astraboy

Despite its relatively new inclusion of Hardcore into its Hard Dance lineups, Tasty has quickly established a reputation for variation and atmosphere within its regular gatherings throughout 2004. This was the same year in which the promoters managed to secure dates when there were no other Hardcore nights planned, ensuring that I could finally attend.

Once I did I was a convert. We may have only had the smallest room in the venue, but it was compensated by a huge system, top lineup and the best and most up for it party crew in the place, all of them loving the Hardcore sound.

This latest event was the promotion's "Christmas Ball" and although it didnt have the free ticket system that the previous parties had, it was not lacking in the slightest in the important areas, namely yet another top lineup.

With the cornerstones of the scene such as Styles, Breeze, Dougal and CLSM in the area, you know the party is going to go off in a workmanlike manner. Only the best had been brought forward when it came to Tasty's customary trip to yesteryear too, Vibes and Livelee were in the place. But with the addition of promoter in the place, Billy "Daniel" Bunter and the almighty Luna-C on the card, it guaranteed I was going to be there.

If that werent enough, something special was planned upstairs which meant I might actually leave the hardcore arena for more than 5 minutes. CLSM and The Nu Energy Collective, responsible for only the most explosive Live PA's on the Hardcore circuit had gotten together to find out who was The Daddy when it came to stage shows.

The net result was a 2 hour extravaganza in the main arena with each side having 15 minutes to impress before handing over to the competition. Lastly, but by no means least(ly), the MC lineup was of similar high quality to the rest of the rave with Storm and Whizzkid leading the way, as well as the best of the new breed in the shape of Doc-E and Tasty resident MC Spenno at the lyrical helm.

It all saw me climbing the stairs of Brixton tube station a little before 10pm on the night. When I had reached the venue (hoody up, dont look at anyone, look like you know where you're going) I saw a few friendly faces in the queue and slid in with them.

We were then promptly split up when a member of security came out and placed us in three seperate queues depending on how we were getting in. After sorting out the small problem with my paying guestlist number, I was given a ticket which allowed me to get in for 12 quid. More expensive than I've ever paid to get into tasty, but still a bargain if ever I saw one.

Once I was in and armed with a copy of the set times which were available on the door, I made a beeline for where I was going to spend the evening.

Tasty's Hardcore arena is named "The Hyper Zone" and with good reason. Usually it is minimalist when it comes to decor, but this time the top notch production had been complimented by cool backdrops on the walls and large camo netting strung across the ceiling.

As always though, the production and sound specifications to the party were all in order. Tasty's multicoloured lasers was once again in the place and the monstrous stacks were going full tilt from the moment I arrived.

I arrived at the tail end of the opening set, with ExperiMENTAL DJ's SPL and Marky B on the decks and MC Doc-E from the same stable on the mic. As it was less than an hour old, the ravers were still coming into the party, including me, but they received the best welcome possible with a solid performance from all involved in the premiere set.

Keeping it uplifting and mainstream, the DJs went back to back, dropping tunes like "Bring me round to love", "Do it like they do" and "Ultimate high" into their set. The Lyrical aspect of the set was of the same high quality with Doc-E producing yet another example of why he is getting his name on so many flyers these days.

Next up was an early treat for me. The 11-12 set saw one of the most unusual pairings of the year with Kniteforce's finest on the decks the RBC crew on the mic! Luna-C took things away in his own inimitable style before Storm got on the mic later on in the set, but it was safe to say that I was interested to see what he could come up with having never heard him MC to this sort of Hardcore before.

If Luna-C was phased by an unusual MC on the mic then he didnt show it. It was another top performance from the man from Kniteforce with my kind of Hardcore dominating his set. Together with yet another elaborate arsenal of choice samples to overlay onto the tunes, Luna-C. I particularly liked the intro ripped straight from "Red Dwarf" and the stuff he put together with the santa references was a little darker, but no less entertaining.

Top of the list though were the tunes and the Micwork. An eclectic set, even by his standards, he moved from his tried and tested tricks such as finishing on "6 days" and halting everything for "Styler Style", but he also dropped in the underplayed yet very good remixes of "Shooting Star" and "Electrik", as well as lots of unnamable breakbeat tunes and the VERY dancable remix of "I run these streets" as well.

Storm, for his efforts, did a credible job on the mic. Keeping it minimalist throughout the set, he still managed to hype the ravers with occasional snippets of his best known lyrics, as well as few innovative moments. My personal favourite was informing the crew that it was "London Calling" during the "We will rock you" rip, not to mention emphasising the unique music by reminding the ravers that "Originality is the key". Original and unusual it was, but I thought it worked very well. I wouldn't mind seeing it again, thats for sure.

The midnight set was monopolised by another of my favourites, namely, the CLSM, AKA Jon Doe. This was the first of three hours of work hour for him and I was going to be there for pretty much all of it. Storm stayed on the mic for a second hour and together they took the ravers on the dancefloor on a ride not to be forgotten in a hurry.

Starting off with the tranquil "Where the music plays" and keeping it euphoric and vocal, it was clear that the DJ and the MC were having a lot of fun while they worked and the ravers (and me) were in the same zone. Not surprising with the party rocking to "Something inside so strong", "Round in my head baby" and my personal favourite of the moment "The time has come".

For the 1-2 set, the man responsible for the night stepped up. Billy "Daniel" Bunter took his place behind the decks and then teased the ravers with his tune selection. Starting off with the cream of the Happy Hardcore Old Skool, he made the crowd rush as one with "Heart of Gold", "Toytown" and Bodyslam" after changing jobs for a few minutes with a rare performance by MC Bunter.

After that was the real highlight of the set for me. Fresh from a long tour of Australia with the rest of his Nu Energy crew, MC Sharkey took to the stage and blasted the party people with a performance that only he can put on. As soon as he took the mic, Jay Hughes and me looked at each other with huge grins on our faces, then we got on with enjoying the best in the business. Sharkz was on peak form. You could tell he was cos he was enjoying himself as much as the people who had payed to get in and watch him in his natural habitat.

The rest of the set was given over to the nu breed in every respect. Bunter moved into the Upfront UK sound and Sharkey handed over to MC Doc-E. For the second time in the night, Doc-E impressed me with a competent display on the mic. He even displayed a talent for double time mic work which definitely raised some eyebrows, mine included. Bunter was just as workmanlike with his aspect of the party, finishing off his set with "Reaching out for you", "Round in my head baby" and "You're shining", all of it accompanied with some serious scratching.

Fpor the first time at a Tasty, I actually left the Hardcore arena to listen to some music. The previous arenas had always been a bit of a non entity for me, but I ventured up there this time to see CLSM and Nu Energy go head to head.

TBH it was a weird experience. Two of the scenes best performance groups in the same room yet I was underwhelmed. It was all down to the speed of the music. I have seen non Hardcore PA's from Nu Energy before, but never with the option of Hardcore music in the locality. Musically it was very high quality, I would have expected nothing less. I instantly recognised "Crecendos of ecstasy" when the Nu energy boys dropped it and Kutski was in a league of its own when he was scratching over CLSM's efforts, it was just too pitched down for me to cope with. This ate away at me as the PA battle progressed. Eventually I left, promising to return in the second hour when the BPMs would be more danceable.

I found myself downstairs in the Hardcore room once more. Styles and Spenno were doing the business here and I was instantly at home. Speed would have seemed to be the deciding factor here and now that the tempo was as hardcore as the music, I was at home. Quite frankly, I could have kissed Stylesy when I returned to the Hardcore room. His music was exactly what I needed and with his set including "shining down", "I adore" and "24-7" I was straight on the dancefloor and stomping away. Spenno was also helping me back on my feet with some top class lyrics including "I wanna be famous" which he dropped during "24-7"

Next up was Tasty's regular step back in time. The best thing was it was a full compliment of the old skool with Vibes on the decks and the one and only Livelee on the mic. No messing about either, these two are effortless in their performances and it shows. The whole place came alive when the happy tunes came on and I was going for it too. Its what these two do best and they were doing it tonight as well.

Starting off in the best way possible with "Hold your hands to heaven" and continuing in a similar vein from there on, I was loving it all at this point and couldn't stop dancing as Vibes busted out tune after tune. "Elysium" and "I need your lovin" were two tunes I remember playing out, but it was the MC that really did the business for me. Its not often you get to see Livelee perform so I made the most of it.

I was so carried away that I almost forgot about the PA upstairs! There was 15 minutes left when I ran up the stairs and when I got in all my prayers were answered. It was simply a speed issue. The tunes were at what I was familiar with and I took to them like a duck to water. The rest of the hardcore ravers in the area were in agreement because when they were pitched they were standing around chatting, now they were at the "Proper" speed they were, like me, getting up and dancing.

Best of all, the Nu energy crew finished on the awesome "Addagio" while Sharkz busted out "Wicked MC" on the mic. I lost it at this point, raving, hard, right below where the artists were making the music and loving every minute of it. Christ it was good. No, thats not enough, Christ it was GOOD!

4-5 and it saw me right back in the Hardcore room for my next Hardcore fix. Whizzkid and Breeze were next up and after Vibes and Livelee had finished they took their places and set about shaking the place up properly.

Properly is the best word to use here, cos I have been really enjoying Breeze's recent work. Nothing fancy or subtle here, he's just been playing a lot of my favourite tunes recently, with the majority of them making me rush, hard.

This was another example of the standard which he has set. Playing nice and varied with a few cheeky tangents before returning to the mainstream, he got me on my feet and dancing yet again with a top tune selection including an awesome breakbeat remix of "Crazy love", "So real", a tune which Spenno and Jess are responsible for entitled "Waking forever", "Better than Life" and taking a trip to the harder end of the spectrum with "The time has come".

The Whizzkid was also doing it properly, with the man on the mic visibly enjoying himself, whilst coming up with the goods for the ravers. Lots of his most popular lyrics took care of the latter, he managed to keep it varied with "Streetlights" during "Now is the time" and finished on a high with his "Electrik" and "A-Team" lyrics during the final tune of the set, "Slide away".

For the last set of the night, EP's very own Dougal and Tasty's very own Spenno delivered the sprint finish of the night and I was well up for both of them to deliver the goods. A few of the lightweights had already slacked off, but the majority of the PROPER Hardcore ravers in the place stood their ground and they were determined to dance till the final tune.

Dougal was right at home, supplying top tunage throughout his hour on the decks. Spenno was also doing it, but he was backed up with Whizzkid's return during the latter half of the set. What a set it was as well, with all three going for it despite the lateness of the hour. Dougal chose "Cos we're Dropping this" while Spenno launched into "Back to Reality", then the DJ teased us with the massively underplayed remix of "Dominator", as well as a nice remix of "Never felt this way", he then moved into the guts of his set with "Shining Down", "Back to the Front" and finally finishing off the night with "Still the one".

Things I liked:

Music - Most important this one, but as usual, Tasty did not let me down. I easily got myself in the zone at this party and I was dancing away for near on the entire time I was there. Luna-C's set was as amazing as ever, but an honorable mention also has to go out to Breeze for the second awesome set from him in as many weeks.

Sound - Those stacks should be renamed "Old Faithful". I've never heard it sound bad. This party was no exception.

Heat - It seemed to be under control for this time when the previous parties were real sweat-a-thons. I was hot, but it weren't as opressive as last time.

Surprise additions - Sharkey touching down in the party at 24 hours notice was nice. Him getting totally twatted, getting on the mic and bringing a Badger to the rave was even nicer.

Things I liked less:

Attendance - It was slightly down on previous parties, but this was to be expected when you're not giving out free tickets. Still nice and full though.

Freeform - Its listed on the flyer, but it was a little lacking at the rave itself. I only heard around 15 minutes myself. Maybe next time.

We was robbed of 10 minutes! The other arenas were still kicking when the Hardcore room shut down so we left. Its not like we can go upstairs to finish the night off at 150bpm when we were up at 170 for the rest of the night is it?

Once again, I went away from Tasty with aching feet and a smile on my face. They really do know how to put on a top party and this was another good example. I was dancing non stop for pretty much the entire time I was there. Each of the DJs played fantastic music and as always, top variation with numerous intepretations of Hardcore was on offer.

This was one of those parties where it is difficult to describe why it was so good, but I can be assure that it was. It was one of those special nights where everything seemed to fall into place perfectly. The music was first class, the MCs were in the zone, the system and the production was really making me buzz, the crowd was up for it and all on the same wavelength and I was having a fantastic time stomping my guts out with a big smile on my face. Even though I was tired beyond belief, I couldnt stop dancing for love nor money. The rave was just too good.

I'm looking forward to the next one too. If it continues on the same course, Tasty is moving rapidly towards the promised land which will see it being associated with the best phrase an event be associated with, namely "You always have a good time when you go to a Tasty"
astraboy.