he virtues of Lotus Sound Lounge are considerable. The most immediately obvious is its overload devotion to electronica and house music. The creation of an underground dance club carved into the Vancouver's Gastown district is impressive enough, but it’s the clever use of the dark space that’s truly entrancing.

The trip through the space is truly dark, but eye-catching, lf, with its random dance areas, ghostly chill spaces and a raised preacher-like DJ booth all rendered with ingenuity and good humour. A fine space, and when the night goes sailing off into Sunday morning - the room filling and energy intensifying - the sight is a wild one.

So too is the sound, not just in terms of the acoustics but the choice of sound system as well. Superior acoustic abilities and mammoth space were the most important criteria for owners when planning out Lotus. In combining these demands they took the bold move of outfitting the club with a high end sound system that many regard as the highest standard in professional club sound reinforcement.

Keep in mind, a quality sound system is hardly enough to make for a good time, and this dance club comes out a winner primarily because, unlike crudely liberal ‘after hours clubs’, it’s surprisingly faithful to its progressive tribal house roots. A lineup of well-picked DJs is a plus, too, all too eager to throw down their own selections of Drum and bass to Progressive, Tech-house to Breaks. - R.B.