“Make some noise for the 7 million people listening live around the world...” The atmosphere was like no other, the music of the highest quality and the crowd truly global. To celebrate 7 years of ASOT, episode 350 came live from Club Noxx in Antwerp, Belgium. And the RicoP team were there enjoying the festivities...

Up until a week prior to the event, the time and date had remained May 1st, 2pm to 10pm. However, as news gradually leaked through the internet, confirmed by Armin on ASOT 349, the event would be held at Club Noxx in Antwerp between the hours of 8pm and 5am. A massive change to the schedule, that needed drastic reorganisation of the RicoP team plans. Unfortunately, Tom B had to remain at RicoP towers. Nevertheless, armed with 4, and eventually 5 passports, the rest of the crew departed for the epic 2 hour dash to the Flemish city.

Arriving at 8pm, desperation set in as the beautiful city of Antwerp proved to be a navigational challenge. Club Noxx, was finally located in a dockyard on the northern outskirts of the city. A rather obscure setting for what proved to be a memorable night.

DJ Shah kicked off proceedings with an amazing Balearic set, including live keyboards of many of his tracks. The club filled extremely quickly, the free entry and rather compact main arena confounding the problem. However, the Rico team managed to work their way onto the dance floor of the main stage just in time to see the local hero MIKE warm the crowd to near boiling point. A mixture of his techy electro edged trance with a taster of MIKE's more melodic sound – the perfect introduction to an awesome night. John O' Callaghan graced the decks following MIKE's superb set. A rather more pounding set than his predecessors, featuring “Mr Sam vs. Human Resource – Dominator”, and ”Veracocha – Carte Blanche (Cosmic Gate Remix)“. By the time the new ”Inertia – The System“ echoed throughout Noxx, every single hand was firmly planted high towards the ceiling!

The next set came courtesy of Egyptian duo, Aly and Fila. Potentially ‘set of the night' effortless mixing and superb tune selection epitomised what ‘A State of Trance' is truly about. Many Aly and Fila productions or remixes such as ”Armin van Buuren feat. Susana – If You Should Go“ and the pairs' anthems, ”Lost Language“ and ”Key Of Life“. Coupled with ”Akesson – Perfect Blue“ and ”Dreas – Signs (Akesson Remix)“ formed the basis of an unforgettable hour long insight into melodic trance. Nic Chagall, one half of Cosmic Gate stepped up next, with a set that was packed full of ASOT favourites. ”DJ Shog – Feel Me“, ”Nic Chagall – What You Need (Marco V Remix)“ and ”Vincent De Moor – Fly Away (Cosmic Gate Remix)“ providing yet more electricity to an already buzzing crowd.

The moment the majority had been waiting for was Armin van Buuren's two hour ASOT set. Even before the world's number one had played a single tune, several huge cheers from the crowd announced his arrival to the dj booth. ”La Guitarra“, a recent ASOT favourite was the perfect opener for a brilliant melodic yet energetic 2 hour experience. Armin's set included many tracks off his new album ”Imagine“, of which several featured brand new remixes. A special moment for all the RicoP crew was the long awaited playing of ”Alex M.O.R.P.H. – Walk The Edge (Alex M.O.R.P.H. B2B Woody van Eyden Remix)“. Despite the rather compact main room, the view from the balcony across the dance floor was spectacular. Hundreds of mobile phones aloft produced a sea of LC drifting off into the night. Other highlights included Alex M.O.R.P.H's remix of Funabashi's “The Legacy”.

To close the night, Markus Schulz had flown in from the States. His superbly produced edits combined with tracks from Agnelli and Nelson and Cressida finished off the night beautifully. A great trip all round – the music provided by some of the top dj's in the scene, and a club that really matched the calibre of the event. Credit to the club organisation as everything ran smoothly. The visuals and lighting were second to none and the fully illuminated ceiling was an impressive sight! The true global vibe of ASOT was present, with people from all nationalities waving their flags! Listening back to the live broadcast of the entire night reinforces this worldwide reach of dance music – the number of radio stations broadcasting ran into the forties. If you missed out this time round, be sure to pencil in you diaries, ASOT 400 will be coming live the same time in 2009, expect the party to be bigger and better than 350!