Review // The Closing Party @ WHP

Review // The Closing Party @ WHP

I never thought being offered a badge at 9pm could, nor would, make me feel all kinds of emotion… pre-gin consumption, that is. However, a miniature, robust capsule branded with the text ‘Farewell Victoria’, confirmed that the inevitable had arrived. With an aura of melancholic pride oozing from even the water boys doing their bit from behind a pasting table in the forecourt, in addition to the fact that this periodic ‘closing party’ outdoes itself ever the more per-annum, begs allegiance that a significant night awaits thanks to a profusion of back-to-backs plucked from our wildest dreams.
 It has been impossible as of late to attend one of Oliver Jones’s either solo or Skreamizm-headed outings, without being swept into a syrup-smooth world of disco and funk grooves, yet we ought to have more respect than to measure that this dub veteran would follow the grain of our idle presumptions. Robert Hood’s ‘Paradise’ release under his Floorplan alias this Summer, was a minimal tech-house barrage that included the made-for-opening-your-evening-on-a-high-note ‘Baby Baby’, overflowing with curtailing horns and creditable agility within it’s exhilarating bursts. Skream knows that onslaughts of Detroit-influenced vigour is sure to get the ‘eds respectfully engaged, for the long-haul.
 Paul Woolford and Midland have locked horns in friendly b2b battles throughout the previous year, and despite the pair producing arguably 2013’s biggest dancefloor fillers in the mediums of ‘Untitled’ and ‘Trace’, tonight they opted to take a step back a decade and a double, to satisfy the bulging horde. Double 99’s ‘Rip Groove’ is only ever given the attention it deserves in such a praiseworthy environment with the white-knuckle suspense of its build-up and bass drop, followed by a deeply stringy Tina Moore sample that carries a wealth of intensity. Hold on a second, how does a track so brash even segue into the most sturdy release without nose-diving among the watchful? With the piano house classic of Inner City’s ‘Pennies From Heaven’, causing everyone to spit out their lines of ‘Bring me some love’ with all the toe-tapping and harmonising hands you could ask for, that’s how. As we scope past room one and spy a single Martinez Brother fist-pumping his way through the Jamie Jones- surveilling sea (Sorry for trying to hug you, Chris), two of the UK’s non-producing jewels, Jackmaster and Oneman, came together to perplex the brains off us in room three’s minuscule, mirrored slice of a space.

Although some may see the three hundred capacity room as an ill-fitting choice for such talent that does, inescapably, bring in an audience much bigger than the area can comfortably withstand, thanks to daring track selection and impeccable mixing, everyone is too busy spiralling into a hysterical state of sing-a-long indulgence to care. As near-millennial bangers a la Gorillaz and Basement Jaxx surprise and delight, modern rap anthems from Kanye and Ace Hood max the attitude up- and this wasn’t just variety selected to please the crowds, this was frankly, a special event for those electing what blows out of the speakers, too. Staples across the UK garage spectrum such as The Streets unforgettably intense ‘Blinded By The Lights’ and Artful Dodger’s ‘Movin’ Too Fast’, provide the much-needed antidote to the somewhat unknown soul-jazz of Gregory Porter’s ‘1960 what?’, as well as the downright weird inclusion of a segment entitled ‘Duelling Banjos’ from the 70s movie ‘Deliverance’. There was Drake, The Police, Boddika and Armand Van Helden- I really could go on, yet let it be known that the best set of the season was undoubtedly had here, as unashamed expressions of personality and intrigue were splashed all over the walls…and a spasming Chunky atop Krystal Klear’s shoulders seemed to agree, too.
 Piling out into the baltic Trafford night with the sound of Green Velvet’s ‘Bigger Than Prince’ echoing behind us and an illuminated signed reminder that this really is goodbye, we may be simultaneously beaming from within yet bowing our heads in woe, yet there really is no reason to even slightly take the gloom-and-doom approach. With talks that Warehouse will be moving to a bigger (and presumably better) space with names such as Mayfield Depot cropping up, in addition to a string of one-off events including Moderat at Albert Hall this approaching February, expansion and diversion will only prevail.

Words by Yours Truly // Images by WHP via here X

Review // Sounds Of The Near Future @ WHP

Review // Sounds Of The Near Future @ WHP

Sounds Of The Near Future has had an enlightening, arousing roll-out as the latest collaboration between promotional messiahs Now Wave and the team behind the Warehouse Project, fetching crisp names in bass and house such as Henry Krinkle and Snakehips, to the city earlier this Summer. For their latest collaboration this season, Brainfeeder chief Flying Lotus made his welcome return to Old Trafford, bringing a significantly exciting chunk of his roster along for the ride with recurrent residents, making clear that the most puzzling dilemma of the night would appear in a puerile attempt to try and cram every desirable artist, into an achievable itinerary. With the double J’s of Jon K and Jonny Dub opening up Rooms one and two respectively, the latter jockey seemed the most logical point of call to cement ground, ahead of a prospective dense six hours. Walking into a consolidation of classic 90s Snoop mixed into Alicia Myers disco favourite ‘I Want To Thankyou’, a praise-worthy cocktail was granted to fortify the foundations ahead of Brainfeeder’s only UK signee, Lapalux, stepping up.
Stuart Howard’s live sets under his Lapa identity are always an experimentation to behold, adapting and evolving from performance to performance by incorporating a spectrum of R&B bootlegs and neoteric strategies, yet it was the technicalities on WHP’s part that were noticeably absent. Planting a strikingly impressive producer into a corner with minimal lighting and zero visual pieces, his performance already lost a spark at no fault of his own just a short while in- and where some of the most memorable parties may be discovered round the darkest corners, we must remember that this is Warehouse, where attendees want presence for their pounds and a full experience, with no corners cut. Despite the breach of optic stimuli present, Howard’s rousing extended introduction and a mind-bogglingly tremendous technique of infiltrating 2012’s ‘When You’re Gone’ with a hectic manipulation of Khia’s ‘My Neck, My Back’, not only raised the bar in an unconventional sense but also had a whole lot of eyebrows heading north, too. Bold, adventurous and downright brilliant, Lapalux managed to execute his spell with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek satire and laudable commendation deserved.

Inbetween all the dancing and debauchery present, there is one obvious exclusion from the line-up that merch-clad hipsters in football jersey tees are close-to-weeping for; Zomby. He may be more well known for his obnoxious Twitter rants involving the lexicon of ‘Givenchy’ and ‘Cult music’, rather than his masterful earlier workings (‘With Love’ was a trap-heavy mess of fade-outs and uncalculated mechanisms), yet the fact that he was removed from the night’s bill without explanation or reason from the organisers, now appears to be another factor that comes part-and-parcel as each year rolls around, disappointingly through struggle.
 With Flying Lotus’s 2012 release ‘Until The Quiet Comes’ branching away from his hip-hop enticed work of the past, the secretive (at first) conception of all-rap alias Captain Murphy, formed within it’s trailing wake of intelligent psychadelia. As an exclusive debut European live show, little is known about the project apart from the occasional Earl Sweatshirt collaboration that fanatics that have been following across the blogsphere from day one, it could be described as a blessing in disguise that this venture has managed to remained enigmatic. Providing a punk-as-fuck aesthetic as one of the most forward-thinking hip-hop assemblages emerging in years, with an addition of bass-master Thundercat on band duties, Steven Ellison spits out dynamic bars with mean flow like we never envisioned, never mind the spoken word sections that collectively, are eagerly ready to hand 2013’s rap game a clear royal flush. Between hosting a terrifying finish of cackling after every turnout, Ellison shows us that he isn’t just an electronic-orientated multitude of excellence, his hip-hop roots stemming further, deeper and more superior than we ever observed before.
Inaugurating his revolutionary 3-D projection screen show on it’s sophomore trip to Manchester, the annexation of sprouting spider webs stretching forty-odd feet and musical manipulations of atmospheric, trippy proportions, further futuristic flair is propelled into his engineering soundscape. Taking a noble step forward to perform sectional vocals up-close-and-personal to his audience, tracks from past releases ‘Los Angeles’ and ‘Cosmogramma’ are mixed into ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, Drake’s ‘Started From The Bottom’ and various TNGHT snippets, moulded with mini-city metropolis illustrations, that add an essence of surprise improvisation. Mobilising a moshpit-inducing climax of his Odd Future acquaintances’ labour, FlyLo’s final run of this particular spectacle is a reflection of how tremendously esteemed for his production, knowledge and ear-to-the-ground philosophies’ he remains, leaving us swaggering out into the wee hours, quite literally, mindblown.

Words by Yours Truly // Images by WHP (via here) X

Review // Curated by Julio Bashmore @ WHP

Last weekend I had a Factory reunion of sorts when Artrocker sent me off to review Julio Bashmore's curated night at Warehouse. Cassius were ludicrously good, Tiraquon bought the 80s vibes and Bashmore, well, read it over here or below to see for yourselves...

Curated by Julio Bashmore @ WHP

As a reoccurring invitation to the individuals and groups that ignite movers and shakers, the coordinators behind Warehouse Project invite a range of music makers to take the reins in curating line-ups themselves, annually. Spanning rockers such as Bloc Party and The Kills, over to new generation blood such as Disclosure or Teed and- on this occasion- Broardwalk boss Julio Bashmore, WHP aren't afraid to shake it up, nor go with the flow when necessary. With a combination of internationally respected and cemented UK producers, along with a gargantuan headline set from Julio himself, these curated nights are undoubtedly where you’ll find the most diverse melting pots. 

One of our favourite galactic-funksters, Space Dimension Controller, was first on the horizon to fill up the dance floor in room two. Despite the fact that we couldn't help but constantly wonder why SDC had been booked to DJ rather than partake in a live set of his own intergalactic workings, he still managed to bring the care-free attitude and evocativeness of past decades to the ever-accumulating, if slightly bedazzled, ravers. Batting out 80s classics including Midnight Star’s ‘Midas Touch’ beside Colonel Abrams offbeat release ‘Trapped’, anthem after anthem whether instantly recognisable or not, ensured that everybody in sight fell victim to the groove… and it hadn't even struck ten o’clock yet. 

 As we weaved through each room eager to catch a deluge of sets, it was indisputable that each person booked behind the decks here tonight was restless in not just playing out what would simply be probable within a conventional club night, as experimentation is welcomed and applauded in a location that branches out from conformity. 

Take Motor City Drum Ensemble on initiating a wave of house for the night, thanks to Norma Jean Bell’s sassy ‘I’m The Baddest Bitch ’, whereas Breach dipped his toe into modern waters, manipulating Midland’s ‘Trace’ into a deep and stabbing vibration to fast forward the momentum. As our expectations were already now ever ascending thanks to a marvelous introduction, the crown and glory for the night unquestionably belonged to French originators Cassius. Blending in a fusion of their unconditional prototypes including the infectious ‘Feeling For You’, together with an amazing input of Green Velvet’s ‘Bigger Than Prince’, it is apparent that a superior act is that for a reason- it’s just a shame that what goes up must come down.

 In light of Bashmore’s earlier Boiler Room session remaining outrageously over-crowded throughout, we opted for the main man under the spotlight’s early morning set, to really see if there was more to the media than just a ‘Summer hit turned football chant’. As far as his personal productions go, the only noticeably enthusiastic reception was evident for- you guessed it- ‘Au Seve’ and it was easily blatant that, despite his observable production talents, as a live artist Julio is dissatisfying on a number of levels. Over-running tracks long after their surges peak and the audience has lost interest, as well as noticeably poor mixing, even Joy O’s ‘BRTHDTT’ panned across the room as if it fell on deaf ears and Lil Louis Chicago classic ‘I’m hot for you’, echoed overhead an array of confused faces. With all the factors for triumph at hand without prosperous execution, tonight Bashmore delivers to be tarred as incapable of executing his work, at a rank of which many of his peers surpass at leaving nothing but a bitter taste in our mouths…

Words by Yours Truly / Images by WHP (via here) X

Review // Rudimental presents... @ WHP

I attended the Modeselektor / Rudimental double weekender at Warehouse recently and reviewed the latter for Artrocker! My flatmate also met Andy C and nearly cried with joy but that is for a whooole other time; it was fun, sweaty and warpy- you can read my words over here or scroll below!

Rudimental presents... @ WHP

2013 sees the now world-celebrated line-ups of Manchester’s Warehouse Project, still only in infancy at it’s Victoria Warehouse Old Trafford home, hit an all-time high- but it’s not as if we expected anything less than superiority. With note-worthy bills uniting music legends and fresh faces off the block, we here in the Artrocker camp headed off to our first official outing of the season where love-ins, Craig David and see-it-to-believe-it talent supervened…
Wriggling into the massive five-thousand strong capacity venue , security has always been a high priority on the agenda here and in light of recent headlines (That shouldn't be the be-all-and-end-all to tar seasons with, may I add.), I personally, can say I've never felt so safe nor welcomed in the past. With security staff tripled (and armed with hilarious conversation), sniffer dogs multiplied and free water for revellers, there is a cooperative sense of wholeness between everyone involved and whether it is your first or fiftieth visit, excitement and anticipation still runs rife. These nights are where stuff of legend materializes without warning or pre-conception.
Cryptic London duo Snakehips were first on our schedule in the ambitiously colossal main room with their balmy electronica, fusing remixes for next-up Bondax and late-nineties’ r&b classics (Kp & Envyi, anyone?), enrapturing 80’s Vice City-esque visuals of blunts and bling sculpted across a multitude of screens throughout, for a fully-immersive audio-visual experience. Yet Snakehips’s early releases are where their production flairs really shine through. ‘On & On’ accumulates with waves of plush, glossiness thanks to George Maple’s vocal callings, whilst chopped beats sound drenched as if they stem from a warmer climate than the duo’s native Camden. Then there is the hyperactive ‘Make It’ with super-speed impressions sampled from Mary J Blige’s ‘Just Fine’, wrestling with punchy bass-heavy beats to create rousing proficiency. They aren't exactly trying to innovate an already saturated genre of tinged “future bass”, yet adding their individual catchy imprint is undoubtedly party music to take notice of.
Adorning the stage with their ever-amplifying presence next up was the Lancaster coupling of Bondax. This particular ‘Rudimental Presents…’ evening revealed itself as one of the first across the calendar to sell out and the age old debate (Not to mention uncomfortability) of whether the in-house organisers’ had actually over-sold the event cropped up across many attendees’ we spoke to- and was an attribute of which was highly noticeable. As the one-way system became increasingly swelled a little after eleven and entry into the main room became something of an unbearable task, we managed to maneuver ourselves in just in time for these now-seasoned producers to blow us away.

 Playing out re-fits of close collaborators Aluna George’s ‘You Know You Like It’ construed out into an indescribable influx of marathon dimensions, an almost unrecognizable yet brilliant melancholic presentation of Brandy & Monica’s ‘The Boy Is Mine’ also spiralled off, as the fact that these boys perform way older than their years has been widely reported- and rightly so. Scoping our way through to catch DJ EZ’s set albeit at an early rate, we unexpectedly stumbled into Buraka Som Sistema’s DJ set, booming out of a vibrating room two. The usually African-influenced Portuguese group span an admirable wave of UK Garage including Artful Doger’s ‘Re-Rewind’, causing an upsurge of rapture unlike any other- yet- of the night.
Spot-on midnight garage aficionado DJ EZ took to the decks to completely smash the titanic crowd ensuing. Fusing the benchmark of Missy Elliot’s ‘Get Ur Freak On’ with current cheeky French Montana releases, as well as a whole load of cleverly spun indie anthems that exceeded at least 110bmp, EZ not only held his own among the evidently unfamiliar crowd, yet managed to completely blow the roof off and astound visitors to the site.
Here is the thing about us writers- opinion does form some critical reception, to suggest otherwise would be blatant fiction, no matter how much we try and deny it, it’s in our human nature. Yet one thing is for certain; I’m no drum and bass fan but there is no one as unrivalled, prestigious and technically talented in the genre than Andy C. The Ram Records head honcho bought GQ along to assist in keeping the on looking “warriors” parading the front row into a militant throng of pounding limbs and stamina. Caning drum-&-bass-meets-jungle Friction remixes of Jonny L’s ‘Back To Your Roots’, A quint of Chase and Status smash-hits and a whole host of Shy Fx and Wilkinson; this was literally a paradise of go-hard proportions. Enlisting renowned multiple deck strategies, lengthy sets and an appreciation for not only the tracks projecting out but also his fans, all collectively assist in confirming the attributes of which ensure that Andy C remains at the pinnacle of dexterity.

Words by Yours Truly / Images by WHP (via here) X

Recently...

The past two months of being back in the city and post-Summer debauchery have been fantastic. Onwards and upwards for deadline season and inevitable Winter snow!

  Images by Yours Truly X

Freedom Spark Playlist // October

October's (belated) playlist for Freedom Spark is now up! I got a bit carried away and so there is seven songs this month (including, Death Grips, Kwes, Dan Deacon, Shigeto, Shinies, Swim Deep & How To Dress Well) of which are all corkers- enjoy! Speaking of which, Kwes whom I also included, is playing WHP tonight and, like, guess who is going?! Seriously, how fucking AMAZING is this line-up?! I think a sweaty rave in Room two whilst gidd-ily dancing to Pariah with some fantastic faces new and old sounds like a perfect Saturday to me! I'm off to drink all the Beechams in the flat in order to get on top form seeing as illness is well and truly still striking :( Have a rad weekend! Like I said in my last post, interviews' arriving soon!

Words by Yours Truly X