Review: WHP x RBMA, 09/11/12

The Warehouse Project can be an unusual experience. If you've been before and know what to expect, the size of it can still be overwhelming. We took our time to settle in, wandering the concrete corridors, stopping in the main room for a minute to catch some of Martyn's soulful-yet-schizophrenic set. Drifting back into Room 2, Prosumer was laying down a danceable mix of Berlin house and disco sounds, so we stuck around for a bit of a boogie.

On our way back to the main room, we popped our heads in at Room 3, where Moxie was blasting out Kelis to a packed-in crowd. It felt like a totally different nightclub in there. We weren't ready for that kind of thing at this early point, so we moved on. And this is the thing, we weren't sure what we wanted - we weren't there for any one specific artist. Die-hard fans will rush to the front for whoever it is they've come to see, but we were just dipping our toes in each room to catch the vibe. And so far, it was eclectic and exciting.

DJ Shadow took to the stage with an earnest speech about how great it was to be back in Manchester, and how much fun his set was going to be. As honest as the sentiments may have been, it felt like an odd intro to a DJ set, and with constant microphone interjections the performance was a curious one. After he delivered 20 minutes of low-slung trap beats from artists like Baauer we felt the call of Room 2. DJ Shadow hadn't kept our wandering attention focused.

Now, I've been wanting to catch a Pearson Sound set since he was known as Ramadanman, and tonight I wasn't disappointed. Delivering the set of the night, Pearson Sound took off on a strange and wonderful musical journey, dragging this concrete box filled with strobe-blinded ravers with him. MC Chunky of Hoya:Hoya and Swamp 81 fame got the crowd hyped without overstepping the MC mark. It's great when this combination of DJ and MC just works.

We felt the need to wander again, and after getting lost in the corridors and bottlenecks of elbow-heavy crowds and meeting our new best friend in the smoking area (we named him "Stories" as pretty much every statement he made was begging to be followed by the phrase "cool story bro"), we stumbled into the main room to catch the end of Flying Lotus' set. From the visuals on display and the hyped-up crowd, we regretted not seeing more of this - especially when he dropped Idioteque as his penultimate tune. But then a barrage of the kind of dubstep that kills me a little inside made us feel a little less disappointed at missing his set. Other WHP-goers tell of Flying Lotus being a definite highlight, so maybe we shouldn't have spent so much time with our new pal Stories.

Jamie XX got the animated masses back into club mode, with people reaching for the lasers, and after losing ourselves in the expansive crowd for a while our itchy feet took us back to catch Ben UFO's solid Room 2 set, continuing the vibe set up by Pearson Sound and Chunky.

As he took to the stage, we knew to expect something heavy and pounding from German producer Shed, but the off-beat rhythms and weird time signatures he kicked off with just didn't do it for us. So maybe, having just said that, it was a mistake to look to Squarepusher for something more palatable. Nevertheless we headed back down those corridors to the main room for one last time. We inched our way into the middle of the crowd to get the best view of the visual treat promised by the massive LED screens. After a long wait, the bass frequencies rumbled into action, vibrating the air around us, almost drying our hair. After a few minutes, we realised that maybe we were all partied out, or maybe Squarepusher's new material just isn't up to his usual standard. We found the onslaught of harsh synth and off-kilter rhythms too much, and even having been fans of Squarepusher's work in the past, we were ready to leave.

The Warehouse Project can be an unusual experience, and tonight was a little more unusual than most. There were some real high points, especially during Pearson Sound's set, there were some 'odd' points, and some unsatisfying appearances from legends like DJ Shadow and Squarepusher. Overall though, the highlights shine through, and while we might have to write off a couple of old favourites, the current scene-leaders are still forging new, exciting and most importantly, danceable paths.

Words: Matt Fawbert

Photo: Manox Photography @manox_net

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