track). Must admit that putting him as a closing DJ was not the best option (at least in my opinion), because at this time you need some heavy beat and lots of energy, but tracks DIM3NSION played were more about melodies and feelings, but I’m glad that many people still stayed till the end, even if the DJ had to adjust by playing not just his own productions, but also some well-known tracks as “Saving Light” by Gareth Emery ft. HALIENE, “Exploration Of Space” by Cosmic Gate, “Adagio For Strings” etc.

Surprisingly he was also the first one to play the Transmission 2017 Theme – “The Spirit Of The Warrior” by Markus Schulz. Of course people were leaving during his set, not because the music was bad but because of getting ready for the big night. Shortly after 5 AM this event was over and people were heading back to their beds.

The real reason I love Transmission Pre-parties

A bit from backstage – Ferry Corsten and “How To DJ Properly” xD

It is simple: I have always an amazing time with my oldest TranceFamily friends and good connection with artists. In such a case, factors like price and a full club don’t really matter. Sometimes you want to dance like crazy in the front of the booth, sometimes you want to sit and chill somewhere with a drink, sometimes you want to talk to friends and random people, but all of it makes you happy, and that’s the most important part (only don’t forget to bring earplugs if you want to stay in the front a lot).

The venue itself is also beautiful, and the name “Mecca” already says that it is a place to come back. That’s why I say “Thank You” to United Music for not canceling this part of Transmission experience, but maybe it would be a good idea to look for a bigger place, not because I don’t like Mecca club, but simply because I would like more people to enjoy this event too.

P.S. I regret for not spending time at the 2nd stage with DJs like Proggyboy, Martin Michniak, Dusk, Kristy Jay and Luigi Di Mare. I hope that the ones who decided to listen to something else enjoyed it too, and if I know about the music some of these artists play, I’m sure that also the rest did their best to make listeners enjoy the night even if they wanted to hide from the big crowd.