Frantic vs Twist - Hard Nation at The End

Frantic vs Twist - Hard Nation at The End

18 December, 2008
by: LadyAsbo

Credit crunch, recession, job losses – pah! Clearly not topics to concern oneself with on a Sunday afternoon which is exactly why Spoonfed headed straight for Hard Nation at The End to let a sprinkling of Frantic v Twist magic into their lives.  For less that fifteen of your hard earned disco dollars; Hard Nation promised a collaboration of arguably the two biggest names in London Hard dance, plus nine hours of character building stomping from the finest underground sounds around.

Walking through the metal doors and down a short stair-case, smatterings of debauchery are detectable in the pounding bass-lines and females dressed in arrestable Mrs Santa outfits.

Frantic and Twist are, quite frankly, a match made in hard house heaven. For over ten years Frantic have been championing the 'harder life' with CD releases, quality club nights and a label under their ever increasing belt. Twist, on the other hand, have been making waves since 2002 – working with an underground premise and carefully championing new talent whilst backing it up with a core of unbeatable guests.

So back to The End! What a club, shame it's closing in January eh? The owners cite a need to move on so you have to respect their wishes. Anyway no use crying over spilt beats. It's not surprising following the success of Hard Nation, Easter, that there's a Xmas re-run.  The venue is simply immense. The layout is so simple but as effective as Prozac for treating 'mad uns!'  Low ceiling, heaps of metal, a couple of podiums, up close and personal DJ and stacks of speakers to give you techie envy.

Downstairs and into debauchery, Matt Pick Up and Andy Rise are rocking the crowd like Gibraltar. Well deserved Frantic residents, these boys have the rare talent of being able to mix  'party' tunes with more credible numbers and a side-line in energetic dancing powered by the festive spirit! Next up Kevin Energy delivers his unique blend of hard-house and hardcore charged by scratching and chopping like a bison.

Goodbye daytime and hello night was the signal for Steve Maynard and Tom Basquil to take it that little bit harder whilst inkeeping with their undercurrent of ever-present funk. Adam M's, catchier than a dose of the clap, 'Tango' pitched up the crowd more than a little. The Ben Steven's remix of Trauma's 'Black Magic' predictably caused a hole in the floor! Next up, Andy Whitby controlled the room whilst it was time for Spoonfed to check out next door. Young-gun Kevesy D was the perfect foil to Whitby's bounce, holding his own and knobbing out naughty but nice filth in the second room.  Refreshed, Spoonfed made it back to the main room where subtly sexy Ms Cally Cage played a hell hard set with her awesome bum-swinging thrown in for good measure. Karim was the perfect finisher, playing plenty of his own productions with his trademark smile, leaving us festive frolickers happier than Rudolph on a double drop of carrots.

Economic undertones aside, this was, without a doubt, the biggest hard collaboration of the year. A Frantic  v Twist sandwich is a very tasty proposition indeed.  The music policy was more varied than a selection box, and if that didn't get you in the festive spirit then you don't deserve a present from Santa!

Click here to see everything going on in clubland for the next month.

LadyAsbo