Yes. We waited all year for it and like a deluge of aural and visual goodness, it came. And it came damn hard. While pundits and some hardcore ZoukOuters may have lamented at the lacklustre line-up of jocks that may have headlined this years party, they duly ate up their words and danced the night through from the word go. Well, who wouldn’t?

Nouvelle Vague

While last year's outing saw a record-breaking turnout of 23,000 revellers, this year organisers say that a staggering 26,000 revellers turned up this year. This year's party is estimated to cost Zouk around $1.6 million - one of the costliest ZoukOuts ever. Besides all the DJs and bands performing, there was a fireworks display as well at the height of the party.

Heineken Oasis

From as early as 7pm, there was a steady stream of people waiting for their turn to step foot on the hallowed sands of the party, scout out the various stalls, fringe activities and there’s also no shortage of sponsors and partners tents everywhere. Just look around and you’ll see ‘hospitality’ tents by Heineken (which was an oasis of beer), Chivas Live, Nokia, 42Below Vodka and even Singtel which one-upped everyone with a faux yacht, complete with a pool for people to take a dip in.

Vicarious Bliss

Let’s just skip the formalities and go straight to what’s most important here—the music. The man of the moment—Erol Alkan came on at the Velvet Underground at about 2am and from the moment he cued the first track after Ed Banger’s Vicarious Bliss (whose set we think is rather mediocre), it was pure acid and dancefloor skulduggery. This is the man who single-handedly created a new form of dance music that after 8 years on, it’s still banging in clubs everywhere. Alkan churned out a sickeningly good set, running the gamut from genre of the moment, electro-techno to deep and minimal tech numbers. Everyone (electro-techno fans mostly) was singing along when the man dropped Dusty Kid’s "The Cat," Tiga’s "Mind Dimension" and even Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams" with wild aplomb and was egging everyone on go on a frenzy.

Erol Alkan

Monsieur Dimitri From Paris came on next and he didn’t waste any time to keep the crowd going right after Alkan’s rousing set. Dimitri opted for a more electronic and banging mix for this party instead of his usual sexy house sounds but of course, keeping true to his music mantra, he kept some elements of the sound—sexy soaring vocals, disco hook against thumping and raw beats that is suited to the rave-ish vibe.

Over at the main arena, Sasha, the godfather of UK progressive house (and  a huge hit with the ah beng faculty) brought the crowd to an intoxicating high with his explosive and trancey beats. Everyone had their hands in the air, dancing like there's no tomorrow. American trance trio Above & Beyond took everyone on a high with their tantalizing acid-tinge sounds, and the bengs and lians lapped these up further. While Henrik Schwarz opted for the deep and minimal route with his Detroit-influenced beats earlier on here--even though reception was rather lackluster.

Resident Ibizan Pippi got the honour (again) of playing the sunrise set at the VU tent and it was pure magic. A mix of proggy beats in the beats that slowly transitioned to the soulful balearic and summery vibe as day broke--something that we're accustomed to from this dimunitive jock. A light drizzle poured on the crowd as Pippi dropped another bomb of a track after another like "Love & Happiness" by River Ocean and a Dennis Ferrer re-rub of Moloko’s "Forever More"—all apt soundtracks for sunrise, and definitely kept the crowd yearning for more. We'll be back in 2009, and so will the rest of our punter friends.--Zaki Jufri