In other news, I saw Laurent Garnier play an all-night set in Manchester between Christmas and new year. It was a small sub-500 capacity basement club, and how often do you get to see a DJ of Garnier’s calibre playing in a space like that? What’s more, Garnier started his career in Manchester in the late ‘80s while working at the French embassy, so his fanbase in the city is particularly loyal and long-standing.
The set was every bit as wide-reaching as you’d expect from the Garnier. The first 30 minutes were basically all dub and jazz, with no true ‘electronic’ music at all. By that point the place was practically full already. From there he built up through Motor City Drum Ensemble-style raw deep house into some beautiful abstract deep techno right at that point in the night, which made me feel like I meditating in deep space. Then it was on into the kind of big, emotive, punchy melodic techno he specialises in, with plenty of scenic detours. For thirty minutes in the middle he went straight-up disco, then towards the end he got into some speed garage and dirty bass ‘n breaks. What I love about Garnier is he’s one of those DJs with absolutely no qualms about playing big, big records at the right moments in the night. He’ll play the coolest stuff around from right across the spectrum, but when the night needs a big spine-tingling anthem he’ll deliver in spades and not give the slightest fuck as to whether it’s “cheesy”. I also love the way he mixes – there were a few times where I noticed him flip the EQ straight from one bassline to another and it gave the energy such a boost.
Also, that crowd. Fucking hell. Might just be the best crowd I’ve ever been part of. The intensity in a club is always better when the room is small, the ceiling low and the DJ at eye level. But this was next level. People were cheering and jumping around at practically everything he did. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a crowd go more mental than when he inevitably slipped in Crispy Bacon right near the end of the night. It was an absolute sweatbox – sweat dripping off the ceiling, huge clouds of steam rising up the stairwell back up to fresh air. An extremely satisfying night of dancing to round off 2018.
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Mixes:
> Back To Deep [Deep Trippy House]
> Terra Nova [Modern Progressive Trance]
> Rough & Ready [Modern Trance]
>A Different Energy [Good Modern Trance]
> The Edale Mix [Panoramic Beats]
Last edited by SYSTEM-J on Jan-07-2019 at 13:40
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