The Stanton Warriors returned to the battleground they have conquered a couple of times this decade. Now that the old Heat has morphed into Villa, a new generation of clubbers has witnessed the fitness of the Warriors’ broken beats. This club tour has been hyped ever since the Stantons played a barnstorming festival set at Good Vibrations earlier this year. Arriving soon after midnight, the two level venue was getting stacked as the crowd was treated to the electro funk styling of Tee El vs Marty Mcfly. It was obvious to all that crew were there to party. The dance floor was busy early and the heat inside was building.

Air raid sirens soon filled the air to announce Micah vs Mono Lisa to the Villa skybox. Based on the crowd’s reaction, these two Boomtick favourites were hotly anticipated to warm the floor with a suitable energy & enthusiasm befitting the internationals to follow. They did not disappoint. Micah interestingly delivered some heavy four on the floor beats that contained elements of electro, tech, and even trance-esque elements as Lisa broke it down with some proper breaks and twisted basslines. Recognisable samples over fresh beats went down well with re-rubs of Fatboy Slim’s Renegade Master and Lady Waks Minimal going down a treat. Both DJs excel at hyping up the crowd and their short one hour set was a perfect entree to the main course.

Breakbeat luminaries Dom & Mark, the Stanton Warriors, started their set with a bang, dropping many current & classic beats within a frenetic first 30min. Their remix of Handz Up from Deekline & Wizard was dropped pretty quickly as well as a version of their own Get Wild. Dom’s skills on 3 CD players were immediately apparent, as his partner worked an Ableton-equipped laptop along with a multitude of MIDI & effects gadgets.

A bass heavy working of Precinct satisfied and the classic Shake It Up gave the crowd some voice. After the first flurry of attacking moves the boys shifted gears as some deeper sounds were showcased and a groove was built from the ground up. A cappellas like the ethereal Still Here were floated over contrasting tunes and the set was kept interesting with new material, I assume, from their forthcoming artist album.

Caspa’s ubiquitous mix of Where’s My Money? kick started a dubstep section of grooves that kept a healthy amount of proper breakbeat in amongst the half time wobble so as to not scare off the uninitiated. This juxtaposition of beats was done with the skill & programming nous expected of big-time internationals but rarely delivered with such success. Their now-familiar mash of Good Vibrations from the Beach Boys, as well as a slice of radio monster Riverside, ingested a bit of rare cheese into the set. This was all easily forgiven as the Stantons ran well over their advertised set time to give the audience a full range of their studio-manipulated musical experiments.
A wicked version of Sub Focus Rock It was dropped as the set was nearing climax, and another awesome drum and bass rhythm rocked Villa to the foundations as a final encore track. Whatever that track was, I want it! Satisfied, breathless, and bruised, the venue cleared out like a fire drill as the Stantons finished & lapped up the applause. It was great to see the Warriors back in town, doing what they do best in a club setting. The over 2.5 hour set was more than anyone could ask for and provided a complete & varied experience of wicked broken beats.