By Lilja Nassar, Comment Subeditor
The renowned Bristol-based events company Lost Track of Time set off to exceed expectations once again this Halloween eve, hosting their ‘Haunted Mansion’ rave in Ashton Court’s picturesque yellow manor house. For an event I would have gladly paid for, I couldn’t pass on free press tickets, so that’s where I found myself on the night of the 31st.
There is certainly nothing scarier than being in an old manor house which, according to the Bristol Historic Buildings Trust, is facing ‘catastrophic decline’. I quickly found out I wasn’t the only one drawn to this event, as became evident by the queue of approximately half a mile to the entrance. I can’t slight it too much, however, as the entertainment extended to the courtyard of the manor. Just standing in the queue, I was able to witness fire performers with elaborate costumes, an intriguing thumping emerging from the building, and strange masked statues, *I hope* which looked awfully familiar to the ones I’d seen on my binge watch of Celebrity Traitors.
Fluorescent projections also lit up the exterior of the manor, producing an eerie but absorbing ensemble. My expectations were high, but upon entering they weren’t unfounded. I was faced with a maze of rooms, all providing their own music hub. After making rounds of the manor, I decided a good way to start, after struggling to figure out how to start, was to get a drink. The bar, which I initially thought would seem out of place in a manor house, managed to blend in almost inconspicuously. That is, if it didn’t attract the endless crowd that it did. After thirty long minutes of my mission to get a drink, I succeeded, and managed to move on to enjoying the music.
'The limited access to the bar stopped bothering me as it became increasingly clear that I wouldn’t need any more alcohol to enjoy the event'
I couldn’t help but notice how well the manor house was suited for the event. Even without the swarm of costumes it was easy to tell that it was Halloween. Near the bar, my eye was drawn to a stall offering free tarot readings, a novelty as I really didn’t expect to come across anything free in a sold-out event like this one. I had to pass on this unfortunately as something so good clearly appealed to many others, too.
Arriving at the timely hour of 10.30pm, I was glad to see that the best of the music wasn’t contained to the better half of the night, instead the best of the music was dispersed evenly throughout; I wasn’t left waiting for it to ‘pick up’, as I often do. The limited access to the bar stopped bothering me as it became increasingly clear that I wouldn’t need any more alcohol to enjoy the event – a high compliment from a usual homebody such as myself.
My favourite aspect of the event, although the success of the event was built on the holistic incorporation of all elements, was its pretty universal appeal in terms of music. There was a room for everybody, the event didn’t just cater towards die-hard House enthusiasts, with an eclectic mix of House, Disco, Electro and live music. Headliner MiNNA’s set impressed me, with her ‘effervescent’ energy feeding into the event’s atmosphere without seeming misplaced.
Gabriel Lordon
Who I was most impressed by, however, was unsurprising. Being so keen on live music, I was entranced by the student-led band Manor Funk’s performance. I ended up spending most of my time dancing along to their covers of ‘Spooky’ by Dusty Springfield, Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’, and their very own ‘Manor Funk’. You can guess how excited I was when I was presented with the opportunity to interview them post-event.
At the Spicer + Cole by the RWA, I managed to ask their drummer and keyboardist the pertinent questions. I was naturally curious about their experience at the Haunted Mansion Party but couldn’t help myself in also asking some more generic questions about their band. I was told that their humble beginnings sprouted from a few of them playing in the old music room of Manor Hall, guitarist James’ accommodation at the time, thus the inspiration for their name (insert very funny quip about how fitting their name was with the location of the event). A few members were picked up along the way, such as vocalist Teddy who was recruited for a few songs which required vocals songs – a man who was eventually adopted for good, as he ‘kept showing up’.
I was also curious about how they managed to play at the event, finding out that they were actually headhunted by Lost Track of Time themselves. Big up, Lost Track of Time! I also came to find out that the band also transported their instruments on their own, lugging the ‘30kg monstrosity’ of a keyboard into the boot of a car. Talk about commitment (although a sound engineer graciously helped them set up). ‘Manor Funk’, their debut song, wasn’t the only original they played at the event either. Their collective creativity wasn’t solely poured into this gem, as became evident when they pulled up the Google Doc. The originals in the set list also composed of ‘Xiao Shu’, ‘You’re Leaving Me’, and ‘We Text’.
It felt natural to end the interview with the obvious: What was their favourite thing about playing at the event?
This provoked a surge in responses, including highlighting the uniqueness of the venue, a venue that they ‘never would have been able to play at if the event wasn’t what it was’. What was fascinating was how DJ sets were being played in a room that looked like an ‘old kitchen’ when empty. I was told that the band enjoyed the opportunity to play ‘feel-good stuff’ without too much pressure as there were other performers at the event. I definitely appreciated this, as it was nice to have some chiller live music to offset the intensity of DJ sets, although the possibility of enjoying it all simultaneously is what made my night. The band made the modest and demure comment that this is what made the night ‘about the people and not about us.’
A memory that stuck with them was when ‘everyone came filtering in before the Lost Track of Time set, and stayed for the originals’, topped off with a 3am walk in the deer park following the event’s conclusion. It was great to see the Bristol music scene thriving, with the band commenting that Lost Track of Time ‘marketed the event really well, and built an audience that trusted in them’, and that audience wasn’t let down. As they affectionately called it, Lost Track of Time’s ‘Haunted Mansion Party’ was all in all a ‘cracking’ event.
Featured image: Epigram / Lilja Nassar
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