With a three week wait instead of the usual two, and a town choc-full of fresh Uni meat, Dan Aperture had a proper job on his hands putting together Friday’s Freshers night at Clwb Ifor Bach. And what a job he did do... the night turned into one of the most hectic and amazingly fun nights I (and I’m sure hundreds of others) have had at the capital’s number one club for drum and bass.
And it wasn’t just drum and bass that was getting rewinds that night – as the late addition of the genius that is the combination of Dave Droneboy and DJ Kooley spinning any (and I mean ANY) genre of music under the sun – as long as it’s damn good tune. But, preceding the two ballsy selectors, were two relatively new Aperture residents.
Kicking off the jam-packed evening was liquid-loving Solus, playing his first set outside of a house party – and he nailed it. With a summery, festival style selection of tunes and slick mixes to go with them, he really let the new Uni students get a feel for what was to come that night, as well as pleasing the Aperture regulars who were there in their droves.
After the debutant Solus, it was the pint-sized Screwy. This guy may be small in height, but he packs a hell of a punch when he steps up to the technics of Welsh Club. By the time Screwy had begun, the absolutely massive queue at the door was cut-off and the night had sold out – it was road-block business. The room filled-up and the frankly huge crowd were treated to a Ram Records inspired set which was smoothly mixed and performed with a fat smile on the face. Nearly every track was greeted by shouts and screams by anyone who knew anything about drum and bass, and the tidy double drop of Wilkinson’s ’Moonwalker’ and Hamilton’s ’Brainstorm’, which is killing it at the moment, really turned the heat up in room one. It was his best set so far – but just as he got everyone in the mood for the appearance of Drumsound and Basslinesmith, two bold men stepped up to the CDJs with something else in mind...
Step forward Aperture founder and underground clothing label owner Droneboy, accompanied by mainstage favourite DJ Kooley. A last minute addition with a half-an-hour slot to fill, no-one really knew what to expect from the deadly duo – but regardless of that, no-one could have prepared the sweaty, fresh-faced crowd for what was about to come. ‘I’m, Coming, Out!’ blared through the speakers on the top floor, and, given a few seconds of stunned realisation and musical epiphany, the top floor broke into what I can only describe as hilariously majestic skanking to yes, Diana Ross’s ‘I’m Coming Out’. The wild scenes continued as the DJ’s expertly span through hip-hop classics, legendary 90’s tunes and pop so popular that not a single person could keep their feet nailed to the ground. They went though the likes Notorious BIG, Michael Jackson, Wu-Tang and Rancid – all magnificently pulled-off at a usually 100% drum and bass orientated night. You can say that DJing is just playing tunes, but to play such a creatively broad range of tunes, and for every single one of them to go-off and work pretty much perfectly, it takes a lot of skill. The set would be as perfect for a house party as it would a festival – it is potentially something that could be taken further, and perhaps should not be such a one-off and unrepeated performance; it was genius.
After Droneboy’s and Kooley’s half hour of power, room one was humid and the crowd had been put through something no-one in there would have experienced before – but if anyone could have squeezed more energy out of them, it’s Drumsound and Basslinesmith. Opening with customised intro, especially for the one-off start to the university year, he blasted straight into their new single ’Close’, which came out earlier this year. Blaring out exactly the kind of tunes that big crowds in small venues need, club-orientated drum and bass and dance floor fillers that still give off that need-to-skank vibe, the temperature reached just about bare-able levels, and sweat practically oozed from the walls of the Welsh Clwb. The Freshers were greeted to some of the more mainstream and commercial side of the still underground scene, and the regulars were treated to a sweet mix of dirty rollers and Clwb classics – it truly was a great selection of tracks hand-picked by the man himself. As well as showcasing some of their new material, Drumsound played out tracks from their own Technique label. The trio, who traditionally only take one member to each gig, were the perfect choice to headline a crowd full of drum and bass lovers and newbies to the scene – a fine introduction to Cardiff’s legendary Aperture.
Speedo was given the task of rounding the night off, in a special comeback performance following his decision to give-up decks and hang-up his headphones. It didn’t take long for him to end his retirement and return to the records – he simply loves it too much, and the humongous smile on his face showed it. Playing with Oli Num3ric, they brought the worn-down energy levels back to a peak and blazed through brilliant dance floor dnb, playing tracks like the Sub Focus’ remix of Prodigy’s ’Take Me to the Hospital’ and his drum and bass mix of the epic ’Could This Be Real’. The pair of DJs danced as hard in the booth as the packed room below did, and even when the lights sadly turned on at the end of the night, there was still a large crowd getting down and dirty in room one – they kept the heads there till the dying seconds.
This particular Aperture was one I had looked forward to like no other gig I’ve been to before, and it seemed as though half of the city did too. A big shout out has to go to MC Fraudsta, he hosted the whole night in front of what was one of the biggest crowd’s Aperture has seen – and his dance to Michael Jackson was awesome. It added to the whole party vibe the packed night had - I’ve been in Clwb when the whole club has been as packed as the bar area on Friday night was – Dan has really done a good job at bringing life back into the drum and bass scene. We caught up with the promoter at the end of the night for a quick word.
“I’m glad that tonight has been such a success, a lot of hard work was put into putting tonight together, and a sell-out crowd and a great night has been really rewarding. It’s reassured me and now I’m just looking forward to the rest of the year – there are more great acts coming your way, people, e.g LTJ Bukem in two weeks! Cardiff is an exciting place to be, and I (and I’m sure many others) are looking forward to spending our time in the thriving scene here in the Welsh capital.”
If you’re living in Cardiff and are a fan of the underground scene, a fan of drum and bass or just want to try something new, get yourself down to LTJ Bukem on October 7th in Clwb Ifor Bach – you won’t regret it! LTJ Bukem is a legend in his own right and he’ll show you why. Big up Aperture family!
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‘I’m, Coming, Out!’ blared through the speakers on the top floor, and, given a few seconds of stunned realisation and musical epiphany, the top floor broke into what I can only describe as hilariously majestic skanking to yes, Diana Ross’s ‘I’m Coming Out’. The wild scenes continued as the DJ’s expertly span through hip-hop classics, legendary 90’s tunes and pop so popular that not a single person could keep their feet nailed to the ground. They went though the likes Notorious BIG, Michael Jackson, Wu-Tang and Rancid – all magnificently pulled-off at a usually 100% drum and bass orientated night. You can say that DJing is just playing tunes, but to play such a creatively broad range of tunes, and for every single one of them to go-off and work pretty much perfectly, it takes a lot of skill. The set would be as perfect for a house party as it would a festival – it is potentially something that could be taken further, and perhaps should not be such a one-off and unrepeated performance; it was genius.
