Kicking off the winter season in style, drum and bass legend, Andy C hosted a bass-fuelled Xmas party at London’s famous industrial music venue, Printworks. The hottest artists in the game were invited to play across Printworks’ long and narrow main room, the Press Halls and the venue’s intimate Dark Room.
One of the biggest breakthrough artists of the year, Skantia was granted two sets across both rooms. The young producer has signed an exclusive deal with Ram Records following the success of his EP on the sister label, Program. Earlier this year, his remix of Loko’s ‘Bassline Secret’ demonstrated his sonically infectious sound and razor-sharp drum production. Skantia’s set in the Dark Room showcased his fast-paced mixing technique and taste for rhythmically complex and varied neuro tracks, confirming he’s an artist to watch in 2020.
Another breakthrough artist Bou, is one of the rare artists to have released on three of the biggest drum and bass labels in a single year including Hospital, Critical and more recently, Souped Up Records. His set consisted of a fiery selection of rollers and quick double drops. He played the introduction of well-known anthems to get the crowd singing, before switching into one of his own foghorn-laced tracks on the drop. This made for a surprising and unpredictable performance.
The second half of the night was led by the long-time neurofunk veterans,Ed Rush and Optical. The duo brought an explosive selection of synth-heavy rhythms, with an onslaught of progressive drops from their label Virus Recordings. In contrast to this, jungle pioneers Ray Keith and Nicky Blackmarket were on a back-to-back set in the Dark Room, spinning old-school amen breaks with whirling basslines, accompanied by the lyrics of MC Fatman D. Both rooms were packed for these sets, which goes to show how two opposing styles of drum and bass can run in the same rave.
Old School drum and bass pioneersRandallandDillinjaplayed back-to-back in the main room. While both artists typically play different styles of drum and bass, they both became prominent in the 90’s and have been at the top of their game ever since. During their performance, Randall drew from his extensive library of unreleased dark rollers, whereas Dillinja injected his signature low-fi jump up rhythms – a combination that complimented both artist’s style and skill.
The penultimate set was run by Ram Records’Culture Shock, a solo artist who successfully released hisSequence albumearlier this year. His set was comprised of a modern drum and bass selection, which mixed clean and punchy dancefloor tracks, with eloquent synth melodies and vocal tracks. The rhythm and flow in his set was both consistent and enjoyable, that allowed the ravers catch their breath after the more intense preceding sets.
The star of the show Andy C took to the stage for the remaining four hours of the night, demonstrating the full spectrum of drum and bass music. He switched between the prominent genres of liquid, jungle, neurofunk and jump up. The shorter transitions between genres differentiated from Andy’s ‘All-night’ sessions, where the splits would be longer and more fleshed out. His performance showcased a year of stellar drum and bass releases while also reminding us of the classic generation-defining tracks from the past.
Andy C’s Xmas party was one of the definitive events of the winter season. Having such a vast array of artists and styles sleighing in a single timetable was testament to the strength of the genre in one of its busiest years. We’re looking forward to seeing where drum and bass will go in 2020.
Check out Andy C's upcoming events here.
Photography - Sharbinson
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