Back to Basics 21st Birthday, Part 1
Basement Jaxx, Ralph Lawson, Buckley,
James Holroyd, Dave Beer
The Warehouse
Saturday 23rd November
Back to Basics has an absolutely legendary status amongst house fans worldwide and for good reason. Having been around for almost as long as contemporary house music as we know it, the influence and importance of Back to Basics on the globa, let alone local house scene is monumental. This was their 21st birthday, and having attended their 20th at Stinky’s Peephouse I didn’t think it would have a chance to top it. Fortunately I was wrong.
Seeing Basement Jaxx return to their house roots was obviously going to be the highlight of the night but it’s not like any of the other names on the act were small time. All the heavyweight residents and founding fathers of the night were in attendance to add a personal touch to a star-studded line up. Basement Jaxx absolutely killed it, bringing almost 30 years of experience to the party, they showcased every bit of it, their flow and precision were truly immaculate. Highlight of the night had to be seeing ‘Red Alert’ dropped and watching a crowd ranging in age from 18 to 50+ all going mental.
Special mention also has to go to Ralph Lawson for picking up where Basement Jaxx left off. Lawson dropped the very first tune at the very first Back to Basics way back in 1991, and demonstrated exactly why they keep inviting him back. The experience and brevity of all of the DJs playing was one of the best parts of the night, as the range of house music sampled in every set was almost as wide as house music itself. You would rarely see a DJ pull off a set on tunes ranging from acid to funky house and yet every DJ on the bill managed to throw everything including the ‘kitch n sync’ at the euphoric fans (I apologize for how awful that joke was for those of you who didn’t get it it’s a Buckley tune.) Anyway massive respect for the Back to Basics crew and Dave Beer in particular for continuing a 21 year legacy and throwing one hell of a party!
words: Will Gadsby-Peet