zap! bang! Magazine

• Together Winter Music Festival: Day Two

• Eric Prydz took the lead for the second day of the inaugeral Together Winter Music Festival at Alexandra Palace. He was the main attraction with his final EPIC (Eric Prydz Live in Convert) show of the year as more than 30 live acts and DJs performed at the historic London venue on Saturday, November 26th. With thousands flocking to see their favourites, there was a lively atmosphere as the all-nighter kept music fans dancing across four arenas.

  Walking into the grand venue just after midnight I found the surprise act on the bill, electronic rock band Death in Vegas, struggling to find an audience among the ravers who were piling into the Great Hall for Sander Van Doorn’s tech trance. The revered band were powering through their epic tracks in the smaller West Hall to dedicated fans and rewarded their loyalty with a confident set. The popularity of the Data Transmission headphone disco saw the room closed for risk of overcrowding at acts such as The Glimmers and Utah Saints were set to play while in the Great Hall excitement was building to the headline set from Prydz.

  Prydz’s show featured custom-made video walls that branch out into the crowd and a series of holograms which appeared in front of him.

  Before him it was the turn of Radio 1’s Pete Tong to draw on his vast knowledge of house music. He’ll always be a legend of dance music and he ensured the Great Hall was full ahead of the main event for the vast majority of Winter Music Festival goers: Eric Prydz. His EPIC show featured custom-made video walls that branch out into the crowd and a series of holograms which appeared in front of him adding up to big production values. As he pounded out the house featuring a selection of his own productions, there was plenty to look at on stage. The impressively detailed holograms and vast video rig made for excellent eye candy, though they did not always seem to fit their soundtrack – rather the holograms appeared at almost random intervals and were not referenced by the images, however the technology involved is impressive. With some refinement by Prydz’s technology team he can make the show even better.

  Going head-to-head with Eric Prydz in the West Hall was Vitalic, and the back end of his set saw him roll out the classics including “La Rock 01” and “My Friend Dario” to an excitable crowd. He showcased new material at the start of his set too – much to the joy of fans who were impressed with his performance. Vitalic is said to be working on a new album and it will be another cracker based on the chat after his set. Downstairs in the DJ Magazine Arena hosted by Bootleg Social there was a raucous atmosphere that had already been fuelled by electro and house from John Dahlback, The Japanese Popstars and Mark Fanciulli.

  Would make for a welcome annual event.

  As the night started to draw to a close, a return to the Great Hall found London favourite John Digweed behind the decks, though he was not able get the same level of excitement as was met for Prydz so it was up to a DJ set from Simian Mobile Disco to finish off the night with a bang. Their acid-infused electro did the job nicely though Maya Jane Coles kept the tech house fans grooving until 6am in the West Hall with her smooth sounds rounding off day two of the Together WMF and the weekend’s escapades at Alexandra Palace. Aside from some dodgy sound in the West Hall and some difficulty getting around owing to an awkward one-way system, this first WMF was a huge success and would make for a welcome annual event during an often quiet clubbing period.

by Mike Barnard