WAREHOUSE PROJECT: CURATED BY SBTRKT

October 6th | Victoria Warehouse, Manchester

With a far larger capacity, a more awkward location for travel and a vast angular layout, WHP’s new venue was always likely to be somewhat controversial. Largely devoid of the labyrinthine griminess of the under-the-train-station venue at Store Street (but still leaving your shoes covered with a healthy layer of filth), the event seemed to rely on the music rather than the rave personality to convey the notorious atmosphere. The second weekend of the 2012 season saw the return of much of their established ‘alternative’ line-up, curated this time by SBTRKT.

Kwes opened the night with his production-heavy rhythm pop, performed with a kind of grace that’s not often seen among such line-ups. Unfortunately, his melodic set, scheduled as it was before 9pm, proved a no more than pleasant start to what was to be a long night. The vibe only really began to kick off once Disclosure took to the main stage, unveiling one of the most impressive light shows of the evening: a looming backdrop erecting their iconic ‘face’ amidst a phantasmagoria of vibrant colours. A solid set showcased much of their most recent and more commercial house jams, made all the more compelling thanks to the brothers’ dedication to using live instruments as much as possible. Koreless then introduced a symphonic set mixing both ambience and grandiosity, heavily reliant on repetitive, slow-building concords. The full-bodied music encapsulated the more sparse area of Room 2 but despite a supremely melodic collection of songs, there was a distinct lack of ‘drops’, which proved ultimately frustrating.

TNGHT, on the other hand, delivered a set pretty much entirely constituted of half-time trap-rap beats, without even the slightest floundering of audience anticipation. In what was undoubtedly the most consistent performance of the night, HudMo and Lunice just kept on dropping against an unremitting strobe light, pausing only to cast their crescent moon logo over the darkness of the main room. Higher Ground couldn’t have hit harder. They were followed by a disappointing Four Tet, who, in spite of being billed as ‘live’, hardly drifted from the keys of his laptop, and played a set that felt devoid of all the charm and innovation that established his originality. Despite some driving and bass-heavy rhythms, his sound was so assimilated he could quite easily have been DJing.

Caribou eventually wrapped up the proceedings with a DJ set packed with the most engaging and danceable tunes of the night. By this point the excellent second room was rammed, and at the climax of the party there was the reminder of what WHP is all about. With sweat dripping from the ceiling, and a dense crowd locked in symbiosis with the music, Victoria Warehouse emitted the euphoria that it had promised. Wherever it goes, the astounding dominance and unwavering hype ensures that WHP’s motto rings true: for 12 weeks, the city is theirs.

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http://www.thewarehouseproject.com

Words: James Balmont