By Sophie Scannell, Music Editor
The Lost Track of Time office has the two founders, Toby and Tommy, sat with a prime viewing of Park Street’s rum distillery. It’s full-circle to say the least, as this is where they were asked to do their first sets in their years at university to lure more students into the Park Street bar.
Their tumultuous first year as a result of the covid pandemic saw Tommy and Toby throwing ragers in their Hiatt Baker flat, recalling now how Stoke Bishop felt like a festival during the time of the pandemic as students were staggering around every night of the week looking for somewhere that would fill the club-shaped hole in their hearts.
Now, only a few years later, to say the pair have left their mark on the city as a standard club alternative would be a massive understatement. A completely sold-out weekend saw thousands in the iconic Ashton Court mansions a few weeks back, complete with visuals, fire dancers, live bands, and raised amphitheatre-like platforms for a literally elevated dance experience, for what became one of the pair’s favourite events to date.
Ashton Court mansion has become somewhat of a Lost Track of Time staple, adding last weekend to a three-time stint at the iconic 11th-century building, including a Halloween special like no other. ‘We love unique locations’ explains Toby, and it’s clear from their catalogue: from mansion takeovers to boat parties to transforming Lakota into an enchanted forest in January, no two LTT events look the same.
Speaking of rooms, however, the Ashton Court mansion being sold by the council remains the elephant in this one. Not much can be predicted about what hands the building is in now, with the possibilities being endless in such a multi-functional space. Currently, the parties and events that take place there only take up a fraction of the space, the upstairs and west wing remaining derelict.
A silver lining of the uncertainty is that it is that the pair are hesitant to say this was Lost Track of Time’s final stint in the mansion, and they are eager to try and come back if it becomes possible, something myself and a lot of other students will be hoping for.
‘It was nice to have a send off for now’ Toby reflects, but crucially, it is a testament to their eye for events just as much as the venue that makes their nights so undeniably successful. ‘LTT has built such a name and reputation now, of just doing really high-quality events, in really cool places. The brand has got this strong reputation now’.
Having experienced the scene from a student perspectives too, Tommy speaks to the declining eagerness for clubbing since the pandemic years. Compared to the festival-like sprawling across Stoke Bishop on any given night, now students are out less, and being much more selective about where they go when they do: ‘if you look back ten years ago, every night of the week people would be going out’.
It’s no surprise, then, that so much is invested in making each night a belter these days. The pair moving away from doing weekly club nights to just a select few throughout the year pertains more to the current student nightlife trends: ‘it aligns a lot more with the way people like to go out, bigger and more exciting things than your average club on an average night’.
The pair continue to improve on each event that’s come before it, jokingly telling me how their nights out now are purely for ‘research purposes’ in scouting out what Bristol’s scene is looking like at the moment.
‘So much time and money goes into the stage designs and the immersive lighting, decor, production… we love transforming a space and making a really cool environment to dance in’. Though the mansion will be missed, the pair have wasted no time in reviving the same ground-breaking events in similarly unusual locations, with Toby even weighing in with Bristol zoo as an option, ‘but that’s quite a long shot’.
‘Lost Track of Time has always been about the experience as well as the music’, he summarises nicely, but it almost goes without saying given their seismic success venue-to-venue.
Now on the hunt for more weird and wonderful spots to rave in, the duo are set to take over Wake the Tiger on the 7th March, the immersive labyrinth designed by the creators of Boomtown. The visual experiences in mazes and trippy illusion rooms will be soundtracked by LTT DJs until 3AM. Losing your mind over quality dance tunes will only rival the head-spin of trying to find the venues exit after a few too many drinks by the end of the night.
This will only add to the big things coming up for the pair, with their first ever day-festival also coming up in May at Sawmills industrial estate.
Aaron Franks
Put Lost Track of Time anywhere, in a north village accommodation or a crumbling warehouse, and they’ll bring the party every time.
Featured image: Lost Track of TimeWere you at the potential last mansion party ever?
