Bugged Out! returned to its nineties’ birthplace in Manchester to celebrate the twenty years of constant respect it has been afforded by the UK club scene. Paul Benney and Johnno Burgess united with The Warehouse Project to demonstrate why Bugged Out! remain one of the UK’s elite parties.
On arrival Shuf were greeted by a set from the distinguished Erol Alkan. Room one was thriving with acidic bass lines and exhilarated punters. Alkan is skilled in his art, revealing a cleverly woven masterpiece of a set. The producer has been accumulating rightly deserved publicity since the release of the flawless ‘Illumination EP’ in 2013 and teased a hungry audience with extracts from ‘Bang’. Alkan proceeded to blitzkrieg the venue with Josh Winks ruthless ‘Talking to you’ and closed by illuminating the crowd with the masterfully produced ‘A Hold on Love.’
This summer Shuf experienced a performance from George Fitzgerald at Unknown Festival we regarded as one of our favoured sets of the year. Yet, Fitzgerald failed in supplying the same chilling weight and euphoria. Brought to room one was an abundance of crowd appeasing main room house such as Dusky’s ‘Careless’ and Fitzgerald’s own production ‘Bad Aura.’ The set was littered with reloads of Barnt’s acclaimed Hinge finger release ‘Chappelle.’ Although deserving of its celebrated status in the scene, it led Fitzgerald to seem reliant on the track. However, redemption came in the form of XXXY’s ‘Goldfish’ as Fitzgerald shifted into a darker track ensemble.
Pioneer of British techno Andrew Weatherall, delivered an undeniably tight set, educating his audience with a blend of the old school and the contemporary. The veteran exhibited his years of experience with a passionate and extensive mix of humbly collected records. To the joy of the crowd, Weatherall unleashed a series of new releases including tracks from Christian Nielson and Global Twins. The set modestly progressed to introduce a selection of Tech-House productions in honour of the evening’s headliner Green Velvet. Weatherall paraded the artist’s alter ego Cajmere’s rework of ‘It’s all about me’ and with admirable cunning unified the ‘Brighter Days’ original mix with Cassian’s version.
Bugged Out! gifted the closing sets to early associate, electro-punk Green Velvet and the reserved and refreshing Daniel Avery. Avery’s set consisted of an assortment of melodic records, rich with acid that filled room two with intricate bass lines. An audience of close-eyed bowing heads received Avery’s productions ‘Naïve Response’ and ‘Drone Logic’ with the utmost approval. In my transition to room one, American house icon Green Velvet’s showcase was well underway. The headliner has launched into a relentless succession of bass heavy tracks and complex synths, laced with sexy vocal samples. As we left Avery’s set we were met by the sound of MMM’s goliath track ‘Nous Sommes’. The Warehouse Project team have hugely upped their game in visuals and lighting, as was evident when Green Velvet dropped his and Harvard Bass’ ‘Lazer Beams’. Green Velvet wound up the night with October’s release ‘Voicemail’ for which he collaborated with Patrick Topping, producing an old school house groove, blowing out Bugged Out!’s candles in style.
Words : Charlie Fyfe