House of Hauff: The tracks that shook The Brickworks

Helena Hauff has had a fucking amazing year. She's released two albums, the second of which came via Werkdiscs and is a strong contender for LP of the year. This year she's played more than ever, with over 60 dates in 2015 so far and she's already booked way into 2016.

We caught up with her this year at Dekmantel Festival after she'd just turned in one of the clear sets of the weekend. It may have been 4pm with the sun shining, but Hauff turned out some of the gnarliest, adrenaline-fuelled electro and techno we'd heard at the event and every member of that crowd was truly with her.

Last weekend we travelled to Nottingham for Wigflex at Brickworks and once again, the intimate warehouse space left us reeling with happiness. It's a go-to spot in the city and the long-standing, championed promoters have booked the likes of Julio Bashmore, Ron Morelli, Shackleton, Kowton and Ben Klock this year alone.

Saturday's event played host to Actress, Ben UFO and of course The Hauff. All three gave sterling performances that brought diverse and heavy-hitting tracks to the space. Ben UFO in particular impressed with stabby bass cuts and transcendent techno but it was Helena that stole the show (yet again). Two-and-a-half hours of side-winding, mind-bending electro was the course of trajectory and it just didn't let up. Here are the tunes that blew minds.

What better way to open proceedings than with a spanky, old-skool electro cut from the don Egyptian Lover. Helena wasn't messing when she started her set and from the first beat of 'P.E.L.F' people were cheering. Game time.

This is the track that started the second hour and it was a clear statement of intent from Hauff. The Horrorist has a knack of making seriously devilish electro and this Citizen Art remix is an underground gem. That mischievous riff bellowed through the warehouse and although Helena pitched it down, it still hit fucking hard.

More classic electro of the finest calibre, this time from genre flag-bearers Drexciya. Hauff's ability to mix tracks on vinyl so seamlessly is pretty astonishing but when you factor into that, the amount of colliding synths and basslines flying around, it really is a sight to behold. This one went down in serious ways.

Hands down the track of the entire night. First comes the beat which seems standard enough but when that opening riff came thrashing in, things went into overdrive. Among a sea of phones filming the madness were hundreds of people simultaneously losing their shit. The sheer heaviness of the track typifies how high-octane the set was. We caught a bit on our phone as well, we just had to.

Entering the last 30 minutes, things got harder and a hell of a lot more savage. I-F needs no introduction and anyone who's seen the driving force behind Intergalactic FM and Helena before, will immediately draw similarities. A bone-crushingly heavy track and one that inspired a final push from the remaining ravers.

One of the final tracks of the night and perhaps the most divisive. It came out of no-where as well. The screaming, wailing vocals of Babes In Toyland raised a few eyebrows as electric guitars took over from pulsating synths and kicks. The dancefloor thinned out very quickly but the people still dancing were flailing to the point of dislocation. Helena's a badass and the rebel mentality of the song threw two fingers up at anyone who wasn't down with it. A special moment.

This one was a cut from Ben UFO and one of his last before Hauff stepped up. Special props have to go to the UK favourite, he tee'ed Helena up perfectly with a hugely eclectic and mind-boggling selection of tunes. 'Half Hour Jam On A Borrowed Synth' vibrated around the room and offered up just the right level of confusion and anxiousness before the all-out electro extravaganza took place. Big.