Habitat with Wade at The Source 20.01.18
The tech house scene has soared in popularity and interest the past few years, with new parties and events popping up all over the UK, resulting in plenty of choice, but also a lot of competition for promoters and venue owners. Standing out and drawing the crowd to your event has never been harder, especially when you're just starting out.
Habitat burst onto the Kent scene during the height of last summer with a stint at Canterbury's City Sound Project. The jungle based theme is the brainchild of four aspiring promoters including resident DJs Roger That and Sam Twyman, designed to immerse their fans in a dense wilderness full of colour, flair and most importantly, big naughty beats. Following their opening stage at CSP, their first event within a busy market had to be carefully curated to draw the desired attention. Thankfully they had the right tools for the job, choosing to spend considerable amounts on their theme's production and analysing the long list of current DJs to capture the public's interest. Securing Detlef as their headliner was the first big step, a hugely accredited and respected house genius, along with Abode’s very own GW Harrison. A smart booking considering the limelight which abode is experiencing, having taken the scene by storm in recent years. The debut party and subsequent shows were an instant hit with locals and neighbouring areas, pulling in the punters and leaving a lasting impression with their extensive jungle production, transforming the venue. Their momentum continued to build, with headliners Truth be Told, Latmun, and now for their first event of 2018; Wade.
Production
Almost perfectly timed for Habitat's 2018 opening, their venue of choice The Source splashed the cash on six (yes, six!) new beam lights for the club's main room. The Kent based venue has continued to pump funds into their lighting of recent, something we feel is a crucial part of making a venue and an event, stand out. These new beams combined with the current set up of lighting, smoke machines and Co2 cannons set the scene, with the Habitat transformation not even getting started yet. A full day's graft filled the venue's two rooms with vibrant and extravagant colours, the main room's ceiling entwined with inflatable forestry and jungle inhabitants. You were no longer entering The Source main room, you were entering the jungle. A big thumbs up from us for Habitat also showing the second room of the venue the attention is deserves. Extending their theme further into the club within the infamous courtyard, kept fans locked into that jungle theme. The area was layered with camo netting, completing enclosing in the outside area.
DJ Sets
AlishaTaking the reigns for the second set of the night after a pace setting opener from Joe Coules was Habitat's newest resident, Alisha. After first witnessing Alisha’s talent back in November, we were excited to see what the Peterborough based DJ would deliver. The new Habitat resident has become known for her high energy levels and heavy tech basslines, fuelling her sets with relentless high tempo bangers, whilst finding the time to drop the odd classic dance track with a techy twist. It was clear to see she meant business once again, dropping belters from the very start. Aaran D's remix of Cajmere's timeless classic 'Percolator' went down a treat with the lively packed out main room. Further into the set and Pawsa’s track 'Werk' sent shivers down your spine with it's heavy bassline booming through The Source's infamous Martin Audio sound system, and lining up the rest of the night.
Roger That & Late Replies
Stepping up next found Habitat co-founder Roger That, b2b with the up and coming duo Late Replies. Between the 3 of them, an abundance of experience and charisma landed a set that blended pumping tech with elated, melodic techno and classic tunes, filling the room with positive vibes. The set began following on from Alisha’s steamy approach; with tracks such as Simone Liberali’s groovy track ‘The Walker.’ The b2b had a unique chemistry and real sense of enthusiasm in every track, dancing along with the crowd and bouncing off their reactions. Late Replies selecting the beautifully made ‘Spellbound’ by Grant Nelson switched up the pace, with those light piano chords creating a real housey feel. Drawing to the penultimate track before headliner Wade, Roger-That dropped Andrew Meller’s ingenious remix of the well-known classic ‘Insomnia’, leaving the room standing in awe before a big thumping drop sent the crowd onto cloud nine.
Wade
Headlining the proceedings was a pioneer of many tracks which we now know as the tech house genre. The Spanish DJ/Producer has had over 60 releases feature in the Beatport Top 100 chart. His use of rugged basslines and quirky hi-hats, often incorporated with old school vocals have made him a serious contender in the industry. The Source's big sound system at his disposal, within a close-walled room to reverberate his bass heavy tracks was the perfect combination. Opening with his brand new release raveolution had the crowd locked from the word go. Fast paced, energetic beats became a regular feature throughout his set, Roger-That's unsigned track 'Take Me Back' and Catz & Dogz’s remix of ‘Hush’ being perfect examples, whilst heavy drops such as his November release 'Rowlling' had us blown away with bass. The atmosphere was at an absolute peak, with the crowd's energy levels through the roof (you'd never guess this was a January event).
AVANTÉ
The final set of the night brought AVANTÉ to the DJ booth; a London based duo consisting of cousins James Dean and Daniel Grayburn. Having started their venture into the scene producing, they soon displayed their potential with an abundance of support from respected DJs. This door into the industry has led to experience behind the decks, featuring in Egg LDN and landing on line ups for London based brands Good Morning Midnight and 33. Drawing the eye of Habitat, AVANTÉ returned for the second time to the Kent party. Clicking together naturally the duo maintained that blistering pace of the night with Alvaro AM’s 'Dominator Bell', released on Loco Dice & Martin Buttrich’s label; Desolat. Their track selection complimented Habitat's hard hitting style perfectly and had the main room packed out to the dying moments. Further into the set 'Bad Company' by Dani Sbert blasted it's heavy rolling bassline and did some serious damage to round off Habitat's first show of 2018.
Comments
Post a Comment