These are the tracks that defined Bloc Weekender - - Mixmag

These are the tracks that defined Bloc Weekender

  • Funster & Seb
  • 19 March 2015

Bloc's back! Despite some dodgy sound quality during some parts of the festival (which is pretty much a given at any UK event), the 2015 edition went down a storm. We heard quality music all weekend long and don't even get us started on the afterhours Laser Quest and go kart activities.

Here are the tracks that defined this year's Bloc along with reviews of the sets that they were played in. Enjoy and see you at the next one.

- Mr Ties

Friday, Fact Stage: The Fact stage was consistently good across the weekend, welcoming Rødhad, DJ Funk and Perc for dizzying sessions. Sadly, another consistency throughout the weekend was that the venue was always half full. Sure, it left lots of room to dance but the atmosphere lacked at times. We made it our first point of call on the Friday and once the steely, mechanical sounds of Livity Sound had faded out and the rotary mixer was rolled in, Mr Ties was ready to unload. He soon switched the vibe from dark and moody to light and fruity and before he'd even mixed two tracks, the buttons on his shirt were slowly being undone. Chunky remixes of 'Shake & Pop' created a lively atmosphere that oozed fun and energy. While it wasn't nearly as busy as his set deserved, he still laid it on thick and when he dropped 'The Beast' by Vicious And Palumbo, there wasn't a soul in the room not losing their shit.

- Ben UFO

Red, Friday: Hessle Audio set up camp in Red on Friday night, presenting one of their now classic showcases. When we walked in the place was totally dark and full of dry ice, green lazers zapping around over the top of our heads. It was hard to make out who was DJing and the lack of light combined with the pumped audio volume was a total affront on the senses. It felt like a 'proper' rave and for a moment we were lifted up and beyond the kitsch schtick of Butlins.

And the music? While we were there it was Ben UFO rolling out what sounded like technoid garage, all skip 'n crunch undercut by low-end wallop. Fucking fantastic. Just a shame the same kind of atmosphere wasn't achieved for Levon Vincent's deep set on Saturday, can we have some consistency next year Bloc?

- Midland b2b Joy Orbison

Fact, Friday: Sometimes back-to-backs work and sometimes they don't. We were intrigued by this pairing but sadly it came across a bit lop sided.

Midland stepped up to the venue's rotary with serious intent, working the mixer as well as his body as he rolled out his trademark rhythmic cuts. Tense and percussive, his selections set a great peak-time mood. Joy O on the other hand didn't seem to want to respond to his partner's choices or even the crowd; he was intent on shattering the focused vibe with hands-in-the-air piano house and looked distinctly bored throughout. Shame he couldn't match Midland.

- Robert Hood

The Centre Stage played host to the most epic sets of the weekend. It was the place that, come the end of each night, everyone converged at for one final, endorphin-fuelled blow out. With Jackmaster unable to perform on the Friday, it was up to Robert Hood to give the place a real workout, and that's exactly what he did. Possibly the best set of the weekend, his move from Reds to the 3000-capacity space heralded some of the holiest and most euphoric techno we've heard in a minute. Goosebumps, family vibes and 'The Bells' by Jeff Mills made for a truly outrageous experience. Hood delivered a message from above through his techno and for those two hours, we were all his disciples.

- Shanti Celeste

Although The Pub is the smallest venue on the Butlins Minehead site, it still packed a lot of weight in terms of artists and music. It kicked off everyday at 2pm with club night residents from across the UK and it became a destination for those seeking a cheeky early afternoon rave, or those refusing to go back to the chalet for a nap.

Although the crowds thinned out as the other stages opened later on, there was no shortage of on-point DJs and on Saturday night it was the turn of Bristol's Shanti Celeste to bring the heat. She managed to conjure a crowd within ten minutes of laying down the needle on her first track and she provided a welcome mix of lush house and chunky rollers that brimmed with attitude. Even though her set time clashed with Omar S, Moodymann and Scuba, she still had a room full of dancers cheering and whooping after every drop and the smile didn't leave her face once.

- Carl Craig

Saturday, Reds: Ah, the ever-reliable and always other-worldly Carl Craig. You just can't fault his techno prowess and once Moodymann had said his final "whaddup doe", the Planet E don dada went from zero to banging in about two-and-a-half tracks. It was one of the busiest sets in Reds and Craig maintained a serious pace for the duration. Thick and pounding four/four was on show but it wouldn't be a Carl Craig set without a few surprises along the way. Tom Trago's euphoria and happiness-inducing 'Use Me Again' was expertly sandwiched between two large techno rollers and it provided the hands-in-the-air moment of the night.

It sounds cliché but everyone within arms-distance was hugging each other and singing along before the techno came charging back in. The hugging then stopped and fist-pumping with intent resumed.

- ​World Unknown

Carhartt, Saturday: World Unknown is the London party helmed by two cult selectors who reside in the dark depths of the city: Joe Hart and Andy Blake. Seasoned DJs who've played more raves than you've had hot dinners, they know a thing or two about pleasing a crowd and keeping things going (and going). Bloc drafted the boys in for an excellent 'afterparty' in the Carhartt area, normally a bowling alley during usual Bloc hours. A raised stage and strange lighting fixtures gave the place a slightly dystopian look (or was that the sleep deprivation?!) which suited the World Unknown vibe perfectly. A few hundred revelers danced 'til 10am Sunday, squeezing the juice out of every tune played. Hart and Blake blazed through their crates and brought their trademark neo Balearic steez.

- ​DJ Bone

Pub, Sunday: A bunch of our mates were complaining that DJ Bone wasn't playing a bigger venue. Sure, the modest Pub system didn't quite cut through the big crowd that arrived to see the seasoned Detroit DJ but we weren't complaining, and neither was Bone. "You truly had to be there to know," he wrote on his Facebook after. "No words". The purists wanted a big room experience but there was no rivaling the intimacy of this set. Spaced-out heads stayed to the back of the crowd, lapping up Bone's high-speed selections while the stamina kids got involved down the front, furiously sweating out a weekend's worth of alcohol and chemicals. The Pub was packed and Bone brought his ruffneck mixing style, drawing for the acid, the astral and the spanky. His drop of DJ Nasty's '3 Wheel Motion' was one of the bangers of the weekend.

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