– THE WAREHOUSE PROJECT, MANCHESTER –
The car park under Piccadilly Station has showcased some incredible line-ups over the last few years. Friday night sees The Warehouse Project bring in some of the most innovative and forward thinking electronic artists in the world, headlined by Modeselecktor, with Squarepusher, Four tet, Skream, amongst others.
Upon entering I am welcomed by Skream on stage, who is one of the biggest and influential names to emerge from the dub-step scene in recent times, but tonight he plays anything but Dub-step, the advertised 130bpm set is full of funky house tunes mixed in with some minimal techno throughout. His build ups and drops are perfect and gratefully appreciated by the large crowd. It’s a superb set and it’s good to see a DJ exploring and appreciating different styles of music.
Next up is the electronic guru Squarepusher, and what a show it is. He wears a helmet which displays an array of dancing LED lights, with the design mimicked on the entire wall behind him. Both the sound and energy levels double as soon as he starts. Everyone is up for this. He plays an array of energetic songs that seemed to be an entirely new set, with brand new material… uptempo with driving beats, which is more melodic than his earlier material, but still has that Squarepusher essence. It’s an amazing set, the astonishment and surprise on peoples faces reflects what everyone has just seen and is the talk of the club for the next hour.
Having to follow Squarepusher is an enviable task. Duties fall to Four Tet with a DJ set. There is a definite lull in proceedings after what has just been witnessed. He plays a variety of different styles and intersecting records, and is one amazing DJ… I think maybe this is the wrong time to play this kind of thing, so I go to enjoy the bar.
And so, it comes to German duo Modeselektor to end the night. Upon entering the stage, they are greeted with a huge round of applause. With the release of the new album ‘Monkeytown’, I am excited to hear the new material alongside the classics. They open perfectly with the rolling beat and stretched synth chords of ‘Blue Clouds’, the opener to the new album. To compliment the track, animated visuals of the albums cover art play in the background, which fits perfectly with the bass heavy music.
Modeselecktor play a great deal from the new album, and rightly so, as they take the crowd on a journey with the albums punchy rhythms and characteristic killer synth riffs. All of which are played perfectly to the delighted crowd. A highlight of mine is ‘Pretentious Friends’, with its hip-hop dimensions, sounding grander than it does on the record. It’s just perfect. The crowd enjoy a slew of well received classic tracks and as always, it is a fantastic show and a great way to be introduced to the fine new record. They successfully manage to maintain their reputation as a formidable and much respected live act. Just simply – awesome!