Invisible Wind Factory

“I’m not the smoothest motherfucker.”

Moodymann says, leaning over the turntables with the ends of his bandana hanging across his face, “But we gon’ have a good time Liverpool”. His humblebrag falls on deaf ears. His mixing and sequencing is characteristically nonchalant but his all-round ‘smoothness’ isn’t up for debate. He was the perfect headliner for Red Bull Music Academy’s Club Cosmos – a bespoke clubbing experience billed as “stargazing for the post disco generation”. Using ariel instillations and an impressive, carefully positioned laser-light show – there was a mood of mysterious, extraterrestrial partying in the air.

It was a tone that Kenny Dixon Jr. has always captured innately. In preparation for his set, we were expertly warmed up by local favourite OR:LA and Swiss DJ and designer Sassy J. Both of whom captured the spectrum of the cosmos brilliantly – flitting between starry-eyed disco and dreamy house.

The tone was set just right so on walks Moodymann. After playing a cut from Prince early on, an airing of D’Angelo and the Vanguard’s Betray My Heart eased us into the small hours. His set stayed on point besides a couple of misfires (Moderat’s Bad Kingdom doesn’t sound quite as fresh as it once did) but he mixed in some of his go-to choices like Fred Wesley’s House Party and The Doobie Brothers’s Long Train Running for huge singalong moments which made the unique surroundings feel even more special. The track-list was also the perfect soundtrack for falling in love with Liverpool and it’s people – the crowd were upbeat and celebratory throughout, providing an exemplary case study for the argument that sanctuaries can be found outside of the capital.

Hunee and Young Marco stepped up for the final two hours and transitioned effortlessly from Moodymann’s freeform mood-setting into a more directed, tougher selection which ran right through to doors. When Ben UFO recently shared a short statement about the joys of B2B DJing, he capped the comment off by looking forward to an upcoming set with Hunee at ADE. The kind of dynamism he was talking about was definitely brought to RBMA’s pop-up cosmos.

While the night wasn’t quite the history lesson a “post disco generation” writer like myself might have hoped for, the one-off instillations and the smartly curated lineup made for a clubbing experience which sat apart from my standard, earthly adventures.