Midnight. The race tracks still floodlit have fallen relatively silent. Walking along the barricaded streets, echoes of the grand prix still ring in the ears. The adrenaline levels in the bloodstream still surges, yearning for stimulation, greedy to ride a wave of dopamine. From the roaring pulse of race engines to the rhythmic beats and transonic sibilance of the DJ’s turntable, the three-day Formula One (F1) weekend didn’t let up on the trip. Chase it, ride it till the hazy, purple climax.
The Podium Lounge is one of the original after-parties during the Singapore Grand Prix and this year, it had its largest line-up of deejays. The organisers have been throwing incredible parties during the F1 weekend for the past seven years at the glitzy Ritz-Carlton, Millennia Singapore.
Runway Aphrodites, race car Gods, dwarves in coat tails, dangling gymnasts and dirty dancers commingle with cold-faced commoners in a masquerade where the real masks came off and the crazy party animals emerged to romp. The podium lounge was Nero’s parlour, the house of Bacchus where the doors were flung open and hearts thumped harder and faster at 4 am than at 12 am.
The hottest location every race night, race day’s after party palate of audial and visual euphoria at the Podium Lounge, is a heady swirl of neon sugar pink, a blue flame cold burn of electric ice. There was such an overload of visual input that the tongue and ears filled in for extra duty.
A giddy dervish whirl of beats continued unabated through the night and only intensified when SKU BLU took to the stage, both behind and in front of the DJ console. His brand of swirling hypnotic melodies kept me riding a sonic high then dropped a heavy bass line, plunging the crowd into a roller coaster ride frenzy.
Rising high above the central bar counter, a suspended catwalk acted as a secondary stage where gyrating dancers and strutting models sought to steal your attention from the music.
A fashion show was staged on this platform earlier in the night, as well as an auction of F1 racing memorabilia. At some point after midnight, the race car drivers started arriving. In tow was their entourage and their fans, AND some equally famous VJs fighting for an interview.
The celebrations carried on till the small hours of morning, 4 am to be exact with no signs of abating. At no time did the pace let up. I was as pumped up at 4 am as I grew to be at 12 midnight, but the chirping mynahs at the open air lounge, at the back urged me back home.
If you missed this year’s party, plunge yourself into an on-site 360 degree video of the hottest happenings. Catch the action in 360 degree Virtual Reality with google cardboard by clicking here.
