Club Review: UKF Bass Culture @ The Together Winter Music Festival

Tom Mullett heads to Alexandra Palace for Day One of the sold out Together Winter Music Festival, curated by UKF Bass Culture.

Jayne Robinson

Date published: 4th Dec 2011

Date: Friday 25th November

Words: Tom Mullett

It is rather astonishing when you think about just how much the brand of UKF has grown over the past couple of years.

Once starting off as a You Tube channel for Dubstep and Drum and Bass, the company now finds itself releasing chart topping albums, streaming huge live events, being the go to place for new commercial dance music, and now, hosting a sell out event at the world famous Alexandra Palace.

The London venue has a history of staging large-scale events, including the MTV European Music Awards in 1996, and more recently, the massively successful ATP festival that saw Portishead headline over two days.

With so many huge artists on display it was almost impossible to decide who to go and see, as on arrival the likes of Nero, Alix Perez and Icicle were already in full flow in the various rooms that were spread across the gigantic North London palace.

After the toss of a 3 sided coin, the decision was made to go and watch Nero; a duo that in similar fashion to the UKF brand, have sky rocketed to the upper stratosphere of the UK’s Dance music mainstream in the last 12 months. Since the release of their highly acclaimed debut album, Welcome To Reality, Daniel Stephens and Joe Ray have been mesmerising UK festivals with their entrancing combination of shuddering basslines and euphoric builds.

Although the stage show was rather static, the entire set was filled with crowd favourites, with tracks such as “Innocence” and “Promises” inspiring the packed out Room 1 masses to dance furiously throughout their performance.

The end of Nero’s set gave the vast sea of people that engulfed the main stage a chance to catch a much needed breath of air whilst stage hands frantically prepared for the arrival of the festival’s headliners.

As Chase & Status took to the stage, the main room was at full capacity, with thousands of eager dance music pilgrims waiting to get things moving again. The entire display was absolutely stunning, with an immeasurable amount of energy bouncing off every surface, securing this performance as one of the live band’s most impressive shows to date.

One thing that cannot go without a mention is the work behind the stage show that aided the creation of such a breath-taking atmosphere. The scale of the AV and light show was absolutely staggering, making it impossible to find anything that can be criticised about such a spectacle.

Following this satisfactory overload of the senses, it was time to explore the rest of the venue. Unfortunately, the timing of this decision couldn’t have been worse, with Room 2 suffering the screechy din of the Circus Recordings take over. The likes of Doctor P, Flux Pavillion, Roksonix and Funtcase took to the stage to blare out their rather ridiculous creations to an unimpressed gathering that very swiftly depleted in enthusiasm.

Whilst moving around the festival site it was very clear to see that planning for the event had been given a great deal of thought and attention. Ticket holders were supplied with a large number of bars, toilets and chill out areas, which can often be one of the downfalls for events such as this. Big compliments must go to those involved in organising such essential aspects, as partying in a comfortable and well equipped environment really does help to make the experience all the more enjoyable.

As the night turned into morning, it was time for Skrillex to take to the stage; however, he was late, which left Gemini to cover for 30 minutes whilst the self-proclaimed “Dubstep Superstar” made his way to the venue. To be fair, the 21 year old Gemini did well to hold down the performance, keeping the crowd at full capacity ahead of the arrival of his American counterpart.

Once he had made it, Skrillex took to the stage with little fuss and instantly got things moving, working his way through his range of ear busting bass music that kept everyone in attendance wide awake for the entirety.

Indoor festivals are swiftly becoming a very favourable alternative to outdoor events, as they appear to offer a simple remedy to some of the key issues that plague the traditional alfresco gatherings. UKF at Alexandra Palace was near perfect in terms of site planning and facilities, with the basic needs of ticket holders being addressed in all areas.

All of this combined with a fantastic range of music allowed the event to be a success, marking another great achievement for the ever-expanding UKF brand.