The long Easter weekend was coming to an end. With my body being overtired from lack of sleep and my head feeling a tad seedy from a heavy night at the local pub the night before, I knew the only cure was a healthy dose of UK Garage and 2-Step. So what better way to get this cure than at Sydney’s biggest 2-step night, Premium.
After a long 3 month break, Premium was back at a new venue, and with UK DJ Storm headlining the event this looked to be a good night. As I walked down the stairs into the Spi Bar I could hear Paul Fraser and Pete Mac easing the early punters into some nice 4 to the floor beats accompanied with some of the more soulful side of UK Garage.
If a new venue, extended hours and an international DJ wasn’t enough, it was also the official launch for the latest edition on the “Back to Mine” series which was mixed by huge UK DJ and producer MJ Cole.
The club was surprisingly full for so early in the night, with many people grabbing a seat on the large round couches, having a few drinks at the bar, or hoping to get a free copy of the “Back to Mine” CD. There was a different feel from previous Premiums. The new venue was much classier, which seemed to attract more people than the dank underground Dendy, but as I looked around I saw a lot of familiar faces, the small but growing followers of one of the, if not the most popular dance genres in the UK, UK Garage/2-Step.
The place filled fairly quickly and the music progressed to the heavier, 2-Step sound as Farj took over the decks and showed the crowd the meaning of bangin’ out the 2-Step Sydney style. The dance floor was almost full as Farj pumped out more and more intense bass lines testing out, the as promised, louder and phatter sound system which had the floors shaking to the bass. MCs Tanzi and Antic were supporting Farj, now in full swing, getting the crowd sweating it out early in the night.
The club was full when Sheen stepped up to the DJ booth and started his set. As always Sheen played an excellent set, exploring the middle grounds for Garage and 2-step, playing a lot of funky tunes that had the dance floor prepared for Storm who was up next.
As Storm started his set with a classic 4 to the floor tune, MC Tanzi yelled for hands in the air and the crowd quickly obliged. Without hesitation Storm whipped out a whole line of classic 2-step anthems, not giving the enthusiastic 2-Steppers a chance to rest. As MC Super Ted took over the mic Storm showed us how it is done UK style with punchy crossfades, tight mixing and a good selection of new and old tunes.
Emme closed off the night, with many punters still sweating it out on the dance floor as one of the best Premiums yet, came to an end.
The night was a definite success with it being possibly the biggest Premium to date. As more and more UK Garage hits our shores with artists such as Artful Dodger, Mis-teeq and Daniel Bedingfield making the billboards, it wont be long before the genre is big over here like it is in the UK. Many people often ask what is UK Garage/2-Step and there is not a better event to go to and find out. With such a diverse range of the UK styles Premium is the best event in Sydney to take a crash course in 2-Step.
Check out http://www.dj.com.au/premium for information on future Premiums and http://www.garagepressure.com for information on where you can catch the Garage Pressure boys mashin’ it up UK style.
