Martin Hewitt takes an interesting look at the frivolous state of today's global clubbing scene. In a time where people clamber for that all important new sound, has this caused a vacillating effect on the 'club'? Is the club dead or alive?

Something changed. It’s hard to pin-point when, how, or why.

Gone are the Superclubs, and banal compilation series’ grow fewer by the year. Small nights are back, in a big way, and the old school capitals of the UK scene- London, Bristol, Manchester and Glasgow- are still exciting places for nocturnal activities.

So despite what some say examples of great nights are bountiful. You just need to take the sunglasses off and adjust your vision to the yellow glow of the street lights in order to ensure you’re not blinded by choice (and disappointed by most). Trust us, we’ve managed to make it to more than a few of late.

An excited punter described “one of the best power sets I’ve ever seen” during a recent John Digweed session at Sankeys. Meanwhile, in Sheffield a remarkably spacious dancefloor was treated to a return to driving form from Sasha, while Swayzak entertained upstairs. Who said prog was finished?

Elsewhere, we’ve been compelled to stay past 8am at an average (not to mention wallet-busting) Fabric ho-down due to the ever-addictive Craig Richards and his compelling blend of beats, breaks and bounce. The club might be in trouble, but it’s soundtrack still stands strong.

We’ve partied through Manchester’s canals on a barge captained by Mum & Dad’s Music, an event so deliciously decadent and intimate it’s any wonder we managed to bag a space on the vessel. Soon after we stepped onto the pavement for the city’s annual Eurocultured, where the likes of Falty DL kept our heads ringing past 3am.

Each event represented something very special indeed. The implication being that it’s not all lost, corrupt or bankrupt.

Robert Hood releases seemingly off the cuff, forever planned and perfectly executed techno dedicated to The Omega Man. Curious Italian electro duo We Love make beautifully dark and breathtakingly original beats that seem to nod towards Bjork and Massive Attack while sounding like neither.

Dance music comes in peaks and troughs- from 2-step in 2002 to Funky seven years later. That’s what keeps it vital.

So two decades after the first test pressings rolled off the boat from America and the Balearics you can still put on an album like Kohib’s stunning debut, ‘Make Fire’, and feel like you’re listening to something wholly new. But the DFA-does-disco tracks, the twinkling space-age dubstep and the dark, powerful techno on said long-player are all just examples of dance music.

As ever it comes with a new approach, and a fresh interpretation. Repetitive difference is a difficult concept to grasp, and it’s exactly why electronic music is like nothing else.

But if one thing is wrong it’s people’s constant desire for what’s now. Staying fresh is fine, but as many a DJ will tell you, it’s not simply about having the latest tracks, it’s having the greatest tunes that makes a jock stand out.

So keep up with the times, make sure you know your XXXY from your 2562. But then understand where they came from, who built the foundations for that sound and why we’ve reached this point in musical history.

As Simon Raine is quoted as saying in the sleeve notes to Gatecrasher’s 1999 double CD, ‘Wet’, to know where you’re going you have to know where you’ve been. It’s a cliché, but it’s also a well-made point. We've come a long way already, but the road stretches beyond the horizon into the distance. So from d’n’b to dubstep, electro, breaks and house this thing of ours is special, and by traversing its path together we’re guaranteed to keep it alive.

Words: Martin Hewitt