View Active ThreadsCreate an account on HarderFasterLogin to HarderFaster Information for Promoters Information for Advertisers Search HarderFaster About HarderFaster Link to this Page
[HarderFaster] - Work Hard, Play Harder!
Home | News | What's On | Annual Poll | Photos | Forums | DJs | Features | Music | Venues | Reviews | Links |

  Features
Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’!
Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases!
Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme!
Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works.
Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain!
Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September!
NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases!
Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup!
Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast!
Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music!
SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023!
The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023!
NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music!
Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project
The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22!
A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden
Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma
Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino
New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik!
PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records!
Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters!
N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood!
Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna
A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022!
'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022!
DJ talk with Psyrenzo ahead of his debut set at Tribal Village, the Steelyard this Friday 14th January 2022!
TENZO aka Overdrive talks freely about launching his new act which will be showcased at Tribal Village, Steelyard on 14 January 2022!
A long overdue catch up with JourneyOM ahead of his next Tribal Village party this Friday 14th January 2022 at the Steelyard, London!

Laboratory - Review

Reported by Tin_Tin / Submitted 05-04-02 11:46

Laboratory
@ Camden Palace
Sunday 31st of March


Well lets be honest if you did any background reading on this event you already know what it was like because you would not have missed it. I mean what a line up, Starting with Meri, who according to Lab-4 is the best warm up DJ to grace the earth, he knows how to build and work a crowd into exactly the right state of mind to take on the rest of the night. Followed by the already legendary Nick Sentience the man that pushes the boundaries of Hard Dance in every direction. The next man to grace the decks was the living legend Sterling Moss, but not satisfied with the complications of two 1210’s to mix with he played about on three. Oh yeah, he brought his 808 drum machine as well to spice it up a bit. If that hasn’t got you juices flowing then the ultimate in euphoric, hard and down right dirty has got to be Lab-4 themselves. They did not only playing an extended hour and a half live p.a. but they built the set out of requests emailed to them in the weeks forthcoming to the event. It didn’t stop there though; to follow we have Japanese King of NRG Yoji Biomehanika playing it harder and faster than the usual lot and the consistently stunning Phil Reynolds.



Now lets get a couple of things straight, I like my music downright hard, fast and dirty, with a euphoric twist for good measure. So when I stepped through the doors of the Palace on Sunday I got a bit of a shock. Knowing what Lab-4’s sets sounded like I had made an assumption that they had picked the six DJs to fill the eight hours of the day because of the way they inspired them. Well they did but for reasons I hadn’t counted on. Spencer Freeland opened up Sunday morning and not Meri, for reasons unknown to me, but he did play a very good warm up set. It built and twisted and carried people along, slipping you into the right mood for the day ahead. In fact I think if I had missed this set I might not have enjoyed the day so much. Now you see I hate progressive house/trance, I don’t see the point in something that takes a whole set to reach its peak. I like a peak every five minutes, that why I love trance, hard dance & hardcore. Its in your face, it just gets on with it, you only have to dance, have fun and spend far too much time smiling Wink Now on Sunday the influence of Techno was a very strong. Techno to me is pretty much hard progressive so normally I wouldn’t be best impressed, now thanks to Freeland I managed to get my head into it for the day so thank you that man. Nick Sentience was up after and to be honest I was not at all impressed. The man played a dull, flat, set, there was very little to it. I know the man is pushing boundaries but if he tries to push them in the direction he did on Saturday I will not be a happy man. I was extremely grateful when Sterling Moss came along and spun out Nick Sentience’s last tune, slamming you straight into a build up with drum machines going off from all sides.

Sterling Moss did impress thankfully: he played a really wicked set of hard trance, scratching swiftly and superbly over the tunes, using effects modules and his 808 to great effect. Heaving bass lines and dark euphoric twists pulled you onward and upward toward Lab-4, switching styles nicely to work the crowd, one minute dark and intense the next bouncy and uplifting.



Lab-4 land on the stage, this is what every single person in the room is waiting for. They are the masters of the live p.a. legends of the hard dance scene, pioneers of the fast and the furious. I am so ready for this; the whole room is it at fever pitch even before their first bass line pumps out of the enhanced sound system. Camden has never sounded this good, no matter where you stand you are enveloped in crystal clarity sound. I am convinced they beefed up the system for this one and it was worth coming just to hear it. Lab-4 pound along at their usual pace, taking you through all of the classics that we all asked for, each tune building off the last. The ultimate moments for me were hearing Ding a Ling live for the first time. Screaming ‘Jesus built my car’ on Easter Sunday had a bit of a blasphemous ring to it, but I think ‘I am gonna baptise you all in fire’ was the best lyric I heard for this special day. The ultimate Lab-4 tune of the day though was Candyman, probably their best work to date. The familiar beat builds the intensity in the room as it rolls along. The break comes and the whole of Camden palace is screaming, hands are in the air, the lasers going mental as the sound flies around our heads slamming into the beat hurtling along at break neck speed, elation is everywhere and everyone gets back to raving. Of course no lab-4 set would be finished with out Reformation II to close, I have this on picture disk and I have always liked it as a tune. But until you hear it through a really, really good system, you have no idea how powerful it is.

Yoji Biomehanika was up next and did the business in his special way, playing tunes at a pace somewhere between hard dance and hardcore. The most memorable being his joint- remix with DJ Scot Project of Ding a Ling and when he seamlessly dropped in a salsa tune in a break down. It was as odd as it sounds, everyone just looked confused for about ten seconds until the rhythm got them and it went down a storm. The day finished with Phil Reynolds a man who seems to be popping up everywhere; his energetic uplifting style is becoming extremely popular. He played some wicked tunes and really gave the end of the night what it needed, bringing the pace down a bit from Yoji B and lifting everyone up with some tranced up breaks. I remember bouncing to the squelchy bassline of Lucid2 (A Hard Dance remix of Happiness Happening) and chucking my self about to a flurry of anthems.



It really was a wicked day, almost a journey through Hard Dance and its many faces. Well done the Frantic Team and Lab-4 for producing a fantastic day, with a superb line up. Oh and for somehow making the Camden Palace sound that good.

Big grin

Share this :: Facebook : Digg : Stumble Upon : Delicious
Follow HarderFaster :: Twitter
Other Features By Tin_Tin:
Bubbles 1st Birthday @ Belushi’s
X-Static Back to Back - Review
Future Dance vs. Frantic - Review
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
Comments:

From: benz on 8th Apr 2002 11:26.06
WHAT?!?!? Nick Sentience ruled! and Stirling Moss used a 909, not an 808..

for some comparison, try my review at
http://www.clubbingreviews.com/reviews/greaterlondon/lab/lab.HTM

From: SLIPPERYMILKYMEL on 8th Apr 2002 11:59.42
I didnt get to go but i agree totaly, Lab4 rock big time they really know how to get the clubbers going!! milkmel.

From: MDJ on 9th Apr 2002 13:47.37
It was wicked! made me do Nineflips and bouncing of the 12th kind...

From: Pickled Pat on 10th Apr 2002 13:43.09
Sorry I missed Spencer Freeland and Nick Sentience, but it was a big day in clubland... got there in time for Sterling Moss and I loved every minute of his set. Lab4 ARE becoming like rock stars. Wicked while I was there...

From: Camden Nurse on 10th Apr 2002 19:53.41
Although I only stayed for a few hours, and the crowd was diff. from norm, it fukn rocked...

From: Hendrik on 11th Apr 2002 13:18.27
It was wicked night!!! Read my review at www.klubfever.com




From: Pearsall on 13th Apr 2002 01:57.43
haha anal trainspotter note:
that salsa tune is an actual tune, Yoji didn't mix shit to do that.
It's 'La Pequenita' by Angy Dee on Trauma Records, Switzerland. It's banging hard trance, then it goes all latino in the break before going back to acidy hammering.

From: jamesseo on 16th Jun 2024 13:54.13
Typical trips listed below are the ultimate way to many thanks to your energy, which usually is why Now i'm browsing your website each day, trying to find fresh, intriguing details. Several, thanks! click here

From: jamesseo on 16th Jun 2024 14:10.57
Thanks with regard to publishing this type of excellent post! I discovered your site ideal for my personal requirements. It has fantastic as well as useful articles. Continue the great function! https://sites.google.com/view/chittak/home/maximizing-accuracy-and-efficiency-with-laser-metal-cutting-machines

HarderFaster Jump
Bookmark and Share
All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies. All other content is (c) 2001-2024 HarderFaster.

Terms and Conditions | Privacy Statement | Text Mode