- If there was one person who could be described as the ultimate party dj, surely Nick Warren would be it. The man has been rocking clubs and festivals all over the globe for over a decade, and it is no surprise how highly he is regarded throughout the industry. Responsible for five Global Underground compilations, he is one of the few progressive djs who has always focused on keeping his music energetic and on the lighter side of the spectrum. Perhaps Nick’s refusal to take himself too seriously is why he is, and has always been, such a crowd favourite. His production work as the esteemed duo Way Out West alongside Jody Wisternoff is a further testament to this guy’s talent, and it is little wonder why the sixtyfour crew chose him to headline their first club event. He almost always guarantees an enjoyable night for all wherever he plays, and this was to be no different.
I arrived at GAS fairly to allow myself to soak up the atmosphere from the sidelines before gearing myself up for what was ahead. What was a fairly empty club when I first arrived was soon filling up at the rate of knots, while Sugar Ray Good and Phil Smart were teasing them onto the dance floor with a fine set consisting of tough prog and tech-house that soon had everyone bobbing their heads and tapping their feet in appreciation. I haven’t seen all that much of these guys but I was very impressed and they provided the perfect warm up for Nick Warren – not too hard, but enough energy to have everyone nicely pumped up by 1am. Indeed for the last half hour of their set the dance floor was already packed out, and I could see that the chances of having a comfortable dancing space once Nick began were rapidly decreasing. Bah the hell with it, time for another beer!
My passive attitude didn’t last long however, and as is generally the case when any international plays you could sense the anticipation and excitement throughout the club steadily increase as the clock started to tick closer and closer to 1. His eventual appearance behind the decks was greeted with cheering and more rushing to the dance floor as attendees vied for the little space that was left. A familiar melody suddenly filled the club as Nick dropped Layo & Bushwacka’s ‘Let the good times roll,’ a perfect opening I must say and one that got me joining the rest of the pack onto the dancefloor almost immediately. Melodic breakbeat was then quickly built up into the kind of driving progressive that Nick Warren is renowned for, and the dance floor came alive with an array stomping feet and pumping fists. Things were a little too push/shove for my liking however and I quickly retreated on to the balcony to listen and appreciate from a safe distance! It was from here that I heard the majority of Nick’s first hour or so and what a first hour it was, featuring tracks such as Timo Maas – Help me (Deep Dish remix), Sasha & JXL – Beauty Never Fades, Vector – Rise, and Aquaculture – Don’t Play the Game. He’d gone proggy, he’d gone breaky, he’d gone funky, he’d even gone a little trancey, and the crowd was going with him all the way. There was no question that we were witnessing a true crowd-pleasing dj in full flight.
Nick doesn’t exactly have the most revered mixing skills in the world, but he has a fairly unique technique in terms of progressive dj’s that creates a lot of energy in his sets. He tends to really slam his mixes home rather than adopting the long, drawn-out seamless mixing style championed by guys like Sasha, Digweed, Pappa and Kleinenberg. Seamless, no, but it sounds bloody great and serves to build on the party atmosphere his music already creates, and his timing was consistently spot-on.
After the strong opening hour it was always going to be hard to keep it going, and he seemed to mellow out a little in the middle of his set, losing some of the ____ energy he had built. The crowd were still hanging on every track though, as it became evident that he really did have them in the palm of his hand. A smile here, a cheesy grin there, and suddenly Sasha’s ‘Wavy Gravy’ was heard throughout the club and just like that the energy was restored and I found myself back onto the dancefloor. I squeezed my way to the very front this time where there was a little more space to move and there I stayed for the remainder of his set, grinning uncontrollably from ear to ear. Sander Kleinenberg – My Lexicon was next on the menu and this had the crowd in raptures, while the Gabriel and Dresden remix of Way Out West – the gift kept things moving on a more melodic edge.
A lot of progressive purists seem to dislike anything in the realms of melodic but I really can’t think why. It’s time people gave up on labelling stuff “cheesy” simply because it sounds happy and puts a smile on people’s faces. But enough about that, back to the set, and Nick was moving back into more driving prog territory and soon dropped my favourite track of the night: Mory Kante – Yeke Yeke, and I simply couldn’t resist the urge to sing along After this track however he got a little too repetitive for my liking, but more than redeemed himself by closing with the beautiful ‘Bloodlock,’ which if he hadn’t already won the entire crowd over, he surely had now. And just like that it was over, where had the time gone?? As is always the case at these events they are always over all too quickly, but there was no question that this had been one of the most enjoyable sets I had heard in a long time.
By the time Nick finished and I had my couple of cd’s signed I was too tired to kick on for much of Korbel and Anthony’s set, and I made my way for the exit. There are people who were perhaps a little disappointed that Nick Warren didn’t pull out more new and fresh tunes, rather than pulling out the crowd favourites and proven big tunes, but the majority certainly loved every minute of it. At the end of the day, music is first and foremost about enjoyment, and djing is first and foremost about entertainment, and that is exactly what he delivered! Big thanks to the Sixtyfour crew for bringing him out, and let’s hope its not the last time he graces our shores..