Review Nicky Roscoe

Ready and out the door! I’m in a taxi and now en route to Mayfield Depot for Factory 51 Hacienda – Concourse. Nervous, excited with the usual pre-event built up, with a little extra on top as I have never attended this venue before.

The first thing that caught my eye was on the corner of the building, a large brightly lit display with the words ‘Everything Is Connected’. Relevant to the event is only possible through connection. From the organisers, staffing, security, to the sound system & rig up.  Then on to the DJ’s, the music that they play, the crowd that unites us all together regardless of the weather, gathered under one roof for the love of house music.

Now as I am approaching the entrance and I can hear the pounding sound of the bass, it’s raw and in your face. I am now entering what looks like part of an old loading bay, a large space with high ceilings, concrete walls with some open brickwork.  Dark, damp, and dingy. It has the look of an army or survival bunker. This section of the building is a queue, tickets, and security. No big queues, I am now heading down to Concourse, to my right I can see part of the main stage through what looks like a very large railed loading bay separate from the main room. The vibration of sound and bass hits you as you walk through.

I then do a right into the main room as smoke and lighting are upon me and in full effect. I move to the back to take in the scale of the room, it is massive! Not just in length but in height. It is like a disused aircraft hangar, and there is something quite eerie about this place with its solid concrete floors with drainage grids built into the floor and tall large pillars. The ceiling is now starting to drip as more bodies pile in and creating extra heat in this cold dark space. It’s a bit like being in a mortuary with the external atmosphere being dark, damp with a chill in the air.

With a serious system rocking rigged up to the nines with suspended speakers, the sound is different here due to the structure of the building and the rooms. It took me a while to work out. It’s Familiar – underground and that’s exactly what this event is trying to recreate and Factory 51 – Concourse did not disappoint with a serious DJ line up of absolute classics. Two great moments for me were when Graeme Park dropped A Guy Called Gerald – Voodoo Ray. Marshall Jefferson dropping his track – Move Your Body. Throughout the night the endless flow of house classics continued, I spoke to lots of different people and everyone I connected with was cool, friendly and on a level. ‘Our House’ – One Love Music

Big thanks to Mike Mannix for the opportunity to review for the magazine and also to factory 51 – Hacienda /James Masters Both for an amazing experience that night.

Review Nicky Roscoe