Richard Durand – a solid tech trancer with attitude and his own identity? Or just trance sensation Tiesto’s protege, living in his shadow and gaining on his success?

I left Fusion on Saturday thinking the latter.

OK, before I get into this one and am inevitably ridiculed for it, trance is a grey area for me.

I don’t know too much about it as a genre, nor do I really get what it takes to technically be a ‘good’ trance DJ.

But I do know when a DJ can mix or not, which Durand (pictured) could, and I also am very open to all styles of dance, especially if it gets me on the floor regardless of what style it is.

Durand did not get me on the floor and it seemed throughout the night he failed to pack it out with hot, sweaty bodies.

A stark contrast to what we had previously seen a few weeks back when Judge Jules came and smashed Fusion up.

According to various trance websites, the winning formula of Richard Durand’s ‘much in demand sound’ is ‘trance, techno and tough electro in a unique blend, always by the three Ds: dynamic, devastating and dancefloor proof’.

Saturday – dynamic? No.

Devastating it most certainly wasn’t and the dancefloor proof? Well the most I saw on there was around 30 or 40 people.

Maybe this was because Guernsey is not ready for the hard-hitting trance Durand initially started to spin, as the floor cleared. Which annoyed me: here comes a guy offering something a little hard-hitting, and the intoxicated crowd wants fluffy and cheese – typical – and I hate fluffy and cheese.

Or maybe it was because the highly energetic and adrenaline-filled set that supposedly display Durand’s distinctive sound and technical skills – something I was reading about and getting hyped up over on the net – seemed missing from the night.

Rhythms, basslines and synth-hooks were all in play, yet it sounded kind of disjointed, creating a sort of herky-jerky set, which sapped the energy out of my legs. But that’s what trance tends to do to me unless a set is versatile and grabs me.

Durand’s was full of trance and Ibiza cliches, the sort of trance that I want to turn off. I couldn’t dance to it, dancing requires rhythmic motion, and the set didn’t have that for me when I tried to move to it.

Then again, most trance lovers and the punters on Saturday are the types who consider dancing jumping in one spot with a fist in the air.

Whatever floats your boat, I suppose.

In his defence, Durand has probably played some killer sets in his career so far; he was no doubt over-ruled by the audience on Saturday to play some pretty-dire trance tunes.

What was good about the night?

Adam and Neil’s hospitality and their enthusiasm for the scene. Unfortunately you cannot control what a DJ decides to play on the night. I am sure there were a good couple of hundred people enjoying what he played, though. However, it just wasn’t my thing. Rhythm is a chancer