Veteran Sheffield party starters Pretty Pretty Good returned to Hope Works last Friday with another big lineup. We sent Alan Flindt down to check it out and report back.
Heavyweight Amsterdam based DJ + producer Young Marco was joined by Cologne’s Lena Willikens and PPG resident Smorsli in the main warehouse. Accompanying them was Hessle Audio’s Pearson Sound in room 2, supported by a stellar lineup of some of Sheffield’s finest local techno + electro DJs – the Groundwork crew.
Groundwork’s Alex was first to take control in room 2. He warmed up the 100cap space expertly, working slow, bass heavy, slightly broken 110-120 techno into more 4×4 stuff as the room slowly filled up. One red light dimly lit up the decks, and the clean bass tones of some of the more spacious tracks Alex played sounded great through the weighty DEM Audio rig added to the room. Patient, mindful DJing set the tone for the rest of the night, and next up in room 2 was Wow and Flutter.
A dark, beatless breakdown preceded W+F’s first track, and the built up tension and energy of Alex’s tactful warm up set was quickly released with some hard electro. By now the room was nicely busy and the crowd receptive to this change of pace. Dark, high energy electro and techno followed, moving into some heavy, distorted stuff at the end.
As Wow and Flutter took over from Alex, Young Marco was taking control of the main room after the ever consistent PPG resident Smorsli finished a warm up set of weird, wonderful house and techno. Young Marco brought his signature eclecticism to the warehouse, weaving some retro synth led disco through club ready 120 house. He essentially acted as a warm up DJ for Lena Willikens, who really gave the cranked up sound system a full percussive workout. She played a much harder set, with electro, pounding techno, acid and plenty of breakdowns and tension. At this point the sound system was really showing what it could do, with crisp, clear chest rattling low end even from the back. Proper earplug territory.
Meanwhile in room 2, Pearson Sound had stepped up for the highlight set of the night. This was his first time playing Hope Works outside the main room and without other Hessle founders Ben UFO and Pangaea. The size and shape of the Mesters room means that, when busy, it forces the headline DJ (no matter how big or famous) to struggle their way through the heaving crowd from the back, bringing them down to the crowds level. It’s always a cool sight, adding a level of intimacy to the experience that many clubs seem to be losing.
Opening with hard 130 breaks, Pearson quickly eased into some sub heavy, steppy stuff, with wobbling basslines through the extra weighty system harking back to Hessle’s dubstep roots. Moving through techno into garage classics like Stush – Dollar Sign, the energy in the packed out room was at the highest of the night. After some really Sheffield sounding 4×4 garage, he moved from a reese bass breakdown into faster jungle for the last half hour.
Next up was Groundwork’s Hev. Anyone who’s frequented their parties above Shakespeare’s pub knows what to expect from him – consistent and precise mixing of hard, fast, vinyl only techno. This kept room 2 packed and lively til after 6am, closing a great night of programming from some seriously exciting DJs.
Words by Alan Flindt
