Break Inn feat. High Contrast @ Chinese Laundry, Sydney (08/02/08)
Break Inn welcomed drum n’ bass to the main room on Friday night, letting the revelers know that High Contrast was in town along with MC Wrec for a night of loudness. With some of the Fourth Quadrant DJ’s in support and breaks, for once, relegated to the side room that is The Cave, this was a chance for Break Inn regulars to hear something a bit different and mingle with the usual suspects from the DnB scene. And it certainly made for a night to remember.
High Contrast, hailing from Cardiff, is part of Hospital Records crew, who signed him up in 2000 before watching him effortlessly assail the scene and achieve superstardom to the point at which such luminaries as Missy Elliot come a-knocking for remix duties, and Fabric mixtapes were de rigeur. I walk in however to Mode, who’s laying down some nasty vibes, crazy long breaks that tease and tease before dropping in to heavy thumping bass and mad snares. The crowd is lapping it up, going mad on the dancefloor as they seek desperately to stay in time, a feat beyond any mere human. This is a good contrast: a ragga drop here, a smooth vibe there, a counter-pointing of rough and smooth so that the energy levels are ebbing and flowing, slowly rising up. Upstairs, searching for a drink without a five deep queue, I hear the ponderings of the uninitiated beneath the cabana.
“You wanna knock on downstairs?”
“What’s on?”
‘Drum n’ bass.”
“Oh. I don’t know.”
“It’ll be good.” Cue dancing on the spot that somehow seems to convince.
If you’re not an outright drum n’ bass fan then High Contrast is a good place to start, as not unlike London Elektricity, he dispenses with much of the anger inherent to drum n’ n bass and goes for a more soulful, uplifting sound. Indeed, the Hospital label managed to break through into the house scene in Ibiza with success, a mighty feat and proof that music this good goes beyond boundaries and, above all else, gets people dancing.
Come 1am and it’s time for the main act, and the crowd is there, packing the main room to sweating point. MC Wrec takes up the mike. “Are you ready for the High Contrast?” I think the crowd certainly was, and they went off as tunage splayed out. Perennial favourites such as General Hospital and Natural High were key to the set, grabbing attention with their catchy hooks and simple bass lines and the mixing was as tight as a plastic sock, each tune flowing effortlessly in to the next.
So mad was the dancing and so deep was the throng that I tried to seek relief (and space) elsewhere. First I tried the back of the room but for some reason the whole area smelled like feet so on I moved to the ex-smoking-chamber where Monkey played away. No joy there either, the dancing continued on the cushions and foot-rests, the padded seats, the small aisles. I managed, at length, to mark out a space under a speaker so that the elbows were kept from my face, but brownian motion slowly saw me jostled away until I was back at the foot-smelling spot, although now someone had thrown up there or thereabouts, changing the odour.
Two hours flew by as if they were but nowt, my feet burned away to husks, my head throbbing with eye-watering tunes. Meanwhile, in the breaks room, very little was going on – a handful of refugees spaced out, true devotees presumably.
MC Wrec’s lyrics added well to the set and vitally, he knew the value of when to stay quiet. When he was chatting he mixed it up between gee ups and raps, a nice addition that kept the mood upbeat and ready for the next tune, as well as giving us a temperature update, peaking out at 136° F. Yes, this music was HOT!
Aggrovator took up the mantle and it all started again although after half an hour i was puffed out and decided to make my merry way home. I’d come prepared this time though, my MP3 player on hand for the ride home so that the absence of music didn’t start my head ringing. Hopefully the success of this night will have a knock on effect of bringing more top DJs in to the main room at the Laundry. Bass Inn anyone?
ccombe says...
nice review, a shame that Typhonic didn't get a mention, I thought he ripped it up quite nicely with the inclusion of some wicked beat juggling, a true class act! Way too many people but I guess thats what happens when you put on a rocking show...