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.
The Prince of Scareo
Stereobar — 251031 — Elio Elia, Mihai Popoviciu, Axel
SCAREO!
What a Friday night — flawless, unforgettable.
The three DJs at the helm were each masters in their craft, shaping the rhythm with surgical precision and giving the dancers no chance to rest.
The young and talented Axel opened the night with a set that was both structured and heartfelt, perfectly warming up the room for the guest of honor, Mihai Popoviciu, who delivered his cosmopolitan house grooves with finesse and control inside that sonic jewel we call StereoBar. A pure delight in beat craftsmanship.
And then, the world changed.
The space filled with fantastic characters — monsters, samurais, exotic beauties, and the entire court of the King of France, decked out in wigs, tricorn hats, and breathtaking redingotes, complete with silk stockings and buckled shoes.
At their head stood the noblest of the nobles: Prince Élio.
A man with a generous and magnetic personality, guided by a luminous, clear-minded spirit that reveals itself with grace and a blazing talent behind the decks.
Élio took over from Popoviciu with gentleness and humility, almost as if hesitating… but once he found his footing, we entered another dimension.
His technique is one of a kind — an architecture of extreme tension punctuated by subtle releases that only heighten the anticipation.
And when he drops the beat… it’s the end of time itself.
I honestly don’t know if a newcomer could fully grasp or appreciate what’s happening there.
The sheer complexity and layering of the rhythmic levels go beyond imagination. It’s a field of rhythmic deconstruction that rebuilds itself with supreme finesse.
The interludes — melodic classics, organic, almost disco in tone — appear just long enough to ground us in reality before plunging us again, mercilessly but deliciously, into a collapsing sonic abyss of infinite depth.
Picture this: the lightness of a bird gliding over a canyon, suddenly diving into the void, dragging a wall of stone in its fall, the echoes resonating endlessly into the depths — a compression of sound without limit.
That’s exactly what it feels like.
With those brief melodic breaths pulling us back to consciousness, you go from a calm flight in a clear sky to a headlong dive beneath the earth’s surface, swallowed by seismic cracks, chased by the rumble of falling rock.
Think Indiana Jones escaping a collapsing temple — that’s the vibe.
Everything rests on balance: tension and release, compression and decompression, anticipation and relief.
Like a roller coaster or a haunted house, the pleasure comes from knowing that intensity doesn’t last forever — that release is coming, and that’s what makes the climb so exhilarating. It’s essential to the dynamic balance of the experience — fundamental, even, to how we savor it.
And that’s where the magic happens, neurologically speaking.
This alternation of tension and release sets off a cascade — endorphins, noradrenaline, dopamine, serotonin — blending together to boost GABA, the molecule of calm, relaxation, and well-being.
Élio, whose name comes from the ancient Greek hēlios (Ἥλιος), literally meaning “sun,” masters this art to perfection.
Like breath itself, he creates in the dancer an unconscious surrender — a rhythmic pulse that’s deeply satisfying, physically and emotionally.
It’s like breathing: two phases, inhale and exhale.
At that point, the dancer’s experience transcends the physical — it becomes therapeutic.
It’s always a privilege to share this timeless space with you all, to exchange these fleeting yet eternal moments on the dance floor, among familiar and unknown faces that become part of living memory.
I bow to the underground nobility of Montréal, gathered at the (((Palais))) — inhabited by the greatest and the wildest, you, the dancers.
Thank you Tommy and Mike for making it all possible.
Thank you StereoBar for this celebration.
And thank you to the three DJs who gave us an experience that was truly…
SCAREOFUNIK!
To carry on with the musical delight of your weekend’s artists:
MIHAIL POPOVICIU
ELIO ELIA
Axel
SAFETY REMINDER: YOUR EARS
Don’t forget to protect your ears! Over the years, you’ll inevitably damage your eardrums by immersing yourself in such noisy environments, so whatever device you use, the important thing is to wear earplugs. And NO! This won’t diminish your experience; on the contrary, by blocking out the high frequencies, you’ll hear the music BETTER, Costa’s word.
I’ve tried every type of earplug available, and because of my small ear canals, the perfect ones for me are LOOP earplugs, which I encourage you to get using my promo code, giving you 15% off your first purchase.
ESSENTIALS : LOOP EARPLUGS WITH 15% OFF A FIRST ORDER
Costa’s talk : How does music connect you to your spirituality?
Costa’s talk on the ethics of the night.
The great talk of Oct 17, 2024, long video.
The great talk divided into 16 easy-to-share capsules
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.
What we do with it
Your text will be read by our committee. It may be kept, linked to others, published one day. Perhaps never. You choose how you are identified.
