Despite two of the heavier hitters in house and techno curation putting their hand to last week’s Warehouse Project, I wasn’t without doubts going into the night. The charm and intimacy of smaller nights is more my cup of tea, but the impressive line-up and a chance to see the infamous Store Street venue kept my reservations in check. And oh how did WHP exceeded all expectations.
Upon arrival, we moved through the already packed main room, jacking to a distant silhouette of Nina Kraviz, to check the end of San Proper’s set in the less populated second room. Young Marco followed, quickly demonstrating his prowess behind the decks with tunes like Red Axes’s ‘Pil Sagol’ and Mr Flagio’s ‘Take a Chance’. Fatima Yamaha’s ‘What’s a Girl to Do’ might not have been a recondite close to the set, but felt thoroughly fitting as the crowd air synthesised en masse to one of Dekmantel’s most anthemic releases.
Moving back to Room 1, Ben UFO, Joy Orbison and Jackmaster were into full swing on their b2b2b. Orbison devastated the dance floor with Pearson Sound’s ‘Working With’, while Rex the Dog’s ‘Sicko’ had a similar effect just after. We didn’t spend long dwelling in the main room and were soon back watching Juju and Jordash’s hardware assault. Choosing to dissipate some of the former sets aggression, Palms Traxx changed the scene with the indomitable crowd pleaser ‘You Can Win’ to delighted surprise, before taking a harder edge more characteristic of the label he was representing. We closed the night flitting between Dixon’s big room vibe and Dekmantel Soundsystem’s eclectic selections, a strong reinforcement of the prodigious quality and diversity of the night.
Check the playlist above for five of the best tracks heard on the floor that evening.
