Beatrice Bowers
A common precursor to sleep – the striking of midnight lost all its banality on Halloween, for that’s when the ‘freaks’ came out to party. Along the dimly lit roads of Mediapolis, the clock hit 12:00 and groups of costumed people trudged through an arc blazoned with the sign, “Freqshow”.
This writer, while dressed nondescriptly, walked into the venue in mock embarrassment with some basic pleasure models à la Blade Runner, and a grim reaper.
“Why so serious?” rasped a Joker. Pulling a grimace he bided gently, “Welcome to the Freqshow.”
Or to be more specific, Freq’ender, the latest Halloween party debut in Singapore joining the likes of Sentosa Spooktacular, Universal Studios’ Halloween Horrors and *SCAPE’s Museum of Horrors.
Get Your Freq On
A collaborative effort between lifestyle entertainment powerhouses, Limited Edition Concepts (SG) and MAMA & Company (UK), Freq’ender is an indoor audio-visual electronic dance music (EDM) fest. As the first and only “music festival freak show” around the world, Freq’ender promised to do justice to the spookiest holiday of the year with a riotous celebration.
“What we are doing here is to create a weekend show on the much-celebrated Halloween calendar that has never been seen before,” explained Godwin Pereira, director of organising company, Limited Edition Concepts.
Infinite Studios, a 18,000 sq ft. soundstage, was taken over by local partygoers and 18 esteemed international DJs. Spanning 9 hours, revellers partied through the night – if they ever made it out safe.
Headlining the show was Belgian electronica duo, 2manydjs, taking the turntable alongside UK’s Grammy-nominated band Hot Chip and tech house maestro Doorly.
Supporting acts included regional and local club resident DJs like New Zealand’s Lady Flic, as well as our very own Zig Zach and Oliver Osborne, who deserved a special mention for getting his groove on while clad in a little black dress.
Pity that their sets were allotted at the earlier hours, where the expansive dance floor was mostly empty, save for an appreciative B-boy.
Not Your Typical Clubbing Night
The music at Freq’ender was inclined towards a more mature spectrum of electronic dance music – rife with deep, sultry baselines and a kaleidoscope of soundscapes. Meshing a plethora of genres, the DJs spun gold that dazzled across the dance floor, and we’re pretty certain that the sequined costumes had little to do with our starry-eyes.
There weren’t any kitschy animal onesies or spiritless skull make-up spotted among the costumes that night. The Freqs (so affectionately termed by the organizers) were dressed to the tens. It was an exercise in futility to spot who had the best costume when you’re constantly distracted by the next best thing. This writer rubbed shoulders with Naruto and Gohan from Dragon Ball Z, shook hands with the Devil and shied from the overwhelmingly cool Club Kids Troupe.
Freq’ender was a triumph of a circus act. What will we see rising from the crypt next Halloween?
Photographs courtesy of Colossal Photos