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Once upon a time, long ago, there existed a club scene in the UK that was the envy of the world. At least a dozen venues from north to south attracted a roster of several world-class DJs, week in, week out, at prices that were reasonable and ensured a healthy crowd, week in, week out. But then the scene grew big, so did the DJ's fees, and slowly, one by one, the nights began to fade away. Before long, the weekly norm had become the monthly or bi-monthly luxury, the residents all had to go on the road to find their audiences, and the scene slipped steadily into stagnation. Nowadays the big promoters can put on one event every month or two, and the smaller nights never get any longevity because of the costs, and the crowds saving themselves for the bigger events. This is why Digital Society is so important when it comes to the clubbing scene in the UK today. Because finally, it looks as though the north of England might once again have a smaller night that is so good it can break the mould and make a difference! In short, it might just be what we've been waiting for for all this time.

I can remember a time in clubbing when most DJs used to have one gig a night at most, and as a result, their gig was actually just a part of their overall night out, rather than just one of several stops interspersed by long stretches of motorway. Whilst it may not be as beneficial for the DJ's wallet, I've always thought it beneficial to their overall performance on the night, because they've had a genuine sense of the club they're playing at and the crowd they're playing for.

When was the last time you went to a big club night and didn't hear the same tune twice all night? When was the last time you barely noticed the change in DJ because they all flowed on so well from each other, musically speaking? When was the last time you went to a club night and the promoters were out amongst the punters all night, taking suggestions, asking for requests for future line ups, or occasionally leaping around the dancefloor themselves? Most of all, when was the last time you went to a club night where the primary directive was to put on a great night, rather than to profit?

The guys behind Digital Society have put in a lot of work to make the night successful so far, least of all with their imaginative line-ups since their inaugural February event. Whereas many promoters have worked on the logic "Tech-Trance is the big thing right now, let's get four Tech-Trance DJ's in then" or even worse "Tech-Trance is big right now, let's get four Tech-Trance producers in and hope they can mix", the DS guys have been listening to what people have been saying on message boards for years - that variety and flow in a line up are everything. I've lost count of the number of times I've heard people complain that the DJ has come on and stopped the previous tune and slowed everything down or changed direction completely and broken the ambience of the whole evening. Hell, I've done the moaning myself a lot of the time!

So far, to date, Digital Society have brought us the likes of Alex MORPH, Matt Hardwick, Galen Behr, Robert Burns, John O'Callaghan, Thomas Bronzwaer and many more, but the line up for the September event promised to make it the best yet. Three headline guests in Robert Nickson, Greg Downey, and Sean Tyas, to compliment the vastly under-rated resident Will Holland, as well as Kane Nelson and Rav Takhar, two of the three brains behind the whole thing.

The venue, at MyHouse in Leeds, is a perfect choice - not too small and not too big, with the low ceilings to lend it an intimate and underground feel, but also with and upstairs for those of a funky persuasion, and best of all, a back courtyard area for smokers and anyone wanting to chat. I may have even seen hammocks back there! The main room has a raised dancefloor and DJ area which was full from the moment I walked in until the moment I left. Even the bar prices were reasonable - you could pick up a normal round of drinks for less than a tenner - and unlike many bigger club nights I could name, the beer wasn't too watered down either!

As I've said already, my favourite thing about DS has been the way the music has flowed perfectly, and when I arrived to the sounds of Kane Nelson's warm up giving way into Will Holland I could already tell the night was onto a winner. Clubbing seems to be so serious these days, but there was barely a frown in sight on the dancefloor.

Will Holland has been a revelation pretty much every set of his I've heard both live and on the radio, and his 11pm slot at DS suits his style perfectly. All three guests - Nickson, Downey, and Tyas - were all already present during his set, where he treated us to some wonderful laid-back floaty trance which filled the dancefloor and the bar area below. Summer is generally a quiet time for clubbing in the UK, what with Ibiza and everything, but there was an atmosphere that night that seemed to confirm the end of summer and the welcoming of autumn with open arms....all reaching for the lasers!

Taking over from Will at midnight was Robert Nickson, who although more famed for his awesome productions is still under-rated as a DJ (do check out his radio shows, the "Spiral Sessions"). He took us through a selection of Electro-tinged Trance before building up the pace gradually and exploding with his final tune - one of the finest that the 21st Century has had to offer so far - Robert Nickon "Spiral". Naturally this sent the crowd into raptures and the main room erupted!

This set the tone perfectly for the 90 minutes of Greg Downey. I'd been yet to hear him as a DJ before although I was well versed in his impressive production CV, and he took us from the pounding melody of "Spiral" into the pounding basslines he's made his own. The night took on a darker "Discover"-laden turn and picked up the pace a bit more, helped along by a selection of Downey's own work, including his remixes of Bedrock "Heaven Scent" and the fantastic Deems "Tears Of Hope". Still the dancefloor remained packed, the music relentless, and I don't recall seeing any of the punters not having the time of their lives.

The perfect follow on from Downey was the legend that is Sean Tyas. While he picked up a lot of (in my opinion, unfair) flak for the sheer quantity of his work last year in 2007, he's remained more focussed and under-stated, production-wise and as a result, he seems to be winning over some of his critics. However, there was no sign of any of his critics at DS, as he continued on from Downey's set perfectly by introducing us to the famed "Tyas bassline" which always sounds even better in a club on a decent system. Tyas's 90 minute set was a hard, heavy, yet melodic blast sitting nicely in that hinterland inbetween hard Trance, Tech-Trance, and melodic Trance, exactly what you need to keep going once it's approaching 4am. Tunes like "Drop" and his awesome remix of Vincent De Moor's "Fly Away" reverberated around the club and was reflected in the incredible joy showing on the faces of the punters, most of whom seemed like they couldn't believe the night had been as good as it was.

After Tyas came the closing set from 4am till 5am from another of the DS masterminds Rav Takhar, who treated us to a wonderful selection of hard yet uplifting and euphoric Trance, which ensured that most of the crowd stayed even after the headliners had finished. And bringing to a close probably the best and most well-thought out night I've had out this year.

The hard work that has gone into making DS a success is obvious. The branding of the night itself was clever yet subliminal but even now I can still see the logo in my sleep. The crowd were friendly (not to mention plentiful) and the courtyard solution to the smoking ban makes the choice of venue seem like genius. It was definitely the best line up for any of the DS's to date, and the fact the DJs themselves were all around for the whole night was what made the difference between this and an ordinary club night.

With 400 people through the door it gives Digital Society a platform to improve and go onto greater things and maybe, just maybe, making it possible to cross over from enthusiast's night to genuine clubbing phenomenon. But even if they did, so long as the primary directive remains the quality of the night itself rather than the profit from the night itself, they can only go from strength to strength. There's a definite sense of a Digital Society fan-base now (I'm already counting the days until the next one) and with a good fan base and dedicated promoters, who knows what may be possible?

The future's bright. The future's Digital.