Review: 6 Music Fest – Friday, Basement 45

The excitement surrounding BBC6 Music Festival started the day Bristol was announced as host city. It seemed to sell out in minutes. 

I hadn’t been to Basement 45 in about five years – maybe more – but my memories were of a satisfyingly dark dirty space where everyone was slipping past each other in the midst of a rave. The smoking area was crowded, toilets horrific, the drink queues were long and the energy was electric.

This was not the experience I had on returning this weekend. It’s almost as if the BBC had managed to get in there to sanitise beforehand. Considering the event was sold out, the club felt almost empty. Maybe they didn’t want the space to be overcrowded but in trying to ensure everyone’s comfort, it took away from the enjoyment of striking up a conversation with a stranger while waiting at the bar or bumping into someone on the dancefloor only to become rave buddies.

Saying that, the music was all I’d been hoping for.

Every time I hear Pinch he takes me back to when I first started going out. Pure grimy business weaved into reggae and then back out into old school step – wicked.

Hodge followed with some rolling basslines. I felt like he was taking me down a dark, mesmerising hole until he brought me back out with some highly unexpected, and appreciated, Afrobeats. As soon as I heard steel pans I knew the bar trip was going to have to wait. The switch between genres was done subtly and worked well.

I briefly saw The Kelly Twins in Room 2 who were doing a much longer set than those in Room 1 who were restricted to half an hour each. I liked what I heard, jazzy chill vibes for the people who wanted a change. The man, the legend, Big Jeff was giving them the nod.

Back to Room 1 and Ziro was shelling out grime to a hype crowd – mixing new with the old, he got everyone moving. My personal highlight was a remix of I Luv U by Dizzee Rascal which slapped you round the face with bass.

Something I see a lot of DJs do is pander to the crowd, they take lead from whoever went before them if they see that genre going down well. Not Kahn & Neek – they know what they’re doing, taking the crowd down and bringing them back up. The set felt like a journey of genres – classic 2 step, grime, garage with some dubstep and Gorgon Sound dubplates chucked in for good measure. I would happily have listened to more.

Ishan Sound followed on with some well-timed dub. I feel like dub music has been stereotyped as repetitive and boring and it can be when in the wrong hands, but mixed in an interesting way you can hypnotise the crowd. Ishan Sound did just that, moving most of us into eyes closed, hip moving territory.

Overall it was a successful night but it did feel very different from a normal night out. Maybe due to time restraints in Room 1, it didn’t feel like the DJs were able to really get into their sets because they were over so quickly. The crowd seemed to be a mixture of people who bought tickets because of the 6Music name and people who genuinely knew who/what they were there to see – but maybe that was the point. To introduce some different music to a new audience – that is what BBC Radio 6Music is known for after all.

Photos courtesy of BBC. Click here for more photos, features and clips from the 6 Music Festival.

Read more: Preview: Bristol24/7 at 6 Music Fest Fringe