After speaking to Stereoboard last week, drum and bass producer Icicle told us that it was ‘all about’ the smaller raves. And on Friday night (15th), he showed us exactly why.
Cardiff’s longest-running and frankly best drum and bass night proved once again to be THE club for dnb in the capital of Wales, as Icicle and Aperture’s residents rinsed out the place once more – managing to draw a better crowd than the mainstream DJ fresh who performed down the road at the Glam nightclub. While I’m sure the radio-loving lads down at Glam (briefly) put down their WKD to nod their head to ‘Louder’, the Aperture faithful were getting down and dirty at Clwb Ifor Bach – voted Wales Best Small Venue.
Local boy Lo:Fi kicked things off in style, after being given the task of warming up the early bird ravers who, as usual, danced from the get-go. Joined on stage by the ever-energetic MC Fraudsta, who again hosted the whole night without qualm, the DJ has shown that he has the ability to move his way up the bill in future by providing a great start to the night.
Deadly duo Motive and Basix followed the highly-skilled Lo:Fi as they went back-to-back – and the two proved to be a good combination as they played back-to-back bangers throughout the hours set. They pushed the speakers to the limit and brought the heads to room one prior to Helix’s warm-up set for the big man Icicle who was due to come on in an hour. And warm-up the crowd is exactly what Helix did – he smashed it for the whole hour before Icicle came on, drawing in everyone who Motive and Basix hadn’t already to ensure the room was jam packed for the Dutchman’s arrival. Sweat was dripping from my (and the majorities) forehead, but we weren’t gonna hold back for the no-turntable no-CDJ performance we were about to witness...
Still celebrating his critically-acclaimed first album ‘Under the Ice’, spectacle-sporting Icicle entered the stage with his touring MC Mantmast. After a few minutes of setting up, the big man stood before the crowd who, like me, had never witnessed a live drum and bass PA before. With his drum machine in place and the keyboard set up, the cool-headed producer began his eerie-atmosphere’d opening. It didn’t take long before he was belting out the big tracks from his debut LP, and the crowd really got moving as the sub-woofers worked overtime.
‘I Feel You’ was one of the highlights of my night – there was something about the atmosphere that I hadn’t felt before at Aperture, a deep and intensely hard hitting bass with crystal clear drum clicks that echoed in your head for minutes after. And, as if it was a surprise at all, the crowd turned uncontrollable for the producer’s smash hit Dreadnaught. We were treated to a slightly altered version with demonic vocal FX and ultra-low frequencies. After a slightly shorter, 45 minute set, Icicle pointed to the decks to indicate the end of the performance to bows and applause all round – Aperture co-ordinator Dan Harris looked on at the side with a beaming smile and a thumbs up, which is nothing less than he deserved after this live PA. Stereoboard caught up with Dan Harris and Aperture founder and Droneboy Laundry chief Dave Shaw, who clearly loved Icicle’s performance.
“Wow – what a show! Unlike anything we’ve ever seen here at Aperture,” said Dan. “Ridiculous set-up and the crowd definitely loved it!”
Dave agreed, saying “yep, definitely the coolest thing we’ve seen at an Aperture event!”
With the 45-minute set causing some confusion for the next DJ Manufakture (he was due to start at 2:00, not 1:45), master of ceremonies Fraudsta took over crowd control – opting to try and beatbox till Icicle’s gear was moved and the DJ had arrived. The next Beardyman he is not, but Fraudsta did manage to contain the crowd with his compromised beats – and it wasn’t long before Manufakture had made his way to the decks for the graveyard shift.
Manufakture got straight to the point with his set, with popular tunes and deep rollers slipping out of the speakers for the whole set. And for a set on your birthday, it couldn’t have gone much better as he got most of the crowd (including me) on stage for a celebratory skank, just after the headline act had finished his show. The resident disk-jockey really did belt out tune after tune – a few times I could see other Djs peering over the decks to get a track name – and he carried on the dark and sometimes sinister atmosphere that Icicle provided – until another great Aperture party came to an end with the lights on crew still going till the very end.
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