I attended my first ever silent disco by House of Oni last week and it was quite the experience. I like trying new things and meeting new people so when a friend suggested that we go to a silent disco on a Friday night, I only had two questions; where and when?
What is a silent disco?
A silent disco is a different kind of clubbing experience. When we arrived, the first thing we noticed at the entrance was how quiet it was. You could hear a pin drop. Completely different from what I’ve come to know of the club where the music is usually so loud, you can hear it from outside.
At a silent disco, people listen and dance to music through a wireless headset instead of a unified speaker system. Three different songs by a trio of DJ’s are sent simultaneously to each person’s headset. You are free to choose between one of the three channels or alternate between the three channels depending on your preference. At House of Oni, the playlist ranged from Rap & Hip Pop to Old School, and Nigerian music.
We had to pre-order our headsets for two thousand naira (Nigerian currency) each, in case they were sold out at the door. But even though we booked and paid in advance for the headsets, my friends and I still had to wait for 30 to 40mins to get our headsets upon arrival. This did put a dampener on our mood since you can’t listen to music without a headset so we just sat there watching other people and hoping we’d get a headset soon.
While waiting to receive our headsets, we ordered some cocktails which also took 30 minutes to arrive, much to our annoyance. We were eventually handed our headsets and brought our drinks. The wait was over and we slowly started to have fun and move to the beats pulsating through our headsets.
Based on my experience, I’d say the silent disco is more for a mature crowd – late twenties to early forties. It’s a mellow vibe, similar to that of a house party. At first, it felt odd to dance to music through a headset, at a public place, but I eventually got over myself and tried to forget how silly I looked and just went with the flow.
Dress code
I like to dress up so I wore this off-shoulder dress but I could have also gone in a t-shirt and jeans and not have felt out of place. It’s an all inclusive environment with a good mix of young professionals.
Overall experience
If I were to give it a score out of 10, I’d give it a 6. We had to wait a long while to get our headsets which we pre-ordered. Having a drink would have made the wait a bit more tolerable but that also arrived late. My friends and I did have a good time but would have had a better time had it been a bit more organised.
Have you been to a silent disco? Love it or hate it?
Dress and choker – Own design
Knee-length heels – YDE
Photography by Anjola Badaru, Edited by me.
House of Oni image – By House of Oni