IN:MOTION: EDIBLE SKREAMIZM

Motion, Bristol | November 15h

As the first major influx of revellers scurry through the cobbled entrance and into the cloakroom, they’re teased by the euphoric groans of Justin Martin pumping from the second warehouse room. Coats off, game faces on, the crowd’s smiles emerge, setting the tone for the rest of the night.

With the second warehouse stuffed to the brim, the crowd had clearly voted with their feet as the double doors from the main room to second were shut to ease the flow, a huge accolade to Martin’s work and talent. Naturally, stompers such as Don’t Go and The Gettup had every square metre punching through the smog that had quickly risen.

Oneman shuddered the main room into action with a darker edge, underpinning his set with elements of grime and trap. The effect was stunning, gripping the crowd through a dim chasm of bass music. Oneman continues to forge himself a path as a DJ’s DJ, rather than a producer who is forced to spread their tentacles into gigging to survive, and his reign showed no sign of slowing up as he dropped banger after banger. He also proved that Lethal Bizzle’s Pow still sparks crowds into chaos, despite being nearly 10 years old. Numbers veteran Jackmaster was equally on-point. Infusing drum and bass into a house-driven palette of tunes, tracks like Armand’s remix of Sugar Is Sweeter sent the room into a bobbing frenzy. And as the opening 808 kicks of Blue Monday swept through the masses, it became clear that this is a man with an unapologetic approach to crowd pleasers.

Skream opted for disco, house and a lick of techno, effectively rounding off official proceedings with a bang. And you can’t fault him for his stage presence. While turning a knob, he exudes the same level of enthusiasm that’d you’d have during feeding time at the dolphin enclosure. And by reeling off tracks like Todd Terje’s Inspector Norse and Route 94’s My Love, he keeps the party well and truly bumping before Justin Martin’s Dirtybird bedmate Eats Everything joins him for a B2B set as the night’s victory lap.

Motion’s golden haul of exceptional clout looked great on paper, and was even better in execution. OK, so a slight reduction in numbers would have gone a long way, as a little more breathing space generally seemed desired. But overall, the In:Motion team succeeded at what it does best – hefty bookings and great vibes.