Listening to the development of my mixes over the past couple of years it's clearly noticeable how the mood has moved from fun, crazy, and upbeat to a more stripped down, darker gloominess. This is certainly something I've noticed in the clubs and on the dancefloors too. A shift from E to K and probably now on its way to something even more menacing.

I remember when K-tron and I started All You Can Eat two years ago, we wanted to create a space where people could dress how they wanted, listen to different styles of music, generally feel included and experiment with putting fun on the agenda and kicking 'cool' off it. This felt like it was happening for a while but increasingly seems quite distant now across the scene as a whole. It's as though the door whores always encourage hostility and coolness back in.

Of course, exclusivity has always been a part of sub-cultures but largely because it was a way of creating an alternative and an opposition to a broader mainstream. I'm prepared to question how much exclusivity is necessary and maybe it is sometimes worth it in pursuit of something greater. The main thing I'd like to know at the moment is what kind of alternative or opposition are we creating? So many people seem increasingly concerned with wearing the right labels, dancing to the right music, getting to know the right people, and being seen in the right places. Surely this isn't an alternative but simply a mirror of mainstream society in Britain.

Given that traditional underground scenes are pretty much a thing of the past then maybe people don't want to create opposition or have alternatives anymore. Maybe all of this is simply a reflection that everybody is satisfied with the status quo. I, for one, am not and really believe others are equally as dissatisfied.

If Nu Rave showed me one thing, it was that the media are hungry for something new. People want new ideas. As it hit the high street shops and magazines it was a clear reminder of the power in creating things at a grassroots level and watching them go out to a wider audience. So this being the case, surely there is a level of responsibility in the things we encourage and nurture. If we are to be involved in generating more new ideas perhaps we should be spending a bit more time questioning what it is we believe in and whether it is likely to make the world a better place.

It's time to turn the heat up and lose your cool.