Review : Pro-ject's Hideout Festival Launch Party with Latmun, 10.03.18

After our first memorable trip to Worcester's Crystal Warehouse last year, we couldn't wait to return. With the city's ever-growing underground music brand announcing a partnership with one of Europe's biggest festivals, what better time to make the journey back up, than for Pro-ject's Hideout Festival launch party.

The mammoth Croatia-based beach festival enters it's 8th year running, having grown significantly since it's inception in 2011. After a successful stint at Hideout last year, Pro-ject secured another year as official club partners and will be throwing more of their famous parties on Zrce Beach this June. To warm things up before then (seeing as it's been f***ing cold in England recently) Hideout's various club partners have been throwing launch parties up and down the UK, with Pro-ject set to host theirs in the Crystal Warehouse and bringing yet another huge name to Worcester; Latmun.

Production/Sound

No pennies were spared here, as Pro-ject opted for the big guns this time round, installing two giant LED screens as a front and backdrop around the DJ booth. This addition to the lighting added a real cinematic visual display for their fans, with a range of vibrant and colourful branded visuals changing throughout the night. The screens were also multi-purposed as a powerful strobe, combined with a row of rotating beam lights and two Co2 cannons, which nailed the head on the production front.

To find out more about the venue and sound instalments, check out our last visit to Pro-ject's Crystal Warehouse.

DJ Sets

Huff, Seb & Jas

Carrying on the warm up duties after Giles Potter and Neo-x was a trio b2b with Huff, Seb and Jas, the venue now starting to fill with ravers, ready and eager to kickstart the night. The trio orchestrated a well-paced hour of selections, steadily building the atmosphere. Spinning some groovy disco vibes such as "Don’t Stop" by Jizz and Emanuel Satie’s "Paffo’s Riff", had the early head's bopping along. As 11 o’clock loomed closer, with the room packing out nicely, the trio cranked up the vibe - dropping energy fuelled tracks such as K-Style – "Fanky" and a new release from Sonny Fodera & Dakar titled "Turn Me Up". A strong and synchronised 60 minutes from the three DJs, preparing us for the night ahead. 

Dre'
Taking over from Tom Shorterz and fresh off the plane from Malta to play, was the Maltese legend; Dre’. Having over ten years of experience behind the decks and running some of his own events such as Definitive Underground and Dre’ Exclusives, this performance was bound to add some flavour, and boy did Dre' deliver. Opening his set mixing Miguel Bastida’s dark, dubby 2016 banger "Come On Everybody" after Pawsa’s high spirited track "Party" immediately caught our attention. The mix continued to follow a darker tech house rhythm, until Dre’ switched the bassline to Vidaloca’s new uplifting banger; "Let's Get It Up".

The track features a nail-biting build up, complimented by an excellent use of female vocals. With the giant LED screen flashing as a strobe and adding to the suspense, the drop sent the crowd into hysteria. Dre’ went on to twist the vibe by bumping up the bpm into that fast-paced, poppy sound that we all love, with a disco tech track by Ross Evana titled "Panic Room". Carrying on the feel-good vibes that now had the room gripped, Dre’ dropped Martin Hellfritzsch’s edit of the timeless classic "It Just Won’t Do", leaving with the entire room moving along to the funky beat, and us dreaming of being back on that Hideout beach! The remainder of the set continued to follow that deep, poppy tech vibe, closing with a Pax remix of K.A.M.A’s "Cream", as Dre' handed over the mantle to Pro-ject boss Jay Newman.

Jay Newman

Taking over the reins from Dre’ was Pro-ject founder and local resident Jay Newman. Having previously heard a powerhouse set from the DJ/Producer in December, we were eager to see him back in control and lighting the path for tonight's headliner Latmun. Opening with one of Eli Brown's newer tracks "Alone in the Dark" had us grooving from the get go, the new release from the rising producer featuring melodic strings followed by a catchy female vocal loop. Following shortly after was the monstrous mashup by Eriz Prydz's darker moniker; Cirez D vs Green Velvet & Harvard Bass entitled "On Off Lazer Beams". The track tore through the warehouse, leaving the venue's atmosphere at an all time high.

Further into the Birthday set from Jay saw handfuls of tech house, including DSC’s "Coming Round" remixed by Rex the Dog. The remix adding a bass-packed, wacky drop that exploded into the crowd along with an eruption of Co2. The final moments before handing over to Latmun had the entire room glued to the dancefloor, Mark Knight’s remix of ‘You’ve Got The Love’ instantly recognised by the crowd, with every hand in the air, singing along. 

Latmun

Next to grace the decks was man of the moment, Latmun. Over the last couple of years Joe Bradley has been setting the world alight with his stand-out production and electric sets. After landing charting releases on labels VIVa Music, Madtech, Relief Records and Hot Creations, there's no question the Nottingham born DJ/Producer has become one of the scene's leading underground producers . We have a hunch he may be the brains behind production softwares Ableton and Logic (yeah, he’s that good).

Latmun’s set was bursting with flair and his signature sound - those heavy rolling build ups which exhilarated the crowd, getting everybody dancin’ (pun intended). Not afraid to throw in a groovier vocal track, Vaggio’s 2011 release “Don’t You Want Some More” was a perfect way to break up the set, captivating the crowd as they sang the vocals back. A darker side to the DJ also featured, with Nicole Moudaber's techno show stopper "Giv Me Luv" blasting through the speakers. Progressing further into his stride, Latmun demonstrated his technical ability as a DJ, cleverly merging the vocal build up in his 2017 release "Footsteps" with the bouncy house drop from Denney's "Jam On It". Drawing to the end of his performance saw selections dating back from his earlier production. Choosing the 2016 release on ViVa limited; "Def" proved the track can still hit just as hard, with the drop rumbling through the Crystal Warehouse walls.

Overall

Pro-ject demonstrated just why they're club partners for one of Europe's leading festivals, another successful party jam-packed with positive vibes, top draw performances and an offering like no other in it's home city. The brand continues to bring established underground artists to Worcester, proving no city is too small for a rave. 8.5/10

Miss out on the Hideout launch party? Fear not, on 31st March Pro-ject venture to the capital for an all day rooftop party in Dalston, featuring Doorly and Tommy Vercetti. But be quick, tickets running low! Grab yours here.