Inthemix Main Stage featuring Dave Clarke, Uberzone and Sugarhill Gang – reviewed by Megs

Entering the Leederville Hotel I was excited at the prospect of a new venue for Perth Festivals. The outdoor area was fairly bare with Duex providing some jazzy uptempo beats on the sound system brought in especially for day. But the crowd wasn’t moving, as Duex kept mixing it up by slowing it right down before picking it up again in order to hand over to Dazz K so that he may warm up the crowd for the gang.

Immediately pumping it up a notch with a little bit o hip hop in the form of Lyrics Born, 3.30 arrived and still the only people on the dance floor were the hacky sackers.   Launching into what I thought was an unimpressive mashup of Anty Up and Ghetto Superstar it seemed it would take more that a few well known track, including cypress hills insane in the membrane, to get the crowd involved although Fat Man Scoops collaboration with the Crooklyn Clan inspired a few bobbing heads.  Kicking into some drum n bass did the trick with many looking happy to hear Aphrodite’s take on The Fugees Ready or Not.

It soon became apparent that Sugahill were late – very late and that Dazz K was scraping the bottom of his record barrel in order to keep the music flowing, tracks such as The Seed by The Roots and Beautiful - Pharrel William and Snoop Dogg seemed a little out of place after the shout out to the junglist massive but hats off to him for the huge effort.

The Grandaddys of Hip Hop The Sugahill Gang hit the teeny stage at the rear of the courtyard around 5, they were over an hour late and had seemingly come straight from the airport but no one seemed to mind.  A small crowd had gathered which grew as the sounds of the gang filtered throughout the Leedy.

Totally winning over the crowd with a huge stage presence, classic style and superstar charisma the gang thanked the crowd profusely for being there to help celebrate their 25th year in the biz and as Grey clouds threatened to burst in the sky above they thrilled fans by throwing out CD’s and T-shirts (It’s amazing the excitement free stuff will cause). A highlight was definitely the medley of tracks including Eminems Slim Shady, The Beastie Boys Fight for your right and House of Pain’s Jump Around.

Wrapping it up with a rendition of Grandmaster Flash’s - The Message and finishing with of course their own hit Rappers Delight they filled the stage with dancing girls and boys before encoring with We will rock you.

Warren 10 and Adam Kytka took over on the decks above to provide some chilled out beats as we waited to see who or what would come next as you all probably know by now Dimitri From Paris, stayed in Paris, he missed his flight, a shame for the numerous fans awaiting his unique sounds but in what can only be describes as the play of the day, Uberzone were moved to the outdoor area for their incredible, amazing, mind-blowing set.

In their first Perth who ever they ripped it up as the crowd swarmed, perhaps drawn in by the mad percussion rolling off the stage and over masses inspiring frenetic dancing from the most animated crowd I saw all day.  Many people, myself happily included, had no idea how hot this set would be and quite a few had just wandered outside to get some air only to be sucked in by the beats emanating around the courtyard.

All too soon it was over and as I turned away from the stage I saw a sea of upturned faces awaiting the arrival of Techno Legend Dave Clarke. The appearance of Cee filling in behind the decks was not one Clarke fans wanted, fearing a similar no show similar to that of Dimitri. However he was just a little late and was soon taking his position for the final slot outside.

Dave Clarke, a name synonymous with all things techno, electro and quality took to the decks of the outdoor arena a little after the designated time. From the very first track dropped, it was apparent that he was either a little preoccupied or not focused on his set. However, he did manage to keep those in the arena dancing to his techno beats for the entirety of his set. Starting out playing some not so fresh tunes including Way of Life, a few of his own remixes and a couple from one of his favorite producers Anthony Rother, he mixed the tunes well, but nowhere near as quality as he usually does. There was plenty of funk injected techno as well as some electro laced tech which was a perfect dance floor combination.

Towards the end of his set, it started to rain just a little which provided a welcome relief to those that were dancing. This cleared the floor somewhat and it was hard to imagine that one of techno’s finest producers/DJ’s were actually up on the decks playing as there was hardly any crowd left dancing and the music was a little lacklustre. Despite the fact that his set wasn’t as amazing and full of quality in the usual Dave Clarke style, it was a fluid and well structured set which kept punters happily dancing the whole time.

(Dave Clarke’s set reviewed by Miss Munnee)

 

Elektrick Arena featuring Lisa Lashes, Mark Dynamix and Ali B – reviewed by Miss Munnee

In comparison to what the Elektrick arena at the original venue for this event had to offer punters, anything else wouldn’t have seemed up to par. Anyone who attended Sunshine People would know exactly what I’m talking about. The Elektrick tent at Mulberry Farm was massive, with an awesome lighting rig and plenty of room to move. However I was nicely surprised with the set up of the Elektrick arena at the Leederville Hotel. With the room as blackened as possible and a good lighting rig set up, the makeshift Elektrick room proved to be more than adequate.

Arriving just as doors opened, Teza was spinning some funky upbeat house, which provided a nice set for early punters to enjoy. Building things up a little towards the end of his set, Teza played a funking mix of Outkast – I Like the Way You Move which does the original more than justice. 

Next up to the decks were both Puff and Troy doing a versus set, pumping the room with their awesome blend of techno. Troy started out by dropping a funky tech house tune which provided the perfect introduction to the quality set they were about to let loose. For the next hour they both worked through an eclectic range of techno, with a major focus on the tribal percussion led tunes. It was a real versus set with both of them on the mixer at times, obviously enjoying the music as much as everyone else present.  Despite the range of techno played, there was an emphasis on layered build ups and drops which worked really well and got those in the room dancing or at the very least bopping. Towards the end of their set, Troy dropped Green Velvet – Answering Machine which well and truly rocked the room.

Chad D was up next and took things down a little with a funky blend of both deep and tech house. Mixing between the two genres so smoothly, Chad created an ambient and laid back vibe in the room. Plenty of vocals and soft layered percussion dominated the set which provided punters with some quality warm up music for the sets to follow.

As the room started to gradually fill, it was then time for Kenny L to step up to the decks. Starting out on a more tribal house note, Kenny played Phat Dope Shit – Locodice which drew many to the dance floor with its unique percussion. Sticking to this tribal note, Kenny played a number of dance worthy tunes including Erick Morrillo – I Got The Pills which attracted many to the room. Going from this tribal note he had established, Kenny then dropped some harder style tunes ending up on a slightly hard trance note with Tiesto – Traffic signifying the end of his set.

As the sun finally started to go down, Cee and Tamar took over from Kenny L and initially kept things on a hard note by dropping DK – Murder Was The Bass. From here they took the room on a tribal techno excursion, pumping the system with the most quality of tunes and fully utilizing the mixer to cut up and blend the sound at times also. Towards the end of their set, they dropped two Ingoma bombs; Freaks – Vincent Davis and Ben Sims followed by Street Carnival – Ben Sims much to the delight of those on the dance floor who started dancing even harder to this cacophony of tribal sounds. 

Due to the venue change, there was a fair amount of set time swapping that had to occur as well. As a result of this, breaks DJ Ali B was next up, which seemed a little strange considering the set he followed on from was anything but breaks. At the conclusion of Cee and Tamar’s set, Ali B slowed the record down to a stop and then started his first tune. First tune dropped was Meat Katie meets Christian J – Turn me Out which introduced the breaks sound smoothly into a room that had just been alive with the tribal sounds of techno. Over the next couple of hours Ali B managed to drop a few quality breaks tunes however the lack of any form of flow between tunes was apparent and the oddly matched mixes were noticeable even to the most untrained ear. The set was characterized by a few good tunes and some average mixing rather than a masterpiece of a set where every mix is quality and most every tune is rocking. Despite this however, the room was packed for the sets entirety and most punters seemed to still really enjoy what they were hearing.

Mark Dynamix was up next which was yet another strange set match up considering he plays anything but breaks. Known for his ability to rotate through a number of genres in any given set, you can safely count on hearing something fresh and different whenever he plays. For the entirety of his set, Dynamix kept those on the dance floor moving and grabbed the attention of those passing through or just having a drink with his unique blend of tunage. Vibrant house, funky tech house and even some light techno featured throughout his set which was blended so smoothly and resulted in one of the best sets this room heard all day.

Final set for the day was by UK hard house DJ Lisa Lashes. Her set started out on a lighter more trance oriented note with quite a few melodic synth breakdowns. From there she took things higher and much harder, keeping it on this level for the rest of her set. The dance floor was the most packed it had been all day and got even more crowded when she dropped Rock your body rock – Ferry Corsten. The punters seemed to totally dig the harder vibe she created and it was obvious she was loving every second of it herself. After the outdoor arena closed, this room became even more packed and it seemed as though everyone was really enjoying this last set of the day.

 

Loaded Dice DrumnBass Room featuring MovingFusion, Tali – album launch, BadCompany, Sardi, Concept & Daemos – reviewed by Peto

Well, well this event surprised me, in many ways. After starting out as a festival, a day in the sun with breaks, beats and some old skool rap, 33&1/3 evolved into a large inner city event where breaks & bass oozed out over alfresco & coffee. Drumnbass represented, though, upstairs with a soundsystem to satisfy any, the locals held it down and the internationals smashed up the place.

The decks were setup in a less than obvious position over in the front corner of the upstairs area. This was done due to the proximity of the stage to one of the main fire exits and the fact that there would have been trouble if the worst had occurred. So this left the area in front of the decks fragmented by a stair case and supporting wall which left two fronts to the decks; one small and shallow, the other narrow. This scattered the vibe to some extent but the DJs didn’t hold back and the crowd made the most of any space they could find.

Concept warmed up the place to his mates, me and two other blokes in a reallyfuckenearly spot for a Sunday afternoon at the pub. But the beer was flowing and so was the bass. The speaker stacks looked like they came straight from the festival setup and took a fair bit of space at the side of the bar, which left only a small section at the front somewhat amputating the vibe for the rest of the event. Concept had it rolling though, with ShyFX’ Murderation & Zinc’s Hear no Evil the trickle of people increased to a steady flow

Daemos stepped up after 1:30 and immediately cranked up the sound, really flexing out the sound system and putting my beer in tune to the basslines. As he mixed through heavy rollers and blistering bass Concept got back behind the decks for what looked like an extension set while Diamond D entertained. By now the smoke alarms had started their wail for attention, and boy they did not get enuff of it. On and off 6 or 7 times, the piercing noise was eventually just overpowered by the music and the management were left dumbfounded about what to do – so they did nothing! Through all the noise we got some heavy basslines in the form of Keaton & Hive’s Bring it On & Adam F’s Original Jungle Sound, combined with the visuals being switched on near the bar, which gave us a decent distraction.

Sardi took control next and wasted no time in dropping the new sounds, giving both CD decks a workout. His mixing was smooth and the tunes liquid, with a few vocals. This extended an inviting feel to the drumnbass room and, with the crowd building, Assassin got on the mic. Blending classics from Makoto and Carlito and newness from the prolific Calibre, Sardi got the dancefloor moving with some strong & soulful support from Assassin. Moving into darker territory Sardi dropped one of the Pendulum songs at the top of many playlists across the dnb world, Back to You which went down well with the crowd. Tali watched as the vibe built in anticipation, but 5 came and went and Sardi kept going strong while Tali was elsewhere. Lurch helped out Assassin on the mic as the other internationals arrived.

Moving Fusion jumped ahead of the schedule and took control from Sardi around 6. They took the crowd, expecting Tali, by surprise and immediately cranked up the volume and set about ramping up the vibe by about three notches. Their effect gripped all in the room and the first tune was a guaranteed rewind with that sort of energy. From there they never looked back keeping the room really moving as Lurch and Assassin assisted on the mic. They mixed through old and new with ease giving the Nine its first outing of the night, they even eased it back a touch and found time for some new Calibre flavours before moving back into Ram territory with Titan, which gained strong support on the rewind. Pendulum’s Another Planet dropped with the heavy bass and Friction & Frenzic’s remix of Jo’s classic R Type also found playtime. Moving Fusion kept up the pressure with quick mixing new selections in the form of their forthcoming remix of Chilli Pepper, Zinc’s melodic new tune Stepping Stones which blended well with the quality Nu Tone remix of Roni Size’ Strictly Social. Watch out for big things from Liquid V as the crowd demanded the rewind. By now the Stickman movies were in full effect which made a humorous change from checking out the dull vibes outside on the big screen. Moving Fusion kept mixing up the old and the new as their favourite Turbulence got rewound and quickly mixed back into Ram Trilogy’s Skittles. They had the place rocking till the end and finishing up with a rewind on Thunderball before handing over to an amped Tali on the mic with Motive on the decks.

Tali fired up with Blazin’ to kick it off as she sung live versions of tunes from the Lyric on my Lip LP over the top of instrumentals spun by Motive. In one of the easiest DJ sets ever, Motive held back on the blends and let Tali take centre stage as she got the crowd singing while NZ mates Concord Dawn watched on. She moved through all the album favourites including Lyric on My Lip & Gonna Catch ya. Although it was a truncated spot between BC and Moving Fusion, Tali found time for Kamanchi’s Hold it Down and finished off a short and sweet set on High Hopes as the crowd showed their appreciation and were left wondering why we didn’t get more (than 30mins).

Vegas entered with vinyl in hand next to Maldini as Bad Company took control in a back to back set to round off proceedings. Kicking things off with Rush Hour the BC duo

started with a rewind continuing the trend for the night. MC Xcessive helped out Assassin on the mic as Vegas dropped Bring it on for third time on the night then teasing the crowd with Torpedo stabs. Another Planet rinsed out again and blended well with the Hive retouch of Bad Company’s Mass Hysteria. Moving back through familiar territory with Titan, Moving Fusion’s Spar got hold of the mic and proceeded to bust out fueled by some complimentary Vodka and a party vibe behind the decks he provided some amusing rhymes over the rugged beats. Concord Dawn’s Morning Light mixed through with Horns remix as the BC crew were not letting up. With the eagerness of the Moving Fusion in support things were stayed heavy. MC Xcessive took the mic back from Spar as Maldini rinsed out the fresh Pendulum remix of BC’s Submarines and it couldn’t escape a second time around. Bullet time also copped the rewind as the DJs were moving till the end. The last tune came and went with a rewind and Vegas obliged on another last tune, a heavy hardstepper which also got the rewind with help from Spar. This left a slightly deaf crowd wanting more but the screech of the smoke alarms coming back into awareness signaled it was time to exit.

It was an interesting day out, but the power of drumnbass and the dedication of the DJs and the crowd on the night provided a solid event upstairs. Respect to all the drumnbass DJs & MCs and to Jeremy for pulling through on this one.