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Gatecrasher Presents Magna_2 The White PartyBoxing Day 2007 Gatecrasher Presents Magna_2
Armin Van Buuren
Boxing Day at Gatecrasher has always been an important date in the clubbing calendar. Like turkey with your Christmas dinner, it wouldn’t feel right without a good serving of Crasher over the festive period. And what a chosty xmas sesh it turned out to be, returning to Magna for a second time, with all the club trimmings you could ask for! Bringing together the world’s best DJ’s and thousands of clubbers is always a reliable recipe for a good night. Combine it with Crasher production in ‘Magna’ – one of the best venues the country has to offer and you have the makings of a colossal party. After a straight forward entry, we headed straight for the main room where Menno de Jong was working the crowd with some early teasers. The sound-system was noticeably beefed up, offering ample bass and crisp high end. Illuminated on the stage in front of a towering Crasher lion, Menno bounces around and looks to be brimming at the packed arena. Dropping one of the biggest tracks of 2007, ‘First State ft Anita Kelsey – Falling’ Menno smiles as the choral vocal and cascading strings drift into play, whilst yellow strobes flash a pulsing glow across the vast expanse before him. Clubbers dressed in ‘white’ clothing in keeping with the dress code, were readily shedding Christmas dinner stodge with some incessant dancing. Always one to support future talent, Menno smoothly mixes in Cliff Coenraad’s recent release on Intuition Recordings, ‘Mulika – Escalate’. The high pitched notes are met by a bass heavy rhythm that builds the energy. ‘Alex Kunnari’s - Lifter’ does exactly as the name suggests, lifting the crowd with its unashamed hook before rolling percussion skips along, building the momentum. Carefully crafted Menno builds a set with skill and has quickly endeared himself to the Crasher faithful. Somewhat wasted on an early set time, it wont be too long before Menno de Jong is back to smash it peak time! Marcel Woods was next on the agenda, offering a change in musical direction to more of the tech persuasion. The huge, steel archways and dark, warehouse style, serve as the perfect setting for a tribal tech gathering. And Marcel was intent on setting the tribal groove with the typically raw stabs and chugging bass he is known for. The first half of his set delves into some funk led bangers that catch the crowd in a net before casting them off with a kippered kosh. Mechanistic grunts and bleepy squiggles tickle your swede like a droid with a twitch. Soon after the trademark synths from ‘Greece2000’ blend into the mix, given a fresh rework for 2007 – the distinctive riff has got to be one of the biggest of all time. A timeless slice of euphoria that rinses the place every time it’s played. Granted he plays this track nearly every time I hear him spin, but it makes no difference as it’s one of those tunes you never grow tired of hearing. Also present were Marcel’s other mandatory monsters, ‘Advanced’ and ‘Cherry Blossom’ – which although hammered always set the place alight. Handing over to Marco V the arena was simmering nicely, whilst vibrant lasers etch-a-sketch their way through the crowd. Continuing the techy flow, Marco brings in further throbbing electro that rasps with more bark than a feisty bulldog. Consuming the crowd with beastly bass driven rompers the V-man sets to work with his JCB bulldozer. ‘More Than a Life Away’ introduces some robotic underworld esque vocals, underpinned by a deep and excavating rhythm. Phasing into his rave-led rompathon, ‘Automanual’, the kick drums and chords spit out a hefty and downright dirty piece of tuneage. Echoes and reverberating synths punctuate a murky background whilst the rampant bass seizes your body and commands you to dance like it’s your last. Delving into yester-year, Marco brings in the incredible, ‘Plastic Boy – Silver Bath’, to the delight of the crowd. With a breakdown that strings were made for, it’s a track that’s stood the test of time with ease and is always a welcome inclusion in any set. Reminding us how good some of the older tracks are it made us want to check out the ‘Classics’ in Room 2. Another extensive space, Room 2 – The Face of Steel was Menno was on the decks (yes the turntables not CDJs!) using that forgotten DJ format- ‘vinyl’! A decade ago, when the tracks were originally made, the use of CD’s was unheard of……how times change and it was a nice novelty to see Menno de Jong harking back to the golden era of trance with some good ol’ vinyl cuts. It was amazing to hear ‘Yahel – Voyage’ again and the infectious, ‘Southern Sun- Tiesto mix’ with its warm and enveloping vocal from Carla Werner. Raising the heat in the ice box temperatures wasn’t an easy job but Menno soon had the crowd jumping about like loons to the forgotten and unforgettable classics that made trance a global institution. The blistering, ‘Carte Blanche’ from ‘Veracocha’ (Ferry Corsten & Vincent de Moor) sends the room skyward with no one left in the departure lounge. After a good slice of nostalgia it was back to the main room for some Sander Van Doorn. Going back to the main room we were welcomed with one of the classics from 2007, ‘Bulldozer’ from ‘Simon Patterson’. Another tune which has been thrashed, but still makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end when that incredible riff courses through a club sound-system. Mixing it nicely with some solid grooves and stripped down bass, Sander keeps the main room thriving. Chopped up breaks with pounding beats form the basis for many of his tunes and they always do the damage on the dance-floor. Dropping two from Richard Durand ‘The Fall’ and ‘Ledged Up’ SVD has clearly swept up the crowd with a filth inspired brush. Next we went for a bit of a trip round the other rooms. After a lot of wandering around, chatting and a bit of Hed Kandi, we returned to the main room where Jules had just played ‘Hemstock & Jennings – LA2DC [Dale Corderoy)’, which went down well. His latest studio release, ‘Laid Bare’ also hit the right notes, before ‘Richard Durand – ‘We’re Here To Rock’ thumps its way from the speaker taking no prisoners. Looping and scratching ‘Eddie style’ sounds good when done sparingly and effectively but all too often Jules’ timing was out and it sounded scrappy as a result. With some more below par mixing we decided to check out some of the other arenas again. Wanting another dose of classic material we went back to Room 2. Not sure who was on the decks at this point but the tunes were quality including ‘Adagio for Strings’, ‘Mekka – Diamond Back’ and ‘CJ Bolland – The Prophet’. The brilliant ‘Coming on Strong’ from Signum prompted a mass sing-a-long and slapped a huge grin on faces all round. Although many of these tunes have been heard time and time again, they are ‘classics’ for a reason and as such are always a welcome addition to a Gatecrasher night. Back in the gigantic main room we returned just in time to hear the breakdown from ‘Legato by Digital Blonde’ – a masterpiece of music, with a disgracefully good lead hook, embellished with ethereal strings. Its moments like these that Magna was made for, the cathedral-like main room is filled with cheers and raised arms, rapturous in response to the humungous tune in deliverance.
At 6.20am we await the arrival of the new world’s number 1, Mr. Armin Van Buuren. But he is no where to be seen, due on at 6am, it worried a few people as to whether he would turn up. But after much anticipation, Armin steps onto the stage, waving to the searing crowd. Having been delayed after playing a gig in Ireland, the clubbers are thankful he has arrived to close Magna in true style. Bringing the pace down slightly he lays down the quality, ‘Luke Warner & Mat Lock - Deep Psychosis (Daniel Kandi)’. Not wanting to drop the momentum the bpm is still fierce and Armin adopts his usual enigmatic characteristics behind the decks. Clearly enjoying the moment he throws in the awesome ‘Summer Blush’ from ‘Mungo’. A feature track in his latest ‘A State of Trance’ mix cd, it uses warm and emotionally drenched strings to create a trance plateau of pleasure. Packed full of uplifting vibes and crisp beats, Armin moves into more adrenaline-soaked peak timers that keep the arena busy and bustling right till the end. A welcome excursion into the trance that makes you smile, ‘DJ Shah Feat. Adrina Thorpe – Who Will Find Me’ gets a great reception. Armin’s mixing is clinical, blending between the tracks with consummate ease. Closing the show with his own mix of ‘Oceanlab – Satellite’ the main room is fully white-washed. Once again we were blown away by the magnitude that is Gatecrasher at Magna. All we can do now is count down the days to Magna 3 in March – The Words: Liam Postlethwaite |
