Without a doubt, when Jimmy Van M rocked up to Sweetchilli he played hands down one of the most amazing sets I’ve heard this year. From epic progressive tracks to minimal-sounding deepness and slamming tech house, it was everything that is good about underground house, and then some. I was non-stop dancing to this set and the Civic dancefloor was rammed the whole time, so it seems that I wasn’t the only one getting off on the sounds!

I have a couple of Jimmy’s mix CDs and to tell you the truth, none of them were really outstanding for me. His Bedrock compilation from 2001 is pretty solid: driving, classic progressive and tech house tunes, excellent ploddy goodness but lacking a little something maybe. His Balance compilation from last year was a three- disk release that suitably, focused on three different elements: downtempo, midtempo and uptempo. Although I appreciated it as a showcase of the diversity of the Jimmy, I found that with the exception of the uptempo mix it was lacking a certain ‘oomph’. But all reports are that his new Balance 10.1 compilation is jammed full of peaktime goodness, and with tracks from the likes of Bodzin, Moonbeam and Elite Force it’s definitely one I’m hanging to get my hands on.

When I walked into the Civic last Friday night, I guess I was expecting a slower, smoother set from Jimmy, more in tune with his CD from last year: but instead the sound he was smashing out was thumping, uplifting and bouncing. His track selection was fantastic, mixing in a huge selection of underground tracks with the likes of Chemical Brothers, Underworld, New Order and other classic tunes that the crowd lapped up. It was unreal to see the crowd loving it so much: watching the looks on the faces of the punters when he dropped the next track in so perfectly, lifting the vibe to a whole new level.

He played for four hours, and not for one moment did I get bored, think about leaving or wonder why he chose a certain track. I now understand why the last time Jimmy Van M came out everyone raved on for ages about how great it was. The set was so tight, to the point and possibly one of the most professional and technically spot opn sets I’ve ever heard. We don’t usually get to hear DJs play for that long, but I reckon that it should happen more often! It gives the punters the opportunity to hear and experience what the DJ is all about.

Sweetchilli are known for consistently bringing out kickarse acts like Jimmy Van M, who showcase the diversity of quality dance music that’s out there. In this year alone I have managed to catch Luke Fair, Lee Burridge, Dave Seaman, Anthony Pappa and the much anticipated Extrawelt are going to be here at the end of Novemember, so that undoubtedly be mindblowing. The Sweetchilli crew always present the music in an accessible fashion that encourages new people to jpin the fold, and I even met a crew of drum n’ bass heads who rocked up on the evening: they loved it – the music, the vibe, everything. If you’re even bringing DnB heads into the fold then you must be doing something right, so fantastic work guys!