Traffic New Years Eve Special at The Rhythm Factory, London

31.12.2005

Traffic is a night that aims to break the mold of the promotional norm, giving exposure to the full spectrum of drum'n'bass, putting on lineups that do not consist of the usual top ten names that adorn most of the flyers littering the streets outside london's venues at 6am on a weekend morning,booking DJ's that have play their own distinctive flavour and have something different and fresh to bring to the table, whilst giving support to up'n'coming artists.

New Year's Eve's lineup certainly did not dissapoint. Chris Inperspective; owner of leftfield "breaksploitation" label Inperspective, the mighty DJ Storm; one of the most experienced DJs on the circuit, Commix; new breed producers from Cambridge, Bryan G; V Recordings' head honcho, and the DJ universally accepted as the best of the best, Andy C.

Expecting the night to take a while to get going, we arrived at the venue at 1130, where there was already a healthy queue outside and a buzzing atmosphere in the front bar. Heading through to the main room at the back, the room was already full and the party already in full swing. Chris Inperspective was playing his unique brand of chopped up amen-heavy funk, joined with the vocals of System and Asher complementing it nicely. The tunes were sounding crisp and clear, the bass of the rhythm factory sound system seemed to have been given an upgrade, and the dancefloor was certainly appreciating it. I spent the next half hour walking round the venue and starting to take pictures, wandering into room 2 to get a drink, where the music represented spanned everything from breaks, funk, soul, hiphop, house, reggae, and ska to oldskool jungle. It was here, queuing at the bar, that i saw in 2006 - what a great start to the year!

Running back into room 1, we could see that we had missed the countdown, which did not matter as Storm had taken to the decks and was smashing it up, alongside MC legend, Moose, who i had not seen on stage for a good few years. One thing about Storm's sets, she builds the crowd up to a point where she'll drop one carefully selected tune, often a metalheadz track, at which point the crowd will demand a few rewinds. This time it was Concord Dawn's filthy Metalheadz debut "Say The Words" which got the double rewind treatment from the crowd.

At one o'clock, Future Thinkin residents Danny Exile, DM Cut and Shylo were joined by MC Fokus for the 2 hour "Traffic Jam," a special slot where the residents play anything and everything that they feel represents what's good about drum'n'bass, keeping the crowd bubbling until the next guest DJ was to play. I took this time to wander around the venue and take pictures. Being armed with a camera and UKCD cards gave me carte blanche to talk to anyone.

Everyone was in good spirits and the vibe in the club was perfect. I think this was helped by the fact that the DJ's were selecting some of the most uplifting tracks i had heard in a long time.

Next up were rising young stars Commix, who upped the pace a little with their quick and interesting mixing, their very own Metalheadz track" Satellite Song" destroying the floor with it's deep and deadly yet gently undulating sub bass flowing nicely under the crisp, sharp and rolling beats. MC Fokus and FT's female vocalist I-One performed the mic duties, I-One's vocals flowing beautifully over the beats. I was particularly impressed with Commix, they definately do not fit into the mold of "good producers/rubbish djs". Ones to watch in the future for sure.

At four am it was time for Bryan G, known for always bringing a fresh and funky vibe, with MC's Sytem and Asher on the mic once again. The vibes and energy built up perfectly by this time, the crowd, dj's and mc's all with massive smiles on their faces. Stamina MC even joined in the fun on stage, although he hadn't been booked he was there for the party, and he seemed to be having a great time too. It was worth noting that Bryan's smooth mixing more than matched his impeccable selection, one of the best sets i've ever heard from him.

Last but definately not least, Andy C. Usually a headliner at massive raves, it was going to be interesting to see how he would play in the more intimate setting of the Rhythm Factory, to a more sophisticated-than-your-average crowd who knew their music. He certainly did not dissappoint. Leaving in his bag the commercial anthems that he had no doubt been bashing out earlier at bigger events like Slammin Vinyl that night, he dug a little deeper than usual. Combine a slightly harder and more interesting selection with his second-to-none mixing skills and you have a recipe for an amazing set. Classics pulled out and dusted off included Bukem's seminal "Atlantis (I Need You)" and Dillinja's "Deep Deadly Subs".

When 6am came, it came far too soon, the crowd screaming for "one more tune!" Sadly, security had to put their foot down and shut down the night, which is not a bad thing.. Always leave them wanting more.

You can see photos from the night in the UKCD Photo Gallery.

Review by Dan_b