Saturday morning, just like throughout the week, there were no indications of rain. The sun had been shining fiercely over the past week, and just the next person, we all believed, would continue that way throughout Saturday to Sunday: a seven-day streak of sunshine. Well, were we wrong! Friday morning, the team had begun to set up on-site at Ghud Park, the location for iMullar SoundSystem 015, 3rd Anniversary Rave. The respective set times were being scheduled to be sent to the DJs, and all the vendors had been called and allocated their space to sell their products.
On Saturday morning, just like any other day throughout the week, the sun was shining fiercely. The setup was ongoing with the final tweaks, bits, and bobs being added. At 1 pm, all the setups had been done, all the sponsors had set up, and all the scaffolds had been built. The stage was set for another anniversary event. We were about to enjoy our anniversary rave. At 2 p.m., the clouds had started gathering, and we had thought the heavens had blessed us with shade. With the iMullar SoundSystem being a day party, people would be hesitant to get on the dance floor because of the scorching tropical sun. So we started rejoicing that a little cloud was covering the direct sunlight, and people would come out to rave. At 3:15 however, the clouds appeared to get darker, leading to every single person on the grounds muttering a singular prayer; “Please God, no, not today”. At 3.30, we would experience the first downpour of rain. Calls would come in with inquiries on what was happening at the venue. People would share similar experiences at their respective locations with some having it worse than others. With the rainfall not lasting that long, we thought maybe the clouds were passing by, and we wouldn’t have as heavy of a downpour as was reported in different places.
The first rainfall came and went. We managed to save the CDJs and the XDJs in time before any damage. iMullar SoundSystem was still on schedule. Don Nortey had begun his set. Ten minutes into it, a heavy downpour. The barricades would fall, the canopies almost toppling over. Per precautions, the DJ equipment and the speakers would be covered, the scaffolds lowered so as not to fall over due to the heavy winds. The team and the production were holding onto the poles of the tent in order to protect the monitors, laptops, and production equipment that could not be moved in time. Cars had to be backed into the tents to relocate all the electrical machines. The rain fell, much to our dismay, from 3 p.m. to 6:30 pm. A little sliver of hope, however, was when it turned into a light drizzle and we could see groups of people troop in. People had come to take their wristbands and left in the hopes of coming back again. Some had come in and joined us under the canopies. At 7 p.m. we started to set up again. We were determined not to let the rain stop the rave. At 8 o’clock, the first DJ on the bill, Kaz along with CultPop WorldWide would officially start the program with Official Kwame serving as the hype man. As the event proceeded, the team had another setback; The sound went off. The rain had gotten to us again. The rain had damaged the XDJ as the screen had turned and was not coming back on. What do we do? How do we salvage the situation? With possible contingencies thought, the team would decide to connect the XDJ to the CDJ in hopes that we could use the monitor on the CDJ and the buttons on the XDJ to navigate. And it worked
As soon as the music came back on, it was up from there. People started to converge at Ghud Park to enjoy the rave. The IMSS community came in through the storm to support. Every set was energetic from the B2B sets of Anna Leonie and Emily in Accra, Yelvu and MzOrstin, the Blac Volta and Tanks and Bikinis, to the energy sets by Afrolektra, Imani, and DJ loft with featured performances from Gonaboy, Jubed and La Même Gang who turned the crowd into a mosh pit. Via Seri came through from London and gave us an eclectic and exhilarating blend of Afro house, 3 Step, and Amapiano.
The community was dancing, everyone was happy, and in those happy moments, we forgot the pandemonium that had occurred four hours ago. The four-hour torrential rain that caused floods everywhere and was almost a source of our anguish gave us the weather and the mood that would have people come in, enjoy themselves, sweat and dance their hearts out. IMSS amidst everything was a success. Our community came out. Accra came out. Our faithful, faithful loyalists came out and gave us the support that we needed even in this bizarre situation and for that, we say no matter the weather, no matter any circumstance, IMSS will always be there to deliver on our promises of bringing the rave to our people.
The rain, indeed, did not stop the rave. It almost though, but we managed to pull through. Accra came out to party that night and for that, from the people of IMSS, we truly want to appreciate every single person that came out on April 26th. Yeda Mo Ase! Oyiwaladon! Akpe! Thank you! Merci! Arigato! Gracias! You will see us again very soon.
Photos by @will.kwamz.
