Hype Nasty and Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy organiser and promoter DJ Enso’s latest project sees him joining up with HK Heavy in the hope of building a regular club event around the Hong Kong holy-rail, the MTR. While we would all love to pack a picnic and jump on the island line, the recent cancellation of a party planning just such an excursion has proven that for now we will have to make do with a more philosophical approach to a Hong Kong railroad rave.

The inspiration for the party came from a survey DJ Enso came across. The questionnaire asked for the archetypal images people thought of when they imagined Hong Kong; the MTR logo consistently numbered among the top three. “The MTR connects all of us... You can’t get away from it, and it represents, for me, freedom – and I want to celebrate that,” Enso gushes.

A San Francisco native, he has been living and partying in Hong Kong for the last three years. A veteran of running nights at venues such as Volar, Cliq and Yumla, and driven by his disappointment with the lack of non-commercial music in the Hong Kong nightlife scene, he wants to offer something new and fresh.

This event attempts to deliver exactly that. Guest DJs: Wash and Stinks, from Finland, play drum ‘n’ bass and dubstep in the back room, while local DJs such as Kid Fresh and Enso play bassline and UK funky in the other. “These are styles of music that there’s never really been a night for. It’s brand new [in Hong Kong].”

So while the thought of sculling beers, sipping cocktails and careening through the darkened tunnels of our city’s subterranean travel network proved an unreachable dream, this MTR party should be more than adequate substitute. Sadly, though, it seems like Enso’s lustful love affair with the MTR is tragically unrequited; when asked if MTR Corporation even knew of the party, or his usage of their famous red and white logo, his two-word answer said it all: “No comment.”

Cici Zhang

***MTR*** $120 with one drink, The Ashtray, 3/F, Ho Lee Building, 38-44 D’Aguilar St, Lan Kwai Fong.