Meduza and James Hype present: Our House @ Drumsheds review
We sent Harvey Marwood to check out Meduza and James Hype's Our House show at Drumsheds, the last night of the venue's most recent season.
Date published: 29th Apr 2024
Closing off what has been an incredible Drumsheds season, Internationally renowned producers, DJs and hit-makers MEDUZA and James Hype all came through on Saturday to curate one final send-off until the Autumn. Entitled “Our House”, the lineup saw a wide array of house artists play sets on a stacked lineup, with the venue opening at 12pm and closing just after 10:30pm. With just under 25 artists playing across three different rooms throughout the day, the afternoon built up to closing sets from MEDUZA and James Hype solo, before a final set of the night was played back to back, something the crowd had eagerly anticipated. With 15,000 ravers in attendance, this was a closing party unlike any other.
It’s no secret that both MEDUZA and James Hype are some of the most well-streamed and globally recognised DJs in the scene. With tracks such as ‘Lose Control’, ‘Ferrari’, ‘Piece Of Your Heart’ and ‘Paradise’ in their combined discography, the trio MEDUZA boast more than 19 million monthly listeners with James Hype boasting more than 12 million monthly listeners. These are globally recognised icons in the music industry. It’s fascinating to know, post-event, that the reason for James Hype’s lack of events in the UK is due to his original feeling of unacceptance by the house scene over here; upon reflection of this sold-out show an emotionally written caption expressed just how much it meant to him to put on this event in the UK and for it to be so well received. A deserved reflection and testament to his International success, this day partnered with MEDUZA was some day out for all house fans and those in-between genres.
Having spent time chopping and changing between each room, the Y and Z room again offered a more intimate and tight-knit atmosphere, whereas the Drumsheds X Room fell host to the trippy cinematics and vast stage/speaker system - the biggest of the venue. One of the notable favourite sets throughout the day came in the latter room, with Kream taking to the stage around 5pm. Powerhouses in the melodic tech-house scene, the Norwegian brothers sounded great amongst the Drumsheds sound system; each arpeggiated synth went hand in hand with the ultra high-tech cinematics on the screens behind - it felt almost as if you were stepping into an electronic and artificial world.
For those who had arrived early in the day, it was some build up to the main event, but it was most definitely worth it. MEDUZA took to the stage, only as a duo rather than the more familiar trio. In 2019, 'Piece Of Your Heart' was UK #1, and in 2024, exactly 5 years later to the date, they performed it to 15,000 ravers in the same country. A great set that blended some absolute house bangers with their discography, it set the scene for James Hype to step up to the stage. Known for his charismatic ‘real DJing’ approach, often with creatively executed buildups, chopped samples and iconic blends, the UK-hailing talent proved just why he has built up a reputation so strong. With an emotional introduction of words that he had written himself in the build-up to the event, the room was captivated straight away. Interconnectedness, selection, crowd control - everything was done with the audience in mind and for this, the crowd appreciated what was in front of them.
Closing off with a B2B set between James and MEDUZA, the crowd was offered the best of what both artists have to offer, a perfect hybridisation of the above. A slightly different track selection from their individual sets, but still making themselves resonate with everything the house music scene has to offer, this was the perfect way to close the Drumsheds season - and what a season it’s been. James Hype, MEDUZA, Our House. Take a bow.
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