- The south of England has its fair share of big electronic nights, but it's easy for northern dwellers to feel left out. Generally speaking you won't do an excited double take when looking at a promo poster up north. The audience in London is bigger, which creates a bigger turnover, which in turn allows for bigger line-ups. Pretty simple when put like that.
There are exceptions to the rule, of course, and The Warehouse Project is one of them. Booking a massive three-month season every year (and presumably madly organising for the remaining nine months), their listings page reads like a who's who in dance music. One of those whos, undoubtedly, is Kieran Hebden. With an ever-growing appeal since the release of There Is Love in You in January, his name alone might have been enough to secure a crowd of an equivalent size (around 2,000, I would estimate).
Thanks to the glories of British public transport, I didn't arrive until midnight and the first act I saw was Zomby. Clad in his usual mask, he skipped through various cuts from Where Were U in '92? and similarly ragged offerings of well-produced jungle and old school, with a particular focus on low-end frequencies. A quick wander into the main room revealed Theo Parrish in some kind of soulful trance, giving his infamous funk and disco refixes a run for their money. Despite initial reluctance, the crowd quickly loosened up. Who could resist stone-cold classics like James Brown's "The Payback"?
Four Tet supported his eclectic choice of acts with an equally varied collection of tunes. From the four-on-the-floor pulse of "Sing" to more abstract constructions, his entrance onto the stage heralded a mass exodus from room 2. His mastery of performance was clear from the outset, as he delicately crafted the direction of the music in favour of the listener.
A well thought-out live performance followed courtesy of Caribou, effortlessly blending electronic and acoustic instruments in a fashion that has become a trademark of main man Dan Snaith. Switching instruments after every song, he led the band through the best parts of Swim and a few older favourites from Andorra, at times adding a second layer of drums for a deep, percussive sound. Further depth was added through the use of a large visual display of hazy coloured shapes, casting a fluorescent light over the group. Elsewhere, Jamie xx provided a set of garage-inspired bass tracks which, although a little too au fait, kept feet moving in room 2.
My only criticisms of the Warehouse Project are organisational. You'll feel like a sardine in its miniscule smoking area (also the only fresh air available). At its peak, it gets incredibly busy and hard to navigate, and the price of drinks is a little too high for the north. After all, it's not London.