A demanding affair. Mustering the motivation to subvert all logic and drive to a distant warehouse on freezing, ice laden roads is no easy task. It is perhaps suiting therefore, that the brave clubbers who dared make this journey for Tensile’s fourth instalment, were granted a trip of very different, fantastical nature.

Pär Grindvik commenced proceedings in a suitably machine driven soundscape of blips, drones and white noise gradually fading into a steady undulating pulse. As expected, Grindvik effectively drove Beaver Works into a deep, almost meditative hypnotic headspace. A number of slightly misplaced mixes lost the crowd for a few isolated moments of the two hour set, alongside one somewhat misplaced string driven track. Sounds of harder, chaotic nature seemed to capture the room’s desires. Sucktion, a track of Luke Slater’s alias, Planetary Assault System, received a torrent of whoops.

It was around an hour into Grindvik’s set that I began to take in the audience, a distinctly diverse hedonistic group of all ages and nationalities. As the night progressed it became apparent that many of this multifarious party seemed to know one another. Although neither of the two warehouse rooms were close to capacity, a shared sense of community seemed to seep from the beaming dancers. What Tensile’s night lacked in crowd size, was in fact a curious blessing, as strangers conversed amicably, myself included. This was a wonderful change from the heaving, faceless masses of people found at Flux and Goodlife.

Room two supplied a distinctly EBM/industrial sound for revellers lounging on the bar with the occasional foray into the dance floor. A particular highlight was that of Mark Turner who showcased a blistering array of electro and EBM vinyl. Followers of current Electro Queen, Helena Hauff, will have picked up a torrent of rare, Belgian and German gems.

It was Adriana Lopez, however, who provided the pinnacle of Tensile’s techno voyage. Building on Roffey’s hour of percussive loops, Lopez proved that 4-6 really is the ultimate set time (unless you’re in Berlin). Her relentless taste for brutality worked the dancefloor into a closed-eyed frenzy as winds battered the warehouse. Thus, it was with aching legs and grinning faces that the heroic few left the dancefloor into a freezing winter morning.

Thomas Bennett

Image credits: Tensile