I arrived in Jacks Club at 9pm just in time for the exclusive set by Ruse Record’s own Displaced. Played an hour before the event kick off and to a small group of promotion related friends it was packed with forthcoming dubs and was a good chance to test the club’s heavy yet clear sound system.

The door opened at 10pm to the sounds of Sidius (Sound Artillery). It was really reassuring to see a hefty queue of hungry tech-d’n’b heads already waiting outside and I reckon it was the man behind the decks himself who was responsible for the floor filling up with raving crowds as early as 20 minutes into the party. Combining, fresh off the press promos with classic neurofunk rollers, was a sure shot and finishing with explosive, ‘Waking The Dead’, by Wayz and Sidius, only added to the great atmosphere inside the place.

                                                      


Next up we had Ganja Tek’s artist InsideInfo. The set he played was one of my personal favourites and with the heavy beats being dropped the party started gaining some serious momentum. In the meantime Intense Records owner Shuffle and MC Deefa began unleashing the funk in the liquid arena, which proved to be a really good spot to chill out after the main room craziness.

The venue itself has this raw, industrial feel to it and by midnight the people inside seriously contributed to the atmosphere that old warehouse raves used to have reworked with a future lick. I then had my chance to rock the crowd and I’ve got to say – I haven’t enjoyed djing so much for a long time, fantastic vibe, crystal clear monitors and gut twisting bass – you don’t need anything else to make for a quality playout.

                                                

Jade then took over the decks and what else could be said apart from the fact he completely stole the show!! Dropping some killer tunes by such as ‘Dread Moon’ and project 51 forthcoming, ‘Cracks In The Ceiling’ (his collaborations with Matt-U) and VIP versions of recent neurofunk releases galore, his 2 hour mix was a definite highlight of the night. Upon being asked if he had any problems with covering for absent Spor his response was “I play as long as I’m allowed to play” and the feedback from the crowd suggests they’d wished he’d gone for longer.

At the same time Soul:R’s Lynx was getting ladies into booty shaking mode in the Intense’s Liquid room. His trademark minimal steppy material together with a packed room and brilliant atmosphere and EZ Rollers’ Messy MC’s lean yet dynamic flow is what for me was one of the greatest soulful D’n’B sets I ever witnessed and from the crowd reactions they where feeling the same.

Our main headliner Friction has arrived late due to some traffic problems on the M-25, but in return he graced the event with a pure techy Drum and Bass set and one to be remembered. To be able to see one of the producers involved in the making of seminal Stakka & Skynet’s Clockwork LP dropping tracks from the album and see them damaging the floor the same way they did upon the original release was something you don’t see in London on a regular basis. You could easily tell he loved taking his mix to the Neurofunk side and Friction himself confirmed afterwards, it was refreshing to stray from his standard mixes. At the same time Artificial Intelligence were sparking up the Liquid Funk stage with their rolling bass and teases off their forthcoming album.

                                                  

Next up to heat the main room, where Concord Dawn. The New Zealanders came correct with their blend of Trance vocals and drilling basslines. Hits such as “Don’t Tell Me” and Makoto’s rework of MJ’s Human Nature got played and with plethora of New Zealand clubbers in the place you could really feel the wicked atmosphere they originally created in their motherland.

With an absolutely wicked vibe throughout the night, This Way Up showed that you can organise a successful rave in the UK with cutting edge artists delivering Neurofunk / Techy Drum and Bass and it really makes people go nuts. One of the things that also heavily contributed to the unique feel inside, was the fact the promoters from New Zealand / UK and Eastern Europe were able to reach a variety of clubbers coming from those countries now residing in London helping to add to the vibe, proving once again that Drum And Bass is truly a worldwide thang.


Pictures can be found at www.ruserecords.co.uk and aditional and mix at http://www.dogsonacid.com/showthrea...threadid=520975







words by Matthew tromsa / DJ IZM