After 5 years as an acclaimed Radio 1 DJ and foremost authority on all things beats, Annie Mac rolled out on tour again earlier this year for the latest in a long line of live stints, which see Annie not only hand pick the best line up of established and breaking artists around, but put the pin to the vinyl herself.
Up first at the gloriously extravagant Koko was Doorly, the ‘In New DJ’s We Trust’ protégé who got his break back in 2008 when Pete Tong invited him to play Creamfields, and whose talent has ensured he hung around. Having remixed everyone from Dizzee Rascal and Kayne West to Basement Jaxx and The Temper Trap, Doorly is planning to realise his own brand of dub step infused beats. He started the night off with a massive bang, injecting energy into every spin of the deck; unfortunately the atmosphere was slightly lacking…everyone knows that turning up to a gig on time without going via the bar is just not cool!
I have to guiltily admit that Young Fathers, not being my kind of thing in the slightest, were watched from the comfort of a leather sofa from the VIP balcony. Their recent record ‘Straight Back On It’ is ridiculously infectious and catchy though, as it builds from what seems like minimalist techno piece to a hammering and upbeat track. Up next Kid Sister’s lead female vocalist Melisa Young was an amazing ball of energy and was accompanied by dancers who could really bop. And with collaborations from Estelle to Kayne on her forthcoming album she is definitely one to watch on the hip-hop scene.
On to one of the most anticipated acts of the evening, Miike Snow. And as the band took to the stage half masked, the crowd surged frantically as more genuine fans overwhelmed the typical Saturday night punters. With more energy than I could have anticipated they blazed through a set that almost put their epic recorded sound to shame. Released back in February of this year, the familiar synth beats from debut single ‘Animal’ ring out across the room and see frontman Andrew Wyatt finally shake off his mask as the crowd sing back every word. Miike Snow’s edgy Swedish pop clearly has the ability to cross into a more commercial arena as well as a more underground electronic based mash up. Quietly dramatic songs like ‘Black & Blue’ are a personal highlight of the evening, as the subtle genius of production/writing team Pontus Winnberg and Kristian Carlsson, aka Bloodshy & Avant emerges. There is something about their psychedelic, beautifully crafted emotional guitar pop that I can’t help but fall for, and can’t stop listening to.
After an infectiously riotous set and an interlude accompanied by Doorly’s on the decks, the lady of the evening takes to the stage. It seemed fit that on my first Saturday off in forever I was watching the woman who has officially been charged with launching the weekend. Annie Mac offered up a blistering set of dubstep, dance and house mash ups that magically, despite at this point having been on my feet for the last 14 hours, kept me dancing well into Boy 8-Bit’s minimal electronic original beats, and remixes of La Roux and Florence and The Machine.
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