In June, the Tivoli superclub closed after just over a year of business. In that time Irish clubbers were treated to the steadiest flow of big name DJs the capital has seen. The next club to go was Switch, which had been a solid citizen of the Dublin techno scene for years.

But there was no time to mourn these losses, and the scene quickly reinvented itself. The new wave of Dublin club nights brought clubbing back to small venues like Metropolitan and Wax. Electric City emerged as the newest and hottest venture, showcasing Irish acts as well as attracting big name guests, while veteran party throwers like Bassbin and Bodytonic went from strength to strength throughout the year.
On the production front, Ireland continued to boom. Electro godfathers Decal became a one man operation and released their Brightest Star album to drooling critical acclaim. Their stalwart status on Andy Weatherall’s ultra-real Rotters Golf Club label remains a fine feat in itself. Phil Kieran continued his direct route to greatness, releasing single after single, and cementing himself into the upper echelons of the UK scene.
Fergie followed hard-house DJs the world over and began playing techno, with no negative effect on his popularity either here or in the UK. Johnny Moy followed DFA loving hipsters the world over and formed Headsync, who made their live debut at Witnness. The closure of Tivoli saw the increasingly popular Philth become increasingly popular elsewhere, including a live show at Bodkins in December. Breaks duo Splitloop primed themselves for a real go at the bigtime in 2004, with shows all over the country. Derek Carr continued to be bigged up by UK DJs and critics with his Detroit style techno.
The DEAF festival in October was the biggest yet, with clubbers from all over the world hitting Dublin for a week of dance music. The fact that Dublin has managed to twin itself with Detroit as a centre for electronic music remains an astonishingly proud achievement. This year DEAF welcomed the likes of Robert Hood and Technasia to the Guinness Storehouse, and D1 can be congratulated for its resounding success.
The reinvention of Irish clubbing is well underway and will no doubt continue in 2004. Small venues are being rocked to capacity by big name DJs who not so long ago would have played superclubs. Floating voters have left Irish clubs to the hardcore and now is as good a time as any to dive into any one of the great new nights before everything goes off all over again. 2003, the year when “the recession” hit Irish dance music, and yet THE BEAT GOES ON.