Club Pulse
50 Tsar Samuil Str.
Tel.: 0899804968
Working hours: 10pm - 8am

"Dull, soulless dance music" - this, I seem to recall, was the title of a track recorded by Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley of Absolutely Fabulous with The Pet Shop Boys for some charity fundraising event or other, in which the two listlessly chanted the lyric over a repetitive 4/4 beat . It's also, sadly, what is played in most clubs in Sofia. That, pop-folk, or endless so-called "retro classics". This repetitive mix makes me listless. Where has all the variety gone?

When I heard Club Pulse had a drum n bass night, I went to see what it was like. The first time I admit, I was disappointed. We had expected pumping drum n bass, and were greeted by, well, not much at all really. The dancefloor was empty, the music uninspiring. But, when friends arranged to meet there one Friday night, I thought I'd give it another go. I parted with my two leva entry fee and made my way down the stairs without high expectations. This time it was not drum n bass, but an Indian themed night - they hold one of these nights every month, with a different theme each time: African, Indian, Reggae etc. The place was transformed, with UV painted flowers and trance - the dancefloor was packed. Two alcove rooms off the main dancefloor were selling sweet, milky chai, samosas, bread, jewellery. A projector screen was showing clips of Ghandi.

The small venue was so packed it was difficult to identify anyone in the writhing throng. I eschewed the chai in favour of a red bull and vodka, glowing a lurid yellow under the lights, fought for with elbows at the one small bar, and cast my eye over the dancefloor: beaming guys, garlands of flowers around their necks, swaying happily; henna-tattooed hands swirling and blinking in the strobes; the smiling DJ, a bright orange scarf slung jauntily around his neck. Nothing so unusual in itself, but it was out of kilter with the mainstream norm you come to expect in Sofia of, say, the glamorous, hair-sprayed perfection of Chervillo, the sight made all the more surreal by the fact I'd come straight from a metal concert; the change in atmosphere from heavy to hippy took a little adjustment.

Finally locating my friends, we took to the dancefloor - it's only small and we had to fight for our space among the undulating bodies, but it was a friendly crowd, many lost in their own worlds, eyes closed, arms twisting skywards like the Indian deities flashing on the screen. The place was so packed that there wasn't any space to sit on the sofas on the raised area around the dancefloor, so people just sat wherever there was floorspace, drinking beers or chai, and chatting - to the extent that it is possible to chat in a club - with the all-pervasive smell of incense in the air.

Now, this may not be everyone's cup of tea, and for those who dance to a different beat, I am assured that the Saturday night drum n bass nights are now well worth a visit and have quite a following. The most recent of these featured a mix of hip hop, breakbeat and drum n bass (six leva entry). As Club Pulse is much smaller than the other clubs that have made a name for themselves in this arena, but still manages to attract decent Djs, it provides an alternative, more intimate setting to the big nights that clubs such as Black Box put on.

So, whether it's drum n bass, or the "ethno experience" that you're after, or simply an escape from the homogeneous monotony served up in so many of the places punting dullness and soullessness, Club Pulse could have the remedy you need. Try it, you might just like it.