Does it Matter? Yes.

Matter has just turned one. Yep, the east end club monster has been with us for just over a year. Granted, I haven’t been to it as often as I’d like to, thats mainly due to the fact that heading north to home from that far out east is a nightmare at 6am. That doesn’t mean I haven’t seen what matter is, or indeed,  what it can do.

The last time I was there I was lucky enough to sample the delights of Justice. I know, how can you go wrong? Believe me, they  they didn’t. My mate and I (his name is Ed… in case you cared) stood in absolute amazement at the talent with which they switched the knobs and dials to complete a sound that was jaw dropping…. but try getting into the pit…

The pit at matter is immense, it’s huge and in many ways it try’s very hard to encapsulate everything that is huge scale festival…into a building. It kind of works. Standing there, leaning over the balcony, looking down at the mountain of bodies moving as one to the music I was reminded of a rather joyous moment, standing on the crest of the hill at Exit Festival in Serbia, looking down into the dance pit  filled with some tens of thoasands of ravers. It’s pretty much the same… okay, maybe a little smaller, but you know what I’m getting at. It looks pretty awesome.

I found the whole single staircase up and down a little hard to manage in the heat of the moment. When 100 people want to come up, and 50 want to go down, it’s a mess….otherwise, the whole thing is pretty damn cool. If you dont fancy losing yourself in the depth of the pit to whover is playing…and believe me, if you don’t lose yourself, you’ll atleast find yourself hunting for someone who has,  you’ve got other things to do. There are a couple of bars and rooms set out to entertain those after a more personal experience.  Good music still a guarantee.  If anything, to just get yourself a drink and admire the skill of the bands or dj’s from afar. Sometimes, that’s actually really nice.

The guys who have been responsible for some of your favorite nghts at the well renowned london club Fabric, are behind this 2,600 capacity monster. Boasting a whopping 32,737 sq ft, its big, and you can thank Keith Reilly and Cameron Leslie for their efforts, both for bringing this to life, and getting the whole thing moving over the last year. Nice one guys.

This club has become an important part of clubbing culture in London, and while it is a trek to get all the way out east, it does provide a substitute for some of my old time fave’s, like ‘The End’, or ‘The Cross’ which have unfortunately seen their demise. I could bore you with the specs of the sound system setup at matter, but you’ve probably heard already. It’s immense. I suggest you get along to a night soon to hear it. You’ll find a gig you want to see.

I myself am hoping to get along to Fwd+Rinse to see if Skream and Benga can break a speaker or two. I doubt it, even they would struggle with these.

Matter is housed within the The O2 (Millenium Dome) in Greenwich. Event listings can be found at their website.

Thanks to Charles Turner Photography for this pic. Happy clubbing!