Anything goes

THE Dublin dance scene in 1997 is moving so fast you'll need to drop that heavy handbag to keep up. Basically, it's anything goes, anywhere, anytime, any style, and the rule is there are no more rules.

The shift to a more eclectic club scene could be seen when top British DJs such as L.T.J. Bukem came to town and dropped so many different beats on the dancefloor that the unsure footed nearly tripped up on them. Bukem masterminded the Logica/ Progression CD compilation, which took a basic drum `n' bass blueprint, and splashed some bold colours and textures all over it. Suddenly, you could have it large, medium, small or absolutely mega, and you didn't need a pill to make you big and clever.

Clubbing in Dublin is finally starting to move away from mindless, E-addled, turbo techno and Macarena fuelled wally disco - it's starting to expand its horizons, reflecting a new club cognoscenti which likes to dance, likes to show good taste, and likes to have a few brain cells left over at the end of the night.

As they dance into 1997, Dublin clubbers will follow the lead of such forward thinking collectives as Influx and Stereophonic, both of which have shaken things up on the city's floors in the past few months. Influx is the posse behind clubland's coolest and most popular residency, Thursday nights in the Kitchen. Under the loose title of Whatever, Thursday night has continued to surprise and delight with DJs from Heavenly Social, Mo'Wax and Monkey Mafia; no two night are the same, so those looking for the cold comfort of a constant, repetitive beat can just rave off somewhere else.

Influx have also brought in a varied mix of personalities from Afrika Bambaataa to Josh Wink, and they've begun to hold prestigious one offs at the Mean Fiddler, Ormond Multimedia Centre and Temple Bar Music Centre. Stereophonic have teamed up with Influx for regular Saturday nights at Andrews Lane Theatre, and once again, variety ifs the watchword every week.

Clubland will further expand its tentacles into the World Wide Web in 1997, and digital dancing will become the norm as clubs make full use of the internet's wide ranging possibilities. It could be commonplace in 1997 to go to a scene in Dublin, and be simultaneously linked up with clubbers in Copenhagen, Chicago and Katmandu, all dancing together happily in cyberspace.

Club clothes will move into a more individualistic phase, the outfits reflecting the wearer's personal taste and not the uniformity of the herd. The boring, grungy slobs are being shoved off the floor by a sharper, more sophisticated look, and cheap, shapeless mini skirts and T shirts are being replaced by slinky dresses and body sculpted tops. The look is sexy not slutty, and the aura is one of catwalk predator and not fashion victim.

Dublin has now become one of the most popular club cities in Europe, and it's visited regularly by MTV, Ministry Of Sound and Mixmag.