WAREHOUSE PROJECT: CURATED BY JULIO BASHMORE
Victoria Warehouse, Manchester | October 26th
There’s been no missing the unparallelled ascent of Julio Bashmore, who has become a fixture in the consciousness of the masses, as well as the opinions and considerations of critics from all over. This sold out night at WHP was almost like a victory lap for the Bristolian producer, having broken out for cultivating a spin on house music that is now both truly idiosyncratic and monumentally crowd-pleasing. In selecting an array of acts for this bill, Bashmore covered a range of his wealth of influences and proved that his status is far from waning.
The night began with a set from reunited and vastly influential New York City duo Metro Area. They filled the main room with cuts from their self-titled 2002 debut and brought a decidedly underground breed of house and disco to an otherwise fairly glossy evening. A highlight soon came in the form of German deep house veteran and Innervisions affiliate Henrik Schwarz, whose live set straddled classic licks alongside contemporary, credible house music to a tee, euphoric and exultant in the best way.
If you think Bashmore’s got fans, you should see the vodka and cokes that got spilt when Breach dropped Jack. Arguable anthem of the summer for many, with radio, festivals and clubs featuring it on heavy rotation, there’s even a security guard inconspicuously mouthing along to the “everybody wants your body” hook. Aside from this moment, the set itself was strong enough to suggest an act who will continue his snowballing lift-off.
Then came the headline offering from Bashmore. Room one was full, and we mean seriously full. All that could be seen by most was Julio’s grandiose, swirling logo backdropping his somewhat introverted onstage persona. The Bashmore sound is an incredibly polished one, somewhat maligned cut Duccy demonstrating this perfectly and proving beyond a doubt that it’s a tune to hear out rather than through your laptop speakers. The same can be said of latest single Peppermint, which seems set to join the ranks of monster hits Battle For Middle You and the still-irresistible Au Seve, the reactions to which are the hard proof that Bashmore is at the top of the game. Yet a two second break before Chic’s Le Freak brings things to head make it clear this isn’t just a popular DJ; Bashmore is a music man whose skewed approach to dance music has won him critical and commercial acclaim.
As hordes of fans litter the streets around Victoria Warehouse, another colossal night at Warehouse Project had ended and its curator reigned victorious. An eclectic line-up, a devoted audience, and in Julio Bashmore, a man at the helm who ain’t going anywhere.
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Words + Photo: Duncan Harrison
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