Lachie Gordan gets all upfront at SW4.
With one of the biggest electronic line-ups of the London summer season, SW4 should be a sure fire success. Sven Vath’s Cocoon records – a leading light in the minimal and techno world – take the programming duties in one arena, while Mixmag and Shake fill the other two big tops with such delicacies as Ferry Corsten, Lauren Garnier, M.A.N.D.Y and British trance mammoths Above and Beyond. To top off this shiny pile of musical genius, nineties behemoths Underworld have been placed at the head of the main stage by the Ministry of Sound, promising a fittingly climactic finale to the day’s revelry.
Sadly, all of this potential crumbles before the punters eyes throughout the day due to one not-so-little thing – the sound levels. Across the whole site the soundsystems are limited to school disco volume, and in the Cocoon arena, the music is barely audible above the crowd. When you invite Sven Vath – one of the most respected DJs in the world – to program and headline one of your festival’s main stages, it is frankly embarrassing that that you virtually need to be standing in the bass bin to discern any clarity from the tiny stack of speakers.
Due to this crippling disability we find ourselves giving up on American techno and acid pioneer Josh Wink in Cocoon, and going to the more trance-heavy Group Therapy tent where Ferry Corsten is dishing out a healthy dose of synth-laden beats. Although it is a little surprising to hear what seems to be an ode to the mid-nineties (Human Traffic here we come) it’s always fun to have a bit of hands-in-the-air euphoria and the volume was marginally better that Cocoon.
Next up on the list is Frenchie Laurent Garnier who is flying through his four-hour set with his usual considered style. Popping back in occasionally throughout, it is clear that this is a man who knows how to put together his show, allowing the music to breathe and building the energy levels gently, taking full advantage of his extended slot. John Digweed presides over an uninteresting hour on the main stage, marred again by low volume, which doesn’t do his selection of mellow techno any favours.
Perhaps the most anticipated set amongst our group is German born Sven Vath’s headline slot in his Cocoon arena. He is known to skilfully weave a selection of some of the freshet techno around, guiding his flock through highs and lows and emphasising the nuances of music that lesser DJs might miss. Guttingly, and I think you might know what’s coming, these nuances were lost entirely under the babble of the crowd, forcing us to abandon ship to go and have a drink.
Arriving at the main stage for the headliners Underworld, we’re immediately propelled back in time fifteen years. As one of the premier dance bands of the nineties, their music permeated into the general public's consciousness more than any other when their signature track, ‘Born Slippy’, was featured in Trainspotting. The fact that they’re often known for this one track is not however a poor reflection on their other music, which is lesser known simply because ‘Born Slippy’ is so exceptional. They put on an excellent show, managing to retain the excitement and energy of their defining nineties sound, yet dragging it fully into to the present with razor sharp production.
Predictably, but no less brilliantly because of it, they finish with an extended version of ‘Born Slippy’ – queue hands in the air, smoke and blinding lights. It’s a euphoric end to the day, one that helps sweeten the bad taste in the mouth after an otherwise disappointing festival.
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