Perfume Garden (PG) has been around since August 1999, although not always at Envy. It started out at the Hanbury Arms over four years ago, but due to complications over what was considered 'noise' and a short run-in with another venue, the event packed up and moved to higher grounds. Now able to create a more intimate and full atmosphere, Perfume Garden has set up home just above the effervescent Charles St.

I asked Gary, PG's promoter, what was special about Brighton:

"Brighton is an incredibly diverse place full of like-minded people, a completely gender free zone. Clubs are often male or female but at Perfume Garden we are what we called Polysexual. At other clubs designed for the somewhat more fluffy, your older clubber may be turned away, but at PG it's not about age or target audience - just the attraction of like-minded people who enjoy what PG has to offer."

The music played at PG is a mixture of hard house, dance and techno - a style of music that fills a gap in the clubbing scene these days. Previously when hard house took a more funky approach and musical styles changed within clubs, PG felt the need to stick to its guns and entertain the crowd (and now a community) that preferred hard house on their night out, without losing its identity. The hundreds of members that have stuck with PG over the years have formed a community that allows them to have input into a night that very much revolves around them. Gary says the members are entirely the focus of the night. And it shows.

Perfume Garden is a once a month event where those of all ages and interests can come together to celebrate a love for hard clubbing. Although there have been offers for the event to be run two nights a month, the promoters (and clubbers) feel that it would be overdoing a special event, losing the novelty of the night and perhaps over-exposing those who attend. With offers to also hold the event in London, PG prefer for those DJs interested to bring themselves down to the fresh air and entertain at Envy themselves, including big names like Dave Randall and Superfast Oz.

My first impressions of PG were that the crowd seemed incredibly diverse, attracting not just differences in clubbing attire, but ages, sizes, dances - everything. The focus seemed very much on the music and not your appearance (whatever that may be) and the whole essence of enjoying yourself. Talking to those out for the night wielded plenty of positive feedback about a night that they've come to love as a special monthly event. The venue may be small, but it's more cosy than cramped which lends a huge amount of atmosphere to the night. From all the membership talk PG may seem like an event better suited to regulars, but the friendliness and general openness of the crowd means that no matter who you are, at Perfume Garden, you'll always be welcome.