Crack

It's like a normal festival except it’s in March, it’s strictly electronic music, and it takes place in Butlins, Minehead.

Comparing BLOC to any other festival is tricky. In fact comparing it to anything else you’ve ever done in your miserable little life is very tough. You would have thought staying in a chalet with a warm bed and a shower to go home to every night would make it more civilised. It doesn’t. It just makes it easier to get on it with unprecedented zeal. It couldn’t be this intense if you were in tents. It just wouldn’t work.

Remember the old way to show how wacky something is by using the phrase 'its like (insert usual comparative here) on acid!' well BLOC weekender is, actually like a Butlins holiday, on acid! BLOC is essentially all the amazing parts of Butlins and lots of mashed up music fans (minus the red coats, they had the week off).

We are talking retro amusements, bowling alleys, swimming pool, cheesy pubs and superb vibes. It works seamlessly. Ravers shoot down the waterslides with pupils like saucers, the bowling alley is filled with drunkards throwing balls into the gutter and the dance floors are consumed with people in a variety of fashionable, unfashionable and stupid attire. It’s an absolute unpretentious party pile-on from the word go.

A lot of this merriment is made possible by the good old Butlins staff, following everyone around with mops and buckets. Although it has to be said they don’t seem to be as mild mannered as their reputation suggests. Though for this weekend they can surely be forgiven.

One of the brilliant things about BLOC is the way Butlins copes with the whole logistics. From the chalets, which are relatively peaceful during the day, to the extremely agreeable and friendly security, there is a relaxed atmosphere to proceedings that is brilliantly juxtaposed with the hectic music.

And what an array of music on offer. From techno heavyweights gracing the main room in the form of Ellen Allien, Adam Beyer, Derrick May and the quite outstanding Joris Voorn, to the old skool hip-hop beats of Mixmaster Mike, Grandmaster Flash and Salt’n’Pepa (yes you didn’t mis-read that, Salt’n’Pepa) the main room bubbles along brilliantly all weekend with diversity and a quite spanking sound system.

Showcases from various electronic imprints take over BLOC’s second and third rooms with London dubstep heavyweights FWD+Rinse doing the bass damage one night and Bristol’s very own Subloaded hosting the whole evening in another. Subloaded steps up to the plate brilliantly. Kode 9 and Martyn hit the right notes with their dubby-techno and Berlin techno superstar Marcel Dettmann and Shed do a back to back special.

Club Autonomic is in full-session with the quite outstanding Instra:mental and dBridge, bringing their twisted drum and bass hybrid to a smaller stage with brilliant intimate results. These two deserve full credit for creating what is quite a unique sound and it was great to see them get a full showcase at BLOC.

Flying Lotus delivers his twisted, spasm of hip-hop, funk, lo-fi and jittery off centre bass to full effect and is a particular highlight. Man of the moment Joy Orbison gets a cracking crowd reaction for a number of his productions and a solid set that goes someway to justifying the amount of hype he has received.

This year, Autechre encapsulated the whole vibe on Saturday night. With all the lights in the place killed, they kicked out a ridiculous amount of sound which managed to be simultaneously banging, and perplexingly abstract in equal measure. It also resulted in the unique spectacle of being able to watch a brimming dance floor, juttering out erratically in every direction, trying to find a groove. Nothing like a mis-placed beat to skewer a dance floor into spasm.

Post rave hilarity is another BLOC highlight, with Crack ending up in a few choice conversations with a number of suspect individuals. One chap declared himself the king of the UK Fucky (not funky) scene and told our editor that he was genuinely annoyed with his Mum for teaching him to call water slides ‘aqua zooms’. “What kind of parenting is that?” He declared before marching off.

Crack spends well over ten quid on Deal or no Deal in the arcade and gets involved into a serious debate on Monday morning at 9am about who would win a game of backgammon between Dr Oetker (the pizza manufactuer) and Dr Jozef Fritzel (the notorious fuck-up). That is essentially what BLOC does to you.

A quick stroll into Minehead is a surprisingly refreshing blast of Somerset sea air. A scenic town with a fine array of quirky shops, tearooms and excellent eateries, it makes for a welcome diversion from the madness that is ensuing under the Butlins tent. The locals do not have the foggiest what is going on in their town and it’s a good thing too. Dog walks and weekend activity continues regardless.

If you fancy having a weekend where you can attack an absolute goldmine of experimental electronic music with as much enthusiasm as you can muster, due to the availability of beds, then BLOC is for you. The superstar DJs aren’t on the bill and what is left is a cherry picked, crafted line-up, that contains surprises, idiosyncrasies and a sense of fun that outweighs most other festivals. Throw into the mix you aren’t going to get wet because everything is indoors and you have perpetually happy campers.
When it’s over, all that’s left to do is pull yourself together in time for next year. Because one too many gos on the aqua zooms are bad for you!





http://www.blocweekend.com/

Words: Jack Dolan

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