Aperture Presents: Sub Zero (Playaz) - Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff - 4th November (Live Review)
Thursday, 10 November 2011
Written by Elliott Batte
Last Friday, Aperture got see a whole different crowd, vibe and style of drum and bass that it hadn’t seen for a long time – the loved and loathed genre of Jump Up made it’s long overdue return to the top floor of Clwb Ifor Bach for the first time for at least a million years.
So, after years of DJing and producing alongside Adam Tindall (a.k.a Original Sin) as duo G-Dub, Sub Zero, real name Jake Carter, took it upon himself to bring the disgustingly raw sound of jump up drum and bass back to Aperture with a perfected set choc full or bangers and rewind material – and of course, as many MCs as the stage could fit. But before the ice cool sounds of Sub Zero, we were placed in the hands of Barry town’s own Rapture Family. Yeah, it was time for the first Raperture.
First ‘pon decks was Aperture regulars Swifty and Coop, who are already very experienced at getting a Friday night Aperture party started. Warming up the crowd, many of which may have not attended an Aperture night before, seemed no problem for the pair of DJs and, like the rest of the night’s resident spinners, they showed off their skills without a hitch or problem.
It was then time for an hour and a half of three of Rapture’s finest; Tribe, Smash and Dawksey stepped upto the plate to deliver 90 minutes of face-melting Reese bass, physically damaging drums and even the a handful of classics. You could also see what the Rapture Family call themselves a family; every member is always on stage supporting one other, congratulating one another, encouraging and even getting drinks for one another. And they all do truly look like DJ’s who really enjoy what they do.
But, as much as they were enjoying each other, they had to make way for Sub Zero. After he made his entrance to huge applause and howls, he showcased exactly why he’s turned to focus on his own career, combining his seasoned and precise knowledge of tunes with his own ridiculously heavy tracks to form a painfully good set – and it was literally painful, as the crowd turned from the usual mass of dancing bodies into an actual moshpit of sweaty ravers that wouldn’t have looked out of place at a Slayer gig. Sub Zero’s own tunes really did help make his set uniquely energetic, with his remix of remix of Cue’s ‘Rainbow Dub’ really going off. Another of his productions, the dance-inducing ’Poon’, showed why he’s considered up there with the best when it comes to song-making; not only is it a wicked tune for the dancefloor, it’s funky enough for home-listening, even for those who only listen to drum and bass in clubs. And for Jump Up, that’s saying something.
Carter really was a crowd pleaser as well, you could tell there were a lot of veteran drum and bass heads who’ve been starved of any real jump up nights in Cardiff and they were definitely a happy bunch. You know you’ve done a good job when you get almost as many rewinds as DJ Sly likes to pull off (almost). Overall, the Playaz repper was brilliant – he definitely killed it.
Picking up the task of the graveyard shift was Aperture regular DJ Bason, who played b2b with veteran Sheppa D. These two really know how to work the decks, using almost strictly vinyl throughout their set. Bason opened the final hour with a drum and bass remix of Aloe Bacc’s ‘I Need a Dollar’, which straight away earned them their first rewind of the night. Moving swiftly and sweetly through tunes, Bason then eased through some disgustingly dirty wobble tracks and into some deep half time, before handing the headphones to Sheppa D. Although Aperture hasn’t seen him at the decks for a while, he wasn’t rusty in the slightest and the pair together rounded off the night superbly.
No review of the night would be complete without a special dedication to the night’s MCs – instead of the usual lone master of ceremonies; we were treated to four – Aperture regular Fraudsta, Shunobie 1, Tommy D and Killa K. Jump Up and fast-spitting MCs go hand in hand, so these four were the perfect match for tonight’s DJs, and the fact that the four are all part of the Rapture family meant they went together like PB + J. Next time I set foot inside Clwb Ifor Bach, I will certainly be hiding my mother and my children.
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So, after years of DJing and producing alongside Adam Tindall (a.k.a Original Sin) as duo G-Dub, Sub Zero, real name Jake Carter, took it upon himself to bring the disgustingly raw sound of jump up drum and bass back to Aperture with a perfected set choc full or bangers and rewind material – and of course, as many MCs as the stage could fit. But before the ice cool sounds of Sub Zero, we were placed in the hands of Barry town’s own Rapture Family. Yeah, it was time for the first Raperture.
