Rave review, Total C*ntfuzion back to 95 night 5/11/04
14 November 2004, 11:51 PM
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Rave review, Total C*ntfuzion back to 95 night 5/11/04
New events always deserve support, especially if they are brave enough to not only put on a brand new event, but to do something a little bit special while they're doing it. Even though I dont like the name of "Total Cun*fuzion", the name of the rave is not important when its music policy is as special as it is. In arena 1, the whole night was to be dedicated to the sounds of 1995 Hardcore.
Headstrong up and comers such as Paul Zykotik and Scott Devotion were mixing it up on the lineup with the biggest DJs of yesteryear such as Slipmatt and Vibes. In the breakbeathardcore.co.uk arena, it was upfront sounds all the way, but not the usual blend of the scene's biggest producers and labels, but strictly underground ones such as 10% records and Luna-C's Kniteforce. Of course, the promoters of the night had rightly given themselves a set, with Donkey and Lawskii having a set in arena 1 and Dave Skywalker gracing the decks in the breakbeat room.
This sort of lineup dont happen everyday so I just had to be there, but if that werent good enough, the venue, the Rhythm Factory in Whitechapel was literally a stones throw from where I work! Another friday night leaving the office wearing my rave clothes beckoned, but I werent complaining, it looked to be a top night out.
Arriving at the venue right at the start of the night, from the outside, it looked like just another bar in the locality. Fortunately I saw a few friendly faces in the place and as such I went in.Soon afterward I learned the club was situated out the back and although the bar area was free entry, the club rooms out the back were only acessable once payment to the friendly door staff had been made. However, with a whole night of top music at stake 7 quid on the door was a more than reasonable price to pay.
When I got inside the place, the first thing I had was a good look around. One of the few venues in London I have neither been to or even heard of before, The Rhythm Factory cannot be called a large venue, but what it does have is more than enough space for a few hundred Hardcore ravers to party down to all night long. The main arena was about the size of the "Deep blue" arch in SEOne but on this occasion was painted pitch black. Dominating the arena was the main stage with the decks taking centre stage, below an overbearing lighting rig on the ceiling. The second arena looked more like a lounge bar, with its leather sofas and bar area than a dance arena, fortunately the speaker rigs which occupied each corner of the room and the decks and lighting rig at the far end managed to convice the ravers to dance rather than loaf about on the seats.
No search presented itself and as such I went straight in after paying. I am usually one for arriving early on in the night to appreciate a full nights Hardcore, but on this occasion I was in after the third tune had dropped. For a very good reason as well, Paul Zykotik had been invited to play the opening set and after hearing more than a few of his sets on Eruption FM and them being more than easy on the ear, I knew I was in for a treat.
And what a treat it was as well, setting the tone for the rest of the evening, Paul's set was the best way I can think of to kick off the night. 95 hardcore, with a definite slant towards the obscure and diverse, most of the tunes were unknown to me, but I did recognise "Sweet in pocket", "Feel good" and the wicked "most uplifting". Finally, he finished his hour with "Drop the Bass" and by the time his final tune had played out, the end result was a group of early arriving ravers on the dancefloor, all of them ready for more.
Next up was the first in the promoter specials. Donkey and Lawski stepped up along with MC Spenno on the mic. Building on what Paul Zykotik had left for them, these two went back to back for the next hour, entertaining the ever increasing mumber of ravers in the place with another top set. Going for a more well known tune selection, but with no complaints from me at all, the party crew in the place were treated to a crowdpleasing mix including "6 days", "I cant stop raving", "Let yourself go" a curious rip of Madness's "One step beyond" and "Cold as Ice". As the place got busier and busier, the atmosphere in the place was steadily increasing, with it getting increasingly difficult to resist the urge to dance and in no small part due to the DJs in the place.
Next up was another DJ with talent outweighing the amount of bookings he gets, DJ Scott Devotion was next up in the main room and showed the party crew in the place what he is all about with another awesome set. Combining the sounds of the 95' Hardcore with a few cheeky inclusions of upfront Breakbeat, the ravers in the place were also treated to numerous examples of Scott's talent in the numerous scratch attacks which regularly punctuated his set. His tune selection was also worthy of note with "Take me away", "Sample mania", "Stoopid", "Reach out" and the awesome "Incognito" all getting a well deserved airing.
By this time I had more than danced off my initial enthusiasm for the night and was looking for something else to pique my interest. Fortunately the 10% records crew were not backward in advertising their PA which, according to the cards they paraded round the main arena "10 Minutes" before it started, meant that when I entered the arena, I had to look around for a spot to call my own due to limited space. Jockying for postion was well worth it though, cos once the music got underway, the party crew in the place were very well looked after and then some. Starting off with the very dancable "Turn your world", the only thing that it didnt do was set the tone for the rest of the PA. I was expecting a wall to wall showcase of upfront UK Hardcore Breakbeat, but far from it, everything from 190bpm breakbeats, to early 91 sounding stuff was played out. Tune names are a complete mystery to me but I know I was loving every minute of it and dancing like my life depended on it throughout the set. I weren't the only one either, with the hour being punctuated, not only with top notch music, but with being battered in every direction by dancing ravers.
The only place to be after the 10% crew had finished shaking the place up was in the main arena for an appearence by the one and only DJ Vibes. MC Strict had also come to the party and did the decent thing and got on the mic for this set. As with the rest of the evening, Vibes' set can be best described as "Different". He could have gone down the mega happy road with no complaints from anyone, but he didnt. The exact opposite infact with the vast majority of his set being a complete mystery to me. The only tunes I could ID were "Music so wonderful", "I want your love" and "Feel so good" but the crew in the place were so up for it by this point that they didnt care whether he played obscure or anthemic. I know this because the place went ballistic at regular intervals, and most especially when "feel so good" was dropped. Top set, this one, without doubt the most fun I've had in a long while.
After Vibes had finished, the only place to be was back in the BBHC room for another set from DJ Luna-C. Once again I had to find my space on the dancefloor before getting down to something that is very easy these days, dancing like a madman while Luna-C dropped world class tunes. Chit Chat joined him on the mic and together they got on with business and tore that small room a new ****. Once again, his set followed no particular theme, with the ethos of "If its good I'll play it" seeming to dominate. However I could easily concur with the "Good" part of the above analogy with "Electric", "Midnight resistance", "Free to feel good", rips of Eminem and "We will rock you" getting played and finally finishing in the manner we have become accusomed to with "6 days". Listing the tunes doesn't even touch on how good the set was though, with the place filled with educated ravers all going for it as one while Chit Chat and Luna-C came up with the goods yet again.
Only another 2 hours of the night were left after Luna-C had finished, but the final two DJs need no introduction and as such were more than capable of handing proceedings. The next DJ, Slipmatt, was a prime example. Technically speaking he was out of place here, with his recent old skool sets (That I have heard) leaning heavily on the anthems, but on this occasion he respected the wishes of the promoter by mixing in some underground tunes along with the selection he is best known for. Having said that, the raving crew in the place were so up for it that they were loving anything they were given at this time. The atmosphere in the place was buzzing and the dancers in front of the DJ werent stopping for anything. I weren't having any such problems either with Slipmatt caining "Get up and Dance", "Take me away", "Get together" and bending the rules a little by parting with "Love and devotion".
For the 4-5 set, the one like the Billy "Daniel" Bunter stepped up. Together with Strict and Chit Chat on the mic, they went for it as hard as the ravers did, The MC hyping the crowd with only the finest lyrics and the DJ entertaining them with top quality scratching over the tunes. The best part of the set was of course, Bunter's tune selection. Another one to bend the rules a little and not keep to 95 in the strictest sense of the word, Bunter went for it all the same and IMO the party was better for it. In quick succession he dropped "6 Days", "Get up and dance", "To be free again", "Higher Love", "Love of my life" and "Rainbow high in the sky". and the crowd stomped their guts out in response, not letting up for anyone or anything.
In fact, the only thing to stop the party was the insistance of the bouncers. The crowd were well up for more and Bunter was more than willing to oblige, as was MC Strict in his reasoning with the bouncers. For a short while they looked like they were going to let us have one more, but then they dissapeared round the back and cut the power to the system. Nevermind, the ravers always had the promised 5am fireworks display to entertain them outside the venue before going their seperate ways.
Things I liked:
The music - 95 Hardcore is the business, but this night concentrated on the obscure tunes you just dont hear out anymore. Add to that the wicked BBHC room out the back and the end result is some of the best music I've heard for a long time.
The ravers - The place was nicely full all night with an up for it happy crowd doing the business in the friendly happy manner that makes attending raves such a pleasure.
Security - These guys were very discreet and let the party crew get on with the night without unecessary hassle. Having said that, they were bang on it when some drunken beer boy got out of hand.
Sound - The system in the main arena was very good indeed with lots of volume and clarity.
MCs on the night. Spenno, Chitchat and of course the one like the MC Strict. All of them talented MCs with the understated style needed to compliment the night. The best bit was you could tell they were enjoying themselves as much as the ravers were while they worked.
Things I liked less:
Sound - In the second arena, the system was not as loud as it could be, the mic was on too loud though, with the MC becoming more of a chore to listen to as the night wore on.
5am finish - why not go on for another hour and finish at 6?
For a first event and for a party with a diverse music policy, this was a success in every sense of the word. The music was definitely something different and the ravers showed their appreciation by turning up and filling up the place nicely. Some ravers prefer smaller events because of the atmosphere that is generated by such an initmate gathering and this was a prime example of how good a small party can be. To spend a night raving to the best music, whilst surrounded by like minded friends, with a talented and varied selection of DJs is not always the case when you go out, but at this party it was done so effortlessly that it was almost scary. I am looking forward to the next party already and if anyone else fancies a night out with few equals then I'll see you there.
astraboy.
Headstrong up and comers such as Paul Zykotik and Scott Devotion were mixing it up on the lineup with the biggest DJs of yesteryear such as Slipmatt and Vibes. In the breakbeathardcore.co.uk arena, it was upfront sounds all the way, but not the usual blend of the scene's biggest producers and labels, but strictly underground ones such as 10% records and Luna-C's Kniteforce. Of course, the promoters of the night had rightly given themselves a set, with Donkey and Lawskii having a set in arena 1 and Dave Skywalker gracing the decks in the breakbeat room.
This sort of lineup dont happen everyday so I just had to be there, but if that werent good enough, the venue, the Rhythm Factory in Whitechapel was literally a stones throw from where I work! Another friday night leaving the office wearing my rave clothes beckoned, but I werent complaining, it looked to be a top night out.
Arriving at the venue right at the start of the night, from the outside, it looked like just another bar in the locality. Fortunately I saw a few friendly faces in the place and as such I went in.Soon afterward I learned the club was situated out the back and although the bar area was free entry, the club rooms out the back were only acessable once payment to the friendly door staff had been made. However, with a whole night of top music at stake 7 quid on the door was a more than reasonable price to pay.
When I got inside the place, the first thing I had was a good look around. One of the few venues in London I have neither been to or even heard of before, The Rhythm Factory cannot be called a large venue, but what it does have is more than enough space for a few hundred Hardcore ravers to party down to all night long. The main arena was about the size of the "Deep blue" arch in SEOne but on this occasion was painted pitch black. Dominating the arena was the main stage with the decks taking centre stage, below an overbearing lighting rig on the ceiling. The second arena looked more like a lounge bar, with its leather sofas and bar area than a dance arena, fortunately the speaker rigs which occupied each corner of the room and the decks and lighting rig at the far end managed to convice the ravers to dance rather than loaf about on the seats.
No search presented itself and as such I went straight in after paying. I am usually one for arriving early on in the night to appreciate a full nights Hardcore, but on this occasion I was in after the third tune had dropped. For a very good reason as well, Paul Zykotik had been invited to play the opening set and after hearing more than a few of his sets on Eruption FM and them being more than easy on the ear, I knew I was in for a treat.
And what a treat it was as well, setting the tone for the rest of the evening, Paul's set was the best way I can think of to kick off the night. 95 hardcore, with a definite slant towards the obscure and diverse, most of the tunes were unknown to me, but I did recognise "Sweet in pocket", "Feel good" and the wicked "most uplifting". Finally, he finished his hour with "Drop the Bass" and by the time his final tune had played out, the end result was a group of early arriving ravers on the dancefloor, all of them ready for more.
Next up was the first in the promoter specials. Donkey and Lawski stepped up along with MC Spenno on the mic. Building on what Paul Zykotik had left for them, these two went back to back for the next hour, entertaining the ever increasing mumber of ravers in the place with another top set. Going for a more well known tune selection, but with no complaints from me at all, the party crew in the place were treated to a crowdpleasing mix including "6 days", "I cant stop raving", "Let yourself go" a curious rip of Madness's "One step beyond" and "Cold as Ice". As the place got busier and busier, the atmosphere in the place was steadily increasing, with it getting increasingly difficult to resist the urge to dance and in no small part due to the DJs in the place.
Next up was another DJ with talent outweighing the amount of bookings he gets, DJ Scott Devotion was next up in the main room and showed the party crew in the place what he is all about with another awesome set. Combining the sounds of the 95' Hardcore with a few cheeky inclusions of upfront Breakbeat, the ravers in the place were also treated to numerous examples of Scott's talent in the numerous scratch attacks which regularly punctuated his set. His tune selection was also worthy of note with "Take me away", "Sample mania", "Stoopid", "Reach out" and the awesome "Incognito" all getting a well deserved airing.
By this time I had more than danced off my initial enthusiasm for the night and was looking for something else to pique my interest. Fortunately the 10% records crew were not backward in advertising their PA which, according to the cards they paraded round the main arena "10 Minutes" before it started, meant that when I entered the arena, I had to look around for a spot to call my own due to limited space. Jockying for postion was well worth it though, cos once the music got underway, the party crew in the place were very well looked after and then some. Starting off with the very dancable "Turn your world", the only thing that it didnt do was set the tone for the rest of the PA. I was expecting a wall to wall showcase of upfront UK Hardcore Breakbeat, but far from it, everything from 190bpm breakbeats, to early 91 sounding stuff was played out. Tune names are a complete mystery to me but I know I was loving every minute of it and dancing like my life depended on it throughout the set. I weren't the only one either, with the hour being punctuated, not only with top notch music, but with being battered in every direction by dancing ravers.
The only place to be after the 10% crew had finished shaking the place up was in the main arena for an appearence by the one and only DJ Vibes. MC Strict had also come to the party and did the decent thing and got on the mic for this set. As with the rest of the evening, Vibes' set can be best described as "Different". He could have gone down the mega happy road with no complaints from anyone, but he didnt. The exact opposite infact with the vast majority of his set being a complete mystery to me. The only tunes I could ID were "Music so wonderful", "I want your love" and "Feel so good" but the crew in the place were so up for it by this point that they didnt care whether he played obscure or anthemic. I know this because the place went ballistic at regular intervals, and most especially when "feel so good" was dropped. Top set, this one, without doubt the most fun I've had in a long while.
After Vibes had finished, the only place to be was back in the BBHC room for another set from DJ Luna-C. Once again I had to find my space on the dancefloor before getting down to something that is very easy these days, dancing like a madman while Luna-C dropped world class tunes. Chit Chat joined him on the mic and together they got on with business and tore that small room a new ****. Once again, his set followed no particular theme, with the ethos of "If its good I'll play it" seeming to dominate. However I could easily concur with the "Good" part of the above analogy with "Electric", "Midnight resistance", "Free to feel good", rips of Eminem and "We will rock you" getting played and finally finishing in the manner we have become accusomed to with "6 days". Listing the tunes doesn't even touch on how good the set was though, with the place filled with educated ravers all going for it as one while Chit Chat and Luna-C came up with the goods yet again.
Only another 2 hours of the night were left after Luna-C had finished, but the final two DJs need no introduction and as such were more than capable of handing proceedings. The next DJ, Slipmatt, was a prime example. Technically speaking he was out of place here, with his recent old skool sets (That I have heard) leaning heavily on the anthems, but on this occasion he respected the wishes of the promoter by mixing in some underground tunes along with the selection he is best known for. Having said that, the raving crew in the place were so up for it that they were loving anything they were given at this time. The atmosphere in the place was buzzing and the dancers in front of the DJ werent stopping for anything. I weren't having any such problems either with Slipmatt caining "Get up and Dance", "Take me away", "Get together" and bending the rules a little by parting with "Love and devotion".
For the 4-5 set, the one like the Billy "Daniel" Bunter stepped up. Together with Strict and Chit Chat on the mic, they went for it as hard as the ravers did, The MC hyping the crowd with only the finest lyrics and the DJ entertaining them with top quality scratching over the tunes. The best part of the set was of course, Bunter's tune selection. Another one to bend the rules a little and not keep to 95 in the strictest sense of the word, Bunter went for it all the same and IMO the party was better for it. In quick succession he dropped "6 Days", "Get up and dance", "To be free again", "Higher Love", "Love of my life" and "Rainbow high in the sky". and the crowd stomped their guts out in response, not letting up for anyone or anything.
In fact, the only thing to stop the party was the insistance of the bouncers. The crowd were well up for more and Bunter was more than willing to oblige, as was MC Strict in his reasoning with the bouncers. For a short while they looked like they were going to let us have one more, but then they dissapeared round the back and cut the power to the system. Nevermind, the ravers always had the promised 5am fireworks display to entertain them outside the venue before going their seperate ways.
Things I liked:
The music - 95 Hardcore is the business, but this night concentrated on the obscure tunes you just dont hear out anymore. Add to that the wicked BBHC room out the back and the end result is some of the best music I've heard for a long time.
The ravers - The place was nicely full all night with an up for it happy crowd doing the business in the friendly happy manner that makes attending raves such a pleasure.
Security - These guys were very discreet and let the party crew get on with the night without unecessary hassle. Having said that, they were bang on it when some drunken beer boy got out of hand.
Sound - The system in the main arena was very good indeed with lots of volume and clarity.
MCs on the night. Spenno, Chitchat and of course the one like the MC Strict. All of them talented MCs with the understated style needed to compliment the night. The best bit was you could tell they were enjoying themselves as much as the ravers were while they worked.
Things I liked less:
Sound - In the second arena, the system was not as loud as it could be, the mic was on too loud though, with the MC becoming more of a chore to listen to as the night wore on.
5am finish - why not go on for another hour and finish at 6?
For a first event and for a party with a diverse music policy, this was a success in every sense of the word. The music was definitely something different and the ravers showed their appreciation by turning up and filling up the place nicely. Some ravers prefer smaller events because of the atmosphere that is generated by such an initmate gathering and this was a prime example of how good a small party can be. To spend a night raving to the best music, whilst surrounded by like minded friends, with a talented and varied selection of DJs is not always the case when you go out, but at this party it was done so effortlessly that it was almost scary. I am looking forward to the next party already and if anyone else fancies a night out with few equals then I'll see you there.
astraboy.
14 November 2004, 11:53 PM
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Shouts to:
Grob Le Frog & Lisa, The rave legend that is Mikey B, Paul Zykotik, Paul USH, Mark-E, Barticle, DJ Deddley, Kaylene, Hattrixx, Fanta-C, Scott Devotion, Jelly Baby, Coriolis, Monkey Boy, Wizbit, Dave Skywalker, MC Strict, Maxx Vinyl, Al-K-ED, Grant Epidemik, Elliot the moonlight Sparrow, Cris-E-manic, Dan Desire, Uplift, Matt Wildcard and Lauren, Emma, Baby_d, MC Spenno, Lawski, Donkey, Ponder, HB, Luna-C, and anyone else who I may have forgotten.
Grob Le Frog & Lisa, The rave legend that is Mikey B, Paul Zykotik, Paul USH, Mark-E, Barticle, DJ Deddley, Kaylene, Hattrixx, Fanta-C, Scott Devotion, Jelly Baby, Coriolis, Monkey Boy, Wizbit, Dave Skywalker, MC Strict, Maxx Vinyl, Al-K-ED, Grant Epidemik, Elliot the moonlight Sparrow, Cris-E-manic, Dan Desire, Uplift, Matt Wildcard and Lauren, Emma, Baby_d, MC Spenno, Lawski, Donkey, Ponder, HB, Luna-C, and anyone else who I may have forgotten.
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