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Music

Saturday's Dekmantel X Resident Advisor Warehouse Project Was Too Much Fun for it's Own Good

Four Tet, Jackmaster, Ben UFO, Joy Orbison, Nina Kraviz, and Dixon...almost greedy isn't it?
All photos by Jody Hartley.

DEKMANTEL X RESIDENT ADVISOR

When the lineups for this years Warehouse Project were rolled out, Dekmantel and Resident Advisor's bumper bill was the first to have our eyes popping out our heads. Naturally with their collective prestige the two curators were always going to pull a pretty special crew together, but to get Nina Kraviz, Dixon, Four Tet, Ben UFO, Jackmaster and Joy Orbison all the same night was feat even we didn't see coming. As you'd imagine, with all the aforementioned artists playing in the main room, the crowd barely thinned all night — to the point where slipping out for a beer condemned you to a space at least 50 metres further back than you were currently stood. But the glorious and palpable advantage of this near over-subscription was the irrepressible energy that filled the main room all evening. Seriously we haven't been to a night where that many people were in that good a mood in ages.

When it came to the music it's safe to say every big name lived up to their sizeable reputation. Here were our highlights.

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THUMP'S HERO OF THE NIGHT: FOUR TET

Sure it's the obvious choice, but Kieran Hebden really is on fire at the moment. It's as if in the last year or so, in the best way possible, he has found an ego he hadn't previously tapped into. He is producing and mixing is the most club friendly music of his career, showcasing this on Saturday with a run through some of the massive offerings he has been responsible for this year. His Cheryl Cole garage edit, the beguiling "Digital Arpeggios" under his Percussions moniker, and of course the record everyone is currently talking about, his remix of Eric Prydz' "Opus". The latter was exactly the roof-raising euphoric moment you'd imagine it to be. The track has already got enough of a reputation that "that build" had people screaming at the ceiling before finally being released with the shuffling drop.

Outside of that, every other selection was precision picked ranging from Carl Craig's remix of Caribou's "Your Love Will Set You Free" to the completely unexpected but boldly beautiful closer, "Bonnie Boy". A superb set, and more than deserving of the rapturous applause it was greeted by come the end.

THE SECRET WEAPON - NINA KRAVIZ/DIXON

Well, hardly secrets, but given the reputations and roof-raising rhythms of both Four Tet and the B2B2B (that we will get to shortly), the bookending presences of both Nina Kraviz and Dixon gave our night the stability to stretch from 10pm until 5am the following morning quite comfortably. Kraviz kicked our evening off with a dose of stealthy acidic cuts — an intense but hugely effective warm set — and Dixon did a similarly steely job closing out the evening in the 3:30 til 5 slot. Highlight track? Dixon dropping Lando's "Communication II" and informing the final stretch of heads down stomping, before stumbling out and into taxis.

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TRACK OF THE NIGHT - LIL SILVA - "SEASONS"

The Jackmaster, Ben UFO, Joy Orbison B2B2B was an absolute riot — from start to finish Store Street was witness to some unbelievable scenes, as the three selectors clearly had as much fun behind the decks as we did out front. Their session produced many of the tracks of the night — Rex The Dog's "Sicko" coming in a close second — but for our money, it was the whole main room chanting full volume along with the stabbing horns of Lil Silva's "Seasons" that won the night. Nothing new necessarily, but a perfect example of right time, right place.

BEST CROWD REACTION

Hats off to the panicked looking bloke who became more and more agitated the more the "Opus" built up and up during Four Tet's set, who then, when the track did finally drop, screamed "YASSSSSSSSSSSS" for what felt like the remainder of the night and may or may not have been crying come the end of the track. A poignant, and relatively unnerving, moment for us all.

But seriously, with scenes like this — can you blame him?

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