This year saw the birth of the BASS STATION, the very first year the festival has hosted a Drum N Bass tent. The tent was managed by Rain.Bo! (www.myspace.com/djrainbo) and myself Essence (www.myspace.com/djessencels )

The three day event went smoothly and the wicked vibes have left us all with a feeling of nostalgia.

Here is a write up of the three days in the BASS STATION by myself, Essence (apologies if minor details are wrong..it all got HAZEY at some points lol):

Friday

Friday started hard and fast despite the rain which was driving at us from all directions. X Static and Zeal and Litta played wicked starter sets and the crowd were eager to have fun on Friday – the tent started to fill as soon as the music started. Many thanks to Zeal and Litta for your patience, when the rain played short havoc with the generator, and for playing on longer than planned.

The first hero DJ of the weekend was Anile. He was initially booked to play a three hour set back to back with Dready, but ended up having to play by himself when Dready did not come. Not only was Anile prepared having turned up with two huge boxes of vinyl, he smashed the three hour set and had a wicked attitude to match. Unbelievably when the next DJ Manga failed to show up he stepped up the plate and continued to DJ pleasing the crowd with more stomping tunes and tight mixing – never losing his energy or enthusiasm!! What a hero DJ – Anile. There were certain people who we got to hear this year and who stepped up the plate and will be noted for next year – Anile is one of these people.

The next three hours went smoothly with killer sets from Rekless, Venom and Bladerunner. All three DJs smashed it and I never heard a dropped mix or clanger once!! Big upz to you guys.

Things went a bit hectic again when Target DJ from Dread Recordings didn't show up either, but Venom and Bladerunner stepped up and continued to dj…and played a bad ass set just before Nicky Blackmarket arrived.

Nicky arrived to a packed dnb tent with MC Det – what a surprise. Although Det didn't give us a taste of his skills on the mic it was an honour to have him there on stage brocking out to Nicky Blackmarkets bad boy set. It was wicked to watch Nicky at work with a big grin on his face and a torch in his mouth – what a legend. He congratulated Rain.Bo! and myself on a wicked party which was a very nice surprise and left for Ministry Of Sound where he was playing that night also.

Balistik then stepped up to the plate earlier than planned when Ray Keith was late arriving. He continued the heavy atmosphere and smashed his set keeping the flow just right for the bad boy Ray Keith to take over as soon as he arrived. .Big upz dude and many thanks for running around to grab your records when we needed your help. Totally appreciated.

Ray Keith ended the night in style with his choice selection of tunes playing right up to the end of the night ! A truly heavy set and the crowd loved him. MC Hunter Dee hosted the night with his usual wicked style on the mic. Ray Keith also congratulated us on a top party.

A totally hyped and vibed up first day and night and the pouring rain and sticky mud only made out tent more packed ;p

Saturday

Saturday started with Mumblemass who played a neat set and then Flat T blew away the sound team with an amazingly tight set (Flat T you were talk of the sound crew so big upz I can't wait to hear the whole recording). Many thanks to Flat T for also running over time as the next acts were late (the appalling weather conditions were responsible for this). Big upz to Bad Boy B and Herbalist MC for getting the crowd hyped!

Eclipse, Dominator and Phantom D all played top sets throughout the afternoon leading up to Top Buzz at 5pm.

Top Buzz arrived nice and early to enjoy some of the festival around the same time as Jay from EZ Rollers also – which was refreshing to see the top names acts hanging around to enjoy some of the other acts.

Top Buzz are really nice people to talk to. Totally down to earth and it was a pleasure to meet his very beautiful and sweet fiancé who danced her heart out to all of the set. The tent suddenly rammed for their set, which was great to see. People loving the style of music and the respect was obvious to see – legends of the scene and it amazed me at how many tracks they produced that I recognised on Saturday lol…..Big Upz.

SnakeEyes and Perfection played next. Big Upz Perfection – cool guy will be good to see you back next year. Again Bad Boy B and Herbalist tore up the crowd with their enthusiastic style. Eclipse and Dominator played next as unfortunately the Barnaby Ray Quartet had to pull out at the last minute. They have cancelled all their tour as well, not sure what the circumstances are. The DJS played wicked sets and proved themselves for next year !!

Balistik then played a heavy hour long set. His mixing skills were very tight I have to say.

Then came Rain.Bo! and myself Essence back to back. Lol…This was the first time we realised the monitors needed raising – so next year this is a priority ;p Unfortunately some rouge mc got onstage as the people who running it (ourselves) weren't able to control the stage at the same time lol. Lesson learnt for next year and the mc will be named when we have the audio. I look forward to hearing this and playing it for all to hear this certain mcs style of dissing the crowd and djs ;p We enjoyed our set and so did the crowd. Big Upz to EZRollers Jay for watching.

The next surprise of the night came from Slider. Initially he was booked to play a back to back set with Dready but played the whole set himself. And Geeeee was I surprised. I have heard Slider before as he is local to me – but step up to the plate he did. First time playing at a festival and you could tell the buzz got him. He smashed it – heavy selection and mixing style complimented by Hunter Dee MC. A wicked set to get the crowd going for Dr S Gachet.

Dr S Gachet was awesome as always. Some cdj problems at the start of his set (unfortunately they were temperamental over the weekend) didn't phase him – he just played vinyl after and it was a sweet rolling set with old and new tunes mixed in to perfection. Legend – I hope to get some pics from someone of this set – I was too busy brocking out on stage to photograph it lol.

The last half hour Slider and the Doc went back to back for a friendly mix off. It was a superb end to night and a nice surprise for the tent. Hunter Dee MC hosted the whole evening in his usual smooth and effortless way, giving the crowd breathing space when needed and hyping them up at the right times.

Saturday was indeed another heavy day and night, and after I evicted Slider and the Doc from the wicked crew caravans/static home at 4am I slept hard for a few hours….until Sunday lol ;p

Sunday

Sunday started mellow with some wicked tracks to reminisce to. Old skool tunes that heralded the scene, and seemed mellow and appropriate for a Sunday afternoon. DJ Clueless and Mr Happy Mr Genocide provided some wicked tracks from back in the day and I was interested to see how Mr Happy Mr Genocide worked with his laptop. It was cool to watch. Big up Unity Hardcore.

Freddy,Freddy,Freddy lol. What a set. I personally really enjoyed Freddys set. I was in my caravan (which was only 7 metres from the backstage the whole time) and I was washing. Sounds crazy but I was rushing to get out and dance…bouncing round the caravan – as if I hadn't already just heard two days worth of dnb lol. Some truly great tracks that I haven't heard before, You still need to tell me what the Egyptian track please Freddy ;p Very tight mixing also – wicked set.

Kura and Coley played neat sets also – big upz to you guys.

The Sub Bass Invaders played next. I have never seen them before and they bought a third deck. They are two brothers and their style is very unique – a pleasure to watch. The 3 deck set up is used for scratching and those boys rocked, Skills. Totally looking forward to hearing the audio. Refreshing to watch and listen to – giving them an edge above regular djs. Respect – must be totally hard to combine your talents in such an effortless way. Top set for you Guys next year…..rocking act indeed.

Scoobz played some cool tunes from back in the day also and a good solid set.

Fire D and Staple (from Pulse Rated fm) must have been the most asked about djs of the weekend though. A lot of people asked me who they were – as they played a heavy set. Loved the wellies Ollie lol…..Farmer Ollie kicking dnb ass  Made my weekend to see some wellies behind the decks – Big Upz was a pleasure to finally meet you both. Heavy set also.

The last part of the festival just rolled on and the tent got heavier and heavier. I think many people had been conserving their energies during the daytime of Sunday but as the night drew in so did the solid crowd again.

Kleer played a sweet set followed by LSB and Force MC and then the almighty EZ ROLLERS Jay and Messy MC. For me this end set was personally the bet set of the whole festival. Messy MC just flows so well and the two work with each other so well – the end result is a whole tent plus Essence brocking out and floating into those lyrics. What an end set. It couldn't have been any better. The tent was packed and the appreciation from the local crowd was awesome on Sunday.

Personally I would love to see that again next year….an awesome end act. Total Respect!!

Tune of the Weekend(10 times counted) : High Contrast "If we ever "

http://www.myspace.com/highcontrastuk

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