I attended the initial Night Mode dance party at the Summit last December, and was elated at how packed it was, and the fact they were playing obscure music and people were still having a blast. The actual visual presentation from outsiders perspective might have looked uber-hipster. The last Night Mode on March 9th had retro palm trees and video screens playing lo-fi video collages. The guest deejay was Sofia Stone from Ultramajic Records. Everyone was stylishly dressed and basically looked really cool. But the feeling was super warm, inviting and off the cuff. It looked good but I felt no pretense. This is because the people who put on the quarterly event--DJ’s Noelsferatu, Ethan Eschelon, Dustin Knell, Conner Campassi , and Curator/Think Tank Shirtless Midnight aka Gilberto Covrraubias are really great dudes. There is another Night Mode, May 16th, at the Summit so I met up with the boys to find out why I enjoyed myself so much and why the room was stacked. Noel explained why the party had such a good feel to it, “It’s extremely organic. I think that’s a really important thing. All the stuff we do while mixing is organic. Nothing is forced.” Gil who drove down from Cleveland for the interview added, “I think the whole feel is the underground side of dance music. We have this DIY ethic. It’s about bringing people together... There is more of a philosophical underpinning. When you met me, I hung out with punk rock and hardcore kids. Just using those ethics. Bringing them into something I am into now.” Night Mode along with Silky Blouse, and Skylab are on a similar vibe akin to what Scott Niemet really developed in this city with his Sweatin' Presents events before he moved. Dustin used to deejay Sweatin’ as a part of Adulture and also solo. Gil was a regular at Sweatin.’ Noel has worked with Milk Bar’s Kareem Jacks on events. Ethan cut his teeth on his own show called Late Night Frequency which aired on Denver/Oberlin online radio station Rwd.FM. All the Night Mode guys come from an complementary subterranean place. The deejays bounce off each other back-to-back style playing what fits the mood. Dustin Knell said Night Mode caters to the continuous flow of the moment, “The idea was not for anyone to have their hour slot or their time to shine. The idea was to just go in all night. So no one is playing their ender song before someone else is coming on with their set.” I honestly only recognized maybe an Aaliyah song and a Burial song. This is Columbus. If you can keep people dancing without playing hits then you are doing something right. Noel said he just keeps his eyes peeled for new music online made in people’s bedrooms, “Stuff that you can get on soundcloud for free. Kind of underground stuff that is getting a lot of attention but really not so much on a label. Just getting attention from people on the internet, A lot of my library is based on stuff I could download for free. I go through my sound cloud and just scroll until I see that little arrow with a line. I think that is how a lot of people are discovering things.” Gil described the music as, “Future bass.Jersey Club. Forward Thinking bass music. Traxxx. Underground club music. Hip hop and R+B.” The Night Mode crew is heavy on the total experience from decor to flyers to the music. “Because we are crafting the experience in a way that you aren’t going to just walk in and pay attention to the speakers and that's it. You are kinda interacting with the whole situation.” said Ethan. What should one expect from the May 16th installment? Well, they were hesitant to give it away but I was able the get these words out of them, “Snakes and nice rims. Hotlanta. Sweaty.” Noel said in summation about the next Night Mode and all upcoming Night Modes, “Don’t be intimidated. We want everyone there.” NIght Mode will take place May 16th at the Summit located at 2210 Summit Street. Admission is Free. https://www.facebook.com/events/1462696703967104/