By Netera Landar
You never know where I may pop up because of curiosity. I heard about Ministry of Trance and thought I might check out what it had to offer. I mean, who can say no to Trance?
DJ Ravie was playing the “Other Side of the World Extended Mix” by Craig Connely & Haliene when I walked onto the dance floor. The forest-and-water setting was lovely, with a boardwalk surrounded by pink-leaved trees, each nestled in a planter. There was a big welcome sign and a promotional poster listing the DJs for the day.
Sitting on her unicorn was DJ Puddles, who is a fairy. She’s into tech, and you can tell from how the venues are run.
Before DJ Puddles took over the venue’s ownership, the DJs hosted from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. They presented high-quality, live-mixed Trance music in a laid-back, friendly atmosphere. When the previous owner decided to close the club, DJ Puddles, who was a DJ there, took over to keep it running. The other DJs and dedicated staff stand beside her in their commitment.
I asked her what changes she made nearly 4 years ago.
“We kept the focus on the music, only Trance (and PsyTrance), that’s the club’s most important identity. But we also put a huge emphasis on community, fun, and friendship,” said DJ Puddles. “We don’t try to fill the club to capacity every night, but we do have a very loyal family of friends, and everyone is welcome.”
She also incorporated AI into the outdoor venue and the Fairytale Palace. DJ Puddles stated that Ministry of Trance was the first club to use AI NCP characters. There’s a grumpy host named “Minime,” Puddles’ vane sister who thinks she’s the boss, “Fairy Puddles,” a polite gentleman bartender “Phoenix,” and a lazy security guard named “Fred.” DJ Puddles said that some people think the NCP characters are robots. It’s actually brain surgery and fairy dust that makes them work. She’s currently working on a project to have a fully animated club manager.
“MotBot is the latest project from my Lab,” she stated. “She is a very advanced robot. She will support the managers by assisting staff and guests 24/7 so we can drink Pina, party, and sleep more,” she joked. “MotBot will be able to greet guests and assist them with any questions, but her main duty will be running the staff schedule. DJs and hosts can ask her in our Groups, Discord, or via private messages, using normal speech in any language, to deal with things like holiday cover, and she will take care of it.”
Another interesting fact is that the club runs spaceunicorn.radio. This allows for both an internet audience and an in-world audience. Guests can listen to the club stream and chat live with those in the club on their smartphone, tablet, or computer. This year, 128 countries have listened to the stream.
Those in-world can also visit the main stage, which is the Fairytale Palace. Not only is it the residence for the Fairy Royal family and Unicorn cavalry, but they also host special events there. One of which is Nuvolino’s laser and light shows with his musical sets. There are Cinema nights and live video parties. They watched the Artemis Space launch, moon orbit, and splashdown together. They have a 12-timezone New Year’s Eve party and celebrate regular guests’ birthdays.
Ministry of Trance also has seasonal theme stages, such as Halloween, Spring, Summer, and Winter. There’s also a pirate ship, a hollow asteroid, a space station, and “Bladerunner.”
“We are blessed to have a team of skilled volunteers who help build our theme stages. I love seeing their imaginative ideas come to life so we can party in some beautiful and extraordinary places,” said DJ Puddles.
And then there’s staff. Ministry of Trance has 25 resident DJs with sets every week. There are also occasional cover and guest DJs.
“Our automated system means even when the club is closed, any DJ can start a show whenever they like, and my sister will automatically send out set notices. Our wonderful team of hosts supports our DJ shows, and normally our club’s core hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. All our DJs mix live and have passed a rigorous audition to prove their amazing skills and keep standards high,” said DJ Puddles.
Netera Landar
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