WAH TEN @ Drumsheds review: A day that exemplified the very best aspects of DnB
We sent Harvey Marwood to the WAH TEN event at Drumsheds, where they were celebrating their tenth birthday.
Date published: 19th Mar 2024
Saturday marked a very special occasion for the well-renowned and idolised event company Worried About Henry - an anniversary of their ten years spent in the industry so far. Celebrating with a jam-packed lineup at the new Drumsheds venue in North London, WAH came through with an incredible schedule to congregate 15,000 ravers in the Capital, a carefully planned and brilliantly executed event which has instantly gone down as a classic for all drum and bass heads out there. With more than 30 different sets across three rooms taking the form of a variety of individual and B2B performances, the full day included some of the biggest heavyweights in the genre, including SHY FX, Wilkinson, Netsky, K Motionz, Skepsis and so many others.
The first notable set of the day came from K Motionz, who has undeniably foreseen a meteoric rise over the past year or so. Performing with IC3 in Room X, the young talent performed a set full of textbook drops, unexpected switch ups and heavy basslines. With Room X being home to the majority of the audience, the vastly spread soundsystem looked to surround the crowd with an immersive experience, with the graphics and lighting making a large crowd feel close and intimate. With the soundsystem on point for one of K Motionz’ biggest sets to date, the one-hour set also saw special guests Songer and Arrdee be brought out onto the stage, further creating avenues for the hybridisation of the rap and drum and bass scene in this country.
Taking a short walk over to Room Y for a second standout performance, Simula and Disrupta geared up for a huge B2B set alongside MC AD. The pair both warped the crowds with dirty bass chops and gripping buildups, Simula is known so well for his one-of-a-kind infectious synthy bass leads. The pair bounced back off each other effortlessly, almost competing with their back-to-back set becoming better as each track was played. Directly after this, the two replacing DJ’s took to the stage and the night continued to get better. The third standout set from the day came from Charlie Tee, who went B2B with SOTA with Savvy B & Comma Dee.
The BBC Radio drum and bass show host didn’t come to play whatsoever at the Drumsheds, and excelled in offloading some of the best ID’s of the day, possibly helped by her job description of being a full-time DnB enthusiast. Again, this set was encapsulated by the Room Y walls, the second biggest room in the venue; the intimacy in this room is quite significantly better than the bigger, main Room X, with the audience being able to get closer to the decks, stage, and soundsystem.
Shy FX is one of those names on a lineup that will never fail to disappoint - you know what you’re getting, and whether or not you’ve seen him live before, the outcome is always the same - a great set - and with that being said, the London heavyweight is still a standout name. When you think of drum and bass, Shy FX is impossible not to be one of the first names to spring to mind and with his innate ability to captivate a crowd with his popular hits and external song selections, he certainly shut the place down alongside his MC, Rage. The background screen and cinematics were enchanting, there was clear thought and precision in the artistic creation of the three-dimensional motion pictures on the stage, with the crowd hooked on every beat and bassline.
Concluding after an eventful day out at the Drumsheds, it’s safe to say that this wasn’t just a celebration for Worried About Henry’s ten years in the game, but a celebration for all the drum and bass ravers in the UK. With people travelling from all over the country for this huge lineup, it just goes to show how relevant and current the drum and bass scene is within culture and society today. A varied age range and demographic further proved that the DnB scene is an inclusive and appreciated space by, and for all, and Worried About Henry have become a massive part of the history of the genre and the journey the genre has gone on over the past ten years.
For more club events from across the UK, check out our UK Rave Guide Inspire Me. For more Drumsheds events, click - here.
Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.
