Hospitality
Sub Focus, High Contrast, Danny Byrd, Camo & Krooked, Wilkinson, Mele, Kito
O2 Academy
Friday 19th April
With the likes of modern day drum & bass poster boy Sub Focus billed alongside the Hospital Records’ veterans, the classic DnB student event in Leeds returned to its familiar confines of the O2 Academy in Leeds city centre last Friday. The task of warming up the decks was given to one of the scene’s most prolific and esteemed upcoming producers; having recently released the critically acclaimed ‘Synth City’, Dimension wasted no time setting the pace for the rest of the evening, raising the bar for every DJ that followed. Next on stage was Ram Records’ Wilkinson, who gave the academy’s soundsystem a low frequency examination by prescribing a large dose of bass with his latest belter ‘Crunch’, juxtaposing his recent euphoric-style beats in ‘Take You Higher’ and ‘Need to Know’ showcasing his diverse production skillset. Danny Byrd was up next, who fortunately displayed a much better taste in music than he has in shirt fashion-sense, keeping the energy levels high with his take on some contemporary tracks from the likes of Disclosure proving why he is known as the party-man.
Meanwhile, room two was bouncing headed by the likes of Kito and Mele, whose bass heavy music complemented the dark underground vibes of the area. Headliner Sub Focus was up next in the main room, and delivered a fair mix of his classics such as ‘Rock It’ & ‘Stomp’ alongside his recent commercial successes in ‘Tidal Wave’ & ‘Out of the Blue’. The crazy Austrian duo Camo & Krooked took to the decks afterwards, revving the drum & bass engines to full capacity & putting the pedals to the floor with their relentlessly heavy drop after drop style, weeding out the weak from the hardcore ravers for an hour of enveloping fury. The fresh faces of Hospital Records young ‘uns Metrik, Fred V & Grafix were given the role of rounding off the night, with the latter choosing to use the conventional ‘power hour’ to showcase their calming, liquid vibes which was appreciated by the entire crowd.
words: Tom Dance
photo: Andrew Attah