A DJ at Second Life’s Pinnacle nightclub accidentally played the same eight bars of a techno track for one hour and 45 minutes after leaning on the loop button of his Serato DJ controller. The incident only ended when DJ Kade Static, 43, noticed he had been waiting for the breakdown since 9.15pm.
“I thought it was a particularly slow build,” he said. “Some of the more underground stuff requires patience.” Kade had activated the loop while reaching across his controller for a packet of crisps, trapping 68 clubbers inside a musical passage consisting of a kick drum, a hi-hat and a noise resembling somebody dropping an accordian.
During the following 105 minutes, the track received 14 cries of “TUUUUUNE”, nine fire emojis and a message from host Sophi Catlitter describing the set as “an incredible journey”. Sophi said: “You could feel him taking us somewhere. Obviously, with hindsight, we weren’t going.”
The club’s dancers continued performing without interruption, although one briefly stopped when her animation HUD needed resetting. Resident Poppy Darklust said: “I loved the way he kept returning to that central motif.” Informed that he had never left it, she said: “That’s what made it so powerful.”
Kade’s DJ profile describes him as a selector who “refuses to stand still” and whose sets “constantly evolve”. For much of Saturday evening, neither claim was supported by events. “I did think about changing tracks,” he admitted. “But every time I looked at local chat, someone was telling me I was smashing it, you don’t interrupt a connection like that.”
At 9.48pm, Kade adjusted the bass slightly, prompting one guest to announce that things had “just gone up another level”. At 10.23pm, he briefly took out the low frequencies. Three people thanked him personally.
Club manager Scarlett Pox said there had been no complaints. “We pride ourselves on attracting a knowledgeable crowd who really understand techno,” she said. “Several of them have now explained that they noticed immediately but didn’t want to interfere with his artistic process.”
One resident claimed the repetition had induced a trance-like state, although friends confirmed he had been away making a Pot Noodle. Another described it as the best set she had heard all year. She had muted the stream on arrival because she was watching cutting her toenails.
The mistake was eventually discovered when Kade returned from the toilet and found the track was still displaying two minutes and 36 seconds. “I’d been gone for seven minutes,” he said. “That was my first indication something might be wrong.”
He released the loop, allowing the ninth bar to play for the first time that evening. The dancefloor responded with immediate concern. “Not sure about this direction,” wrote one regular. “Preferred the earlier stuff,” said another.
Kade has since been invited back to Pinnacle for a three-hour extended set. He says he is preparing something special. “Twelve bars, possibly. I don’t want to lose the crowd. TECHNO TECHNO TECNO!"