With the hometown advantage and the anticipation for the notorious Noisia steadily building, Vancouver's Krusha delivered precisely what was expected as the opener. He spun a set full of the most bass-heavy cuts he could find, be they drum and bass, dubstep, techno or whatever. Granted, a few of his mixes were a little chunky, but his warping, buzz-saw track selection capably warmed up the crowd.
However, it was clear from the moment that Noisia took the stage that the Netherlands outfit were on a whole other level. Choosing to go with a minimal stage set-up, standing tall behind a couple of Technics turntables with no glowing Mac logo in sight, the trio of Dutch producers was represented by Martijn van Sonderen and Thijs de Vlieger. They presented the same sort of genre-crossing bass music as Krusha, but the differences were obvious. Their mixing flowed flawlessly between the myriad styles thanks to Noisia's more intelligent and thoughtful selection of tracks.
Though the genres were disparate, Noisia's mixing highlighted the common elements amongst them, telling a story through their set as much as giving the heaving masses what they wanted: bass. Pounding out enough low-end to paralyse a butterfly mid-flight, they transformed Venue into one of the mustiest sweatboxes Granville Street has ever seen, condensation thick in the air and dripping down off the high ceiling.
The effort put into creating "deeper and more experimental drum and bass releases" for their new Invisible imprint has obviously paid off as well. The architecture of their tracks was often surprising on a timbral and, most importantly, melodic level, yet always remained accessible. It's no wonder they've had the likes of Amon Tobin and Spor remixing their work. Noisia are the real deal.
However, it was clear from the moment that Noisia took the stage that the Netherlands outfit were on a whole other level. Choosing to go with a minimal stage set-up, standing tall behind a couple of Technics turntables with no glowing Mac logo in sight, the trio of Dutch producers was represented by Martijn van Sonderen and Thijs de Vlieger. They presented the same sort of genre-crossing bass music as Krusha, but the differences were obvious. Their mixing flowed flawlessly between the myriad styles thanks to Noisia's more intelligent and thoughtful selection of tracks.
Though the genres were disparate, Noisia's mixing highlighted the common elements amongst them, telling a story through their set as much as giving the heaving masses what they wanted: bass. Pounding out enough low-end to paralyse a butterfly mid-flight, they transformed Venue into one of the mustiest sweatboxes Granville Street has ever seen, condensation thick in the air and dripping down off the high ceiling.
The effort put into creating "deeper and more experimental drum and bass releases" for their new Invisible imprint has obviously paid off as well. The architecture of their tracks was often surprising on a timbral and, most importantly, melodic level, yet always remained accessible. It's no wonder they've had the likes of Amon Tobin and Spor remixing their work. Noisia are the real deal.
