Bedrock Easter Special

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  • The Bedrock Easter line-up was one of those parties that you dream about. One of, if not the biggest, line ups ever fielded by bedrock - with all DJs going off in 4 different rooms to an eclectic mix of breaks, progressive, twisted and trancey sounds and just feel-good house. The major problem was always going to be trying to fit in everyone. It soon became apparent that this was not going to happen, so I had to make my choices and get on with my night. I arrived around 11:30 and went straight up to the Dakota bar to catch the end of Jonathon Lisle’s set. I had never seen Jonathon play before, so was more than a little excited. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the room was packed and already very alive. Jonathon had already managed to whip everyone into a frenzy and the room was absolutely buzzing with energy. There was a real party atmosphere, which was just what the doctor ordered with a 4 day long weekend about to begin. Before long it was time for Cass to come on. Cass started just after 12 with the superb Themroc mix of Rob Dougans ‘Furious Angels’, which went down a treat. I was interested to see how many people left at the beginning of Cass’ set, as James Zabiela was starting in the main room at the same time, but most people made the sensible decision and didn’t leave. Cass continued along the same level of energy that Johnathon had left off; dropping down a little every now and again, for fear that people would fall down from exhaustion. He covered all bases from breaks, to tech house, then from progressive to touching on the funkier side of techno. The stand out breaks records for me were Andy page and Lee Burridges ‘Why Are the Pretty Ones Always Insane’, and Jon Cooper’s ‘Neuorsis’. On the house and tech house front Paolo Mojo’s bootleg remix of ‘Fibonacci Sequence’ caused quite a stir, as did the quirky Switches Rely on Dub remix of the Chemical Brothers ‘Get Yourself High’. On the more progressive and tougher side of things, Cass’ last two records were absolutely massive and had the whole room jumping. They were Cass’ very own Giant, which appears on Dave Seaman’s Renaissance CD, and a mash up of Underworld’s ‘Rez’ with Infusions ‘Legacy’. A fantastic way to end a great set that continued on the firm foundation that had already been set by Jonathon Lisle. On at the same time as Cass was heir to the progressive throne, internet favourite and all-round nice guy James Zabiela who was stepping up for his debut in the main room at Bedrock and didn't dissappoint. Unfortunately I did not get to catch much of James set but one of the highlights was hearing a tune from his Essential Mix, Introvert vs Bjork 'Joga’. This had been probably my favourite track from the Essential Mix and it was incredible to hear this monster build up and crank across the big sound system of the main room. The already full crowd in the main room swelled some more as the man, digweed, took to the decks. He played a characterstically digweed sound, playing everything from the deeper side of house to the tougher side of progressive. Taking full advantageof an easter extension on closing hours from 3 to 4, john saved some big guns for a large last hour, dropping some very huge rocking tunes (if only I knew what they were). Unfortunately I didn’t get to see much of Digweeds set as I spent most of the remainder of the night back in the Dakota Bar, listening to James Holden. James Holden had always been a favourite producer of mine, and while I did really like his Balance CD, I was not taken by it to the same level as a lot of people were. There had previously been some negative comments about James Holden’s ability as a live DJ, so I was looking forward to finding out first hand exactly what he could do. Holden moved from the progressive sound that Cass had left off, into more of a techno territory earlier on. His tracks would have the pixie like Holden sounds layer over these intricate drum patterns and tough techno thud. It made for some very interesting listening as he played a sound that was very different to anything I have heard a DJ play before. While I did recognise a few tracks and samples, the majority of Holdens set was made up of things I have never heard before. All of these probably would have been the newest stuff available as I cant actually remembering him playing any vinyl, but instead playing his entire set from CDR. The tracks I remember were a new remix of Nathan Fakes ‘Outhouse’, and the vocal accapella from ‘Nothing’. I may be wrong, but I think there was also a remix that Holden has done of Britney spears, but I could have been hearing things and been way off the mark. Overall Bedrock was the perfect way to get a long weekend started. My only complaint, if I have one, is that I did not get a chance to see everyone I would of like to see for as long as I would have liked.
RA