You are on S.O.U.L.MAG, the review of the night by S.O.U.L. Montréal. This is a text by Costa, “The Dancer”, about an experience lived on the dance floor. If you were there, or if you have something to tell us about it, share it with us in S.O.U.L.MEMORY, below.
Perfection has a name
Stereo · Piknic · Stereobar — 250926 — Saisons, Tom Cardelli, John Digweed
LONG TEXT (but delicious)
This is the story of THE SPIRIT OF UNDERGROUND LIFE revealing itself in perfect form to become S.O.U.L.: Spirit Of Underground Living.
How a constellation of everything that can be perfect shows up to embody perfection beyond anything one could hope for…
TITLE: If perfection had a name, it would be SEASONS!
Every Stereo is unique, and each one carries within it the genetic composition of its Singularity, written over the course of the night through each of our interactions.
I told myself that the crystallization of a good weekend likely begins at the end, then runs backward toward its beginning.
Indeed, the way we close a great ritual of celebration and connection to others is only truly satisfying and complete if it ends with the best of nights—of course, the Beautiful Sundays—where Montrealers gather, so many familiar faces from our community.
SUNDAY NIGHT: STEREOBAR LES BEAUX DIMANCHES – TOM CARDELLI
To start from the end, the LES BEAUX DIMANCHES night at STEREOBAR with Ze Boss Tom Cardelli was, honestly, the most PERFECT STEREOBAR one could imagine!
Aside from the humidity soaking me in sweat, everything was perfect: the floor spacious, the dancers on fire, the music—my god, CARDELLI’S MIND-BLOWING MUSIC—and Victoria’s lights were out of this world!
I don’t think I had ever experienced a Stereobar (SB) that spilled so boldly into afterhours territory, where every dance condition plunged us into absolute absence.
The system’s power, pushed to Maximus by its creator himself (Tommy), the light play possessed and conducted like a film by its driver, the dancers in sync, and then—even—the arrival of the most illustrious of guests blew the roof off.
Yes indeed, perhaps you SAW it yourself: the master of masters, John Digweed, popped in just to grab a drink!! Incredible.
And then—as always through the biggest of coincidences you simply can’t make up—I found myself standing in the right square meter!
So…
At a certain point I’m dying of heat, drenched head to toe, because the AC vents aren’t pushing; my usual cool-down zones aren’t there. Even with my little portable fan I’m SWEATING from every pore.
So I decide to ask the manager if by some wild chance the AC had been forgotten—who knows. I head to the exit and bingo, the manager is there leaning against the coat-check counter.
I step out to say a few words, dripping onto the floor. He confirms everything is on, but unfortunately, no, there’s nothing more that can be done tonight.
OK, thanks—I head back to the entrance, but the security guard there is not the same one as a moment ago.
The woman now on post doesn’t recognize me and, of course, can’t see the stamp on my arm because sweat washed it off. She hesitates a bit, then does recognize me and says, “OK, you’re good.”
At that instant, behind me, the guard who was there earlier returns with a big smile and a wink. I turn—and who do I see right behind me?
John Digweed.
In a very funny twist, the young guard there has no idea who he is. So the illustrious guest hesitates, the girl’s unsure, and the senior guard explains with a laugh, “It’s fine, he’s the DJ from Piknic…” lol.
I glance at the people with him—most of whom I know. Wow, how cool that they brought him here, I think!
To my surprise, his companions can’t enter directly after him, which creates a gap and a moment between them and the greatest DJ in the world.
Me, standing just one meter in front of him when he arrives—suddenly I’m right there, beside him; he looks over kindly, waiting for his people to catch up.
Wow!
And the moment stretches—5 seconds, then 15—well, there I am, alone beside him, you know? So I talk to him!
“Hi Sir, welcome to Stereobar! I was at Piknic this afternoon—thank you so much for your set, it was really satisfying! Are you happy with it?”
“Yes, of course—such an amazing town, Montreal. Happy that you like it.”
“While your friends are coming, would you like me to walk you to the booth?”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s ok, thank you—I’ll wait for them.”
A few more seconds pass, his companions arrive, and I open up a path for them with Georges, Piknic’s photographer, who brought him. At the booth, everyone gets very excited.
I took a moment to watch how Ze Boss would greet him and once that happened—my god…
I don’t know if it was just me, but I’m certain—certain—that his mere presence inspired and boosted Cardelli to REALLY bring the sauce.
Immediately, his playing deepened; his selections turned animal; he dragged us down into the abyssal depths of the BAAAAAAASS!
Since I was sweating my life away, I decided to freshen up in the bathroom before jumping back in. There’s a line; it’s long, but as always, entertaining. Suddenly two stalls open at once; I step into the first on the left, close the door, and here’s what I find.
If that isn’t perfection…
Incredible.
Damn! A fan waiting for me right there! To give me air! In-sane.
Back to the dance with a new accessory that changed my night and gave me so much more capacity to endure the extreme heat—because in certain moments I could at least fan myself like crazy. Dance with it, even regulate my temperature. It was magic.
My god! It was absolutely wild!
For long stretches I forgot it was Cardelli playing—you’d swear Digweed himself had taken the controls. It was e-pic!
For my part, I hereby declare THIS Stereobar one of my best ever—for the totality of the work.
Onward!
Let’s keep rewinding the weekend, back through time.
SUNDAY DAY: PIKNIC – DIGWEED + HICKY & KALO
Before that, of course, we all celebrated LIFE together through the perfect communion of bodies in the most beautiful of places: Piknic!
Our extraordinary talents HICKY & KALO delivered like true pros! In the most beautiful light, they set the ideal atmosphere to welcome the grand master, and with their energy and presence, built a deep crowd confidence in what was coming. Bravo, gents! We’re really proud of you!
Because, you know…
This wasn’t JUST a Piknic; it was THE Piknic of the summer in my book. Granted, we’re not talking about the poor, very mediocre sound that never does justice to DJs—no matter how great—but still, given the conditions—MY GOD!
I could almost swear that for a small while Digweed himself seemed to wrestle with the sound—one or two mixes felt almost laborious, and a few tracks didn’t quite align with the rest, as if he were testing things out.
But it was worth it, because once he found his bearings, GOOD LORD did he unleash the sauce!! It was incredible to watch THE CROWD bounce and groove and sway like that—big smiles, laughter, bursts of joy everywhere—and those gorgeous balloons sprinkling the view over the crowd with such a festive spirit!
It was the most beautiful Piknic imaginable! Wasn’t it?
The smiles, the very respectful dancers, the ultra-civil crowd (well, someone literally poured a drink down my back while I was sitting—that ticked me off—but it’s the exception that proves the rule), and the overall benevolence reigning over the event were yet another proof of the emergence of the dance egregore blessing us.
Music’s magic makes you literally lose track of time, and those three hours lasted an eternity of five seconds! We were plunged infinitely deep—and for what felt like a long time—yet Digweed landed us the way only great masters do.
I had never seen such a closing. We were flying full over, and in 40 seconds we went from 30,000 feet down to zero without a single jolt!
I literally looked at my watch at 9:29 p.m.; a friend next to me said, “one minute left,” and we were in the big bass peak; then, one frequency at a time, we lost altitude in a few seconds, and suddenly we were on the tarmac—everyone present, perfectly in phase, conscious, energized. I’d never seen that like this.
Masterclass.
I therefore declare THIS Piknic my best of the season, unequivocally—especially for finding, as if it were waiting for me, exactly the spot I wandered to—without even knowing why—to jot down notes from a flash I’d just had… and there, right under my hand, I find this thing. I didn’t even clock what it was until I saw the colors and realized it’s an object for attention-deficit: a SWIVEL (a little rolling gizmo).
If that isn’t perfection…
Alright, hang in there—we’re getting to the most important segment of this text as we keep rewinding toward Fri-Saturday, the opening act of it all…
FRI-SATURDAY: STEREO – SAISONS EQUINOX
As you know, on September 22, 2025 we changed seasons with the planet crossing its axis on its endless run around the sun; that day is the equinox—the day when presence and absence of the sun in the sky are of equal length.
It’s the balance of energies, and our moods are influenced by the great movements of the stars.
And that’s the genius of SAISONS: celebrating the moment with an absolutely magical night—spectacular decor turning the big mirror ball into planet Saturn, and everything else into a catalyst for intuition and movement. Everything flows like water.
I think everything about this night was perfect: the music absolutely incredible, and each DJ so in tune and perfectly integrated with the others. Even beyond that, it was the prelude to a weekend that unfolded with the kind of perfection only the universe can stage…
The dancers were extraordinarily synchronized with each other with a fluidity you can’t fake, and an energy that carried through the night like a steady rain…
That was the mental image that overtook me at a certain moment: watching all the dancers so deep in the Groove, like a droplet sliding across a mirror—each surface arriving gently, one after another, each dancer a drop in a fine rain blessing the earth.
Every dancer had their space, never colliding, a perfect balance among all—at the hands of each DJ composing cycles from mist to summer storm in intensity! We had all the space we wanted, and every square meter was occupied by night and day in equal parts—like the equinox of our emotions!
What beauty!
A friend pointed out how the dancers were so in the Groove that each person’s movement felt like a reply to someone else’s.
We don’t see ourselves dancing, he said, but the way we move becomes the reflection of others. So in a way, we see ourselves in others’ movement and connect to ourselves THROUGH the movement WITH other dancers.
It was truly exceptional—and so striking—that there were huge flows of dancers across the floor going to dance with different groups, sharing the groove to infinity. There weren’t little cliques, but ONE coherence.
From very early to the end, rarely have we seen such quality of dancers moving as one—everyone grooving and bouncing in unison to the animal deconstructions of their bodies.
You know those moments—plunged into a heavy beat, completely forgetting yourself, not giving a damn what you look like…
A friend used the concept of “slingshot dancers” to describe the incredible rebound and perfect coordination between bodies.
Those moments where you push gravity along the tightrope of balance but you know, instinctively, there will always be a beat wherever your foot lands. The music supports you absolutely and lets you absorb sequences of dance that are so satisfying.
Isn’t it intoxicating—and honestly fun—to glide through a crowd without touching anyone? To move your body through the undulations, the chaos, having fun at every level as you slip into the gaps? Isn’t that the sweetest passage?
You know—this effect of diving into the crowd, moving gently at its pace…
That moment when you lose yourself INSIDE the crowd, surrendering simply to the movement of bodies on a deep, powerful bass that carries your body, kidnaps your mind…
That moment when there’s only your breathing, the space around you, the next beat, the next step… the smiles and intense expressions of fleeting faces appearing in syncopation among the flashes of light…
That moment when you’re a little blinded by the lights between black, red, bursts of blue washing over you, plunges into indigo that make you feel so at peace…
Have you noticed how—even in your intense moments—you’re never out of breath?
Have you realized how everything seems easy, fluid, and intuitive when you’re dancing from the deepest part of yourself? How you’re sometimes inspired to dance in ways you didn’t know you could—especially with co-conspirators?
You BECOME the Groove itself. As if the music carried divine instructions… no?
Have you noticed how this environment, this community, this social activity makes you feel at peace with yourself?
And how it perhaps lets you accept yourself a little more as you are—no longer trying to be something else for someone else…
Just be, resonate.
The chance to find yourself in such an environment is a privilege—a divine blessing.
Our four shamans created for us an absolutely perfect, complementary whole that fed the dancers for over 14 hours in perfect symbiosis, from very early to the end.
Each DJ built their energy at the perfect moment—deliciously—punctuated by service of absolutely divine chai tea, fruit skewers, shots of freshly pressed ginger…
The flavors, textures, and shared love were undeniably excellent ingredients to sustain and spread that consciousness. Each service came at the perfect time, coordinated with the music, in a very civilized way.
In what crowd—if not one perfectly synchronic—can someone walk around carrying a tray full of hot tea shots without receiving a SINGLE shoulder bump or clumsy nudge from a dancer? In what dream does that happen, if not in a gathering of people deeply conscious of one another?
I’m telling you—you saw right. Your whole experience wasn’t a dream but an ideal, thanks to the people who planned it and welcomed you all night long.
Thank you and bravo to Dexter, Kora, Molyness, and Mikael for your spectacular visual build and your talented commitment to giving your best to set the atmosphere that would open all the chakras! (I’ve inserted all their music links a bit further down.)
What’s more, the emergence of the egregore throughout the night, into which a few hundred lucky ones plunged, generated an infinite collective intelligence from which we drew wisdom, peace, and inspiration. I don’t know if you take time to read the messages on some dancers’ backs, but it’s sometimes worth the effort; unless the dancer is still—which is rare—it takes good sync and reading skill to decipher what can be long, but super smart. I love that. And at Equinox, I read this one, which I found inspiring—perfectly representing the present moment:
“Constant art flow lead to diviness”
Magnificent and inspiring.
That’s where we were—in the divine state guided by art… Such a structural and energetic architecture over the whole night, with such substance, carrying us through refreshing variations to bring us up or down, all while maintaining fantastic energy for 14 hours—this made the WHOLE a Masterpiece. Many even jotted dreams into the “future box” calling for projects behind the booth! Ma-gic!
When the Egregore manifests, you all become the ++ version of yourselves, recognizing your being within a WHOLE, opening channels of empathy, generosity, benevolence—and yes, even down to taking the discipline to walk a few steps to toss your empty bottles into the trash, not the floor, keeping the dance space free of clutter that limits your dance and everyone else’s.
That’s how far the extreme unction goes when everything flows… isn’t it?
That’s why I noted the extraordinary cleanliness of the club when the lights came on.
It was literally immaculate—like at opening. I’d never seen it to that extent!
No—truly—NO bottles on the floor. None. NO bottles on the speakers. Barely a few under the booth. Trash cans nearly empty. Bathrooms almost done… I congratulate everyone for your discipline—those who cared enough throughout the night to pick up odds and ends here and there—and also the Busboys team (Arnaud, Anissa, and Raph) who kept the space more than clean all night long.
It’s so pleasant when it’s clean—and, conversely, it’s sad when it flips into a bloody mess and you don’t know where to set your foot without twisting an ankle! It changes EVERYTHING.
Congratulations and thank you to each of you.
So…
I declare THIS Stereo—by virtue of its full composition—the best of the best one could imagine. It was a 12/10, beyond expectations.
And imagine—that was ONLY Friday. We had no idea the perfection would continue far beyond…
As our friend Tony said, “This is THE weekend of the summer. In May-June-July we have tourists; people have gone home. In July-August it’s vacation. Now everyone’s back—Montreal Underground is back, baby!”
THEREFORE,
We can declare that THIS weekend was THE weekend of the summer, and that the EQUINOX was indeed celebrated in all its splendor—more perfectly than anyone could have conceived.
That’s S.O.U.L.! Far bigger than us.
Gratitude to the Universe for being alive and sharing this with you. Life is magic.
Your friend, the Dancer of the Soul
END OF THE LONG TEXT
Anecdote
And speaking of perfection (admit it—I’ve rarely used that word as much as in this weekend report!), here’s a tasty anecdote that speaks for itself:
I arrive at Stereo; it’s 01:01—no big deal.
I take my coat-check ticket—number 444. Right away I FEEL the number is significant, without knowing why. I decide to take it as luck—it’ll be a good night. I had no idea just how… perfect it would all be.
A thousand hours later, when I leave the whole shebang to head home, it’s 4:44 (16:44).
Much later, Sunday night when I get back from Stereobar, I park near home, record a few reflections, and when I finish and step out of my car, I check the time—it’s 4:44. You can’t make that up.
So I decide to search the web for the meaning of the number 4… why not!
Here’s what the site https://www.jepense.org/symbolisme-chiffre-4/ suggests (take what you want, leave what you want):
In most philosophies and religions, 4 evokes the square, the Earth, the totality of the manifested, created, revealed world. It’s the domain of the concrete, the limited. 4 doesn’t create itself but contains all that has been created. 4 also evokes organization, balance, and perfection.
It invites the individual to know themselves better and find their place in the world. According to Lao-Tzu in the Tao Te Ching, “The Tao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, and Three gives birth to all things.” (1=1 / 1+1=2 / 1+2=3 / 1+3=4 or 2+3=5 and off we go…)
Four is thus the number of the manifested world, deployed in its full perfection. It’s the accomplished breakdown of the Principle through matter, space, and time.
And our friend GPT says this:
The number 444 is considered a powerful sign in spiritual numerology. Here’s what it generally symbolizes:
Stability and solid foundations
Four is associated with solid bases, organization, work, and safety. Seeing 444 means you’re building something lasting in your life; your efforts are paying off and you’re supported in the process.
Presence and support from guides
It’s often interpreted as a clear message: “You’re not alone—your angels and spiritual guides are by your side.” The triple 4 amplifies this message of protection and divine guidance.
Balance and alignment
444 is also a reminder to harmonize body, mind, and soul. It invites you to stay focused and disciplined, but also confident that the universe conspires for your good.
Encouragement to persevere
If you doubt or are going through a transition, 444 is a sign you’re on the right path. Your actions align with your life purpose, even if results aren’t visible yet.
In short: seeing 444 is a call to trust and perseverance, and a reminder that you’re spiritually supported on your path.
No joke—you can’t invent coincidences like that…
While I was blown away by the weekend’s PERFECTION… the universe confirmed it not once but three times! You know—the ticket has three 4s, I did three parties, each time a 444 somewhere nearby that came back to me three times over… And each party was my best of the season, somehow… wrapping up the equinox weekend with all my best events of the season packed into the same three days.
To keep enjoying the music of your weekend artists:
SIGNED: The Dancer
TO GO A LITTLE FURTHER…
SAFETY REMINDER: YOUR EARS
Don’t forget to protect your ears! Over the years, you will systematically damage your eardrums by immersing yourself in such loud sound environments, so whatever your setup, what matters is wearing earplugs. And NO! It does not reduce your experience; on the contrary, by cutting the excess frequencies, you will hear the music BETTER, Costa’s word.
I’ve tried every earplug there is, and because of my small ear canals, the ones that are perfect for me are LOOP, which I invite you to get with my promo code, giving you 15% off a first purchase.
ESSENTIALS: LOOP EARPLUGS WITH 15% OFF YOUR FIRST ORDER
To find the ideal accessories for dancing, explore COSTA’S ESSENTIALS (click on the image)
TO GO EVEN FURTHER…
Costa’s talk: How does music connect you to your spirituality?
Costa’s talk on the ethics of the night.
The big talk of Oct 17, 2024, as a long video.
The big talk split into 16 capsules that are easy to share
To read MORE wonderful texts about the experiences of LA NUIT LA VIE – click on the image
To develop your dancing and learn a few simple basic moves (click on the image)
To access the principles of S.O.U.L.: Spirit of Underground Living
SOUL MONTREAL WEBSITE – SCAN OR CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING IMAGE
THE ENDAnd you?
What does this text inspire in you? What did it make you live?
Were you there? Leave your story in S.O.U.L.MEMORY, naming this text so we know what you are answering.
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