| ThomasNeil |
Arrived into London around 11.30 parked up & ready to go, grabbed a taxi to Temple Pier & began boardin around 12.15. Making my way onto the Golden Jubilee party boat, a very impressive vessel. Two floors each equipped with a good setup & ample dancefloor & a massive sun terrace on the upper floor allowing people to chill & dance in the now blistering sunshine.
The boat eventually cast off a little prior to my set commencing at 1pm. David Horne was in charge of opening proceedings & played a superb set, combining some pumping progressve house & electro, the dancefloor itself was a little sparse in terms of population, but that was due entirely to the blazing sunsihe with the people on the terrace in full swing. I took over just after 1 to begin my hour long set. I decided pretty quickly that I wanted to up the pace a little & went straight into the massive Andrew K & Leoni track 'Next To Me' (Johan Vermeulen Mix). Pleasantly this track seemed to bring a few inside & got everyone moving as the boat meandered along. The DJ booth itself was pretty small with everyone's bags stored & the 2 CDJ 1000s & DJM 600 packed inside. It was also hot, very hot, like a sauna in fact as there wasn't a window, when i get the photos you'll probably be able to gauge how hot it was, I was sweltering but managed to retain focus thanks to that delightful invention Corona ;).
My set moved on & it was my intention to build things up thru some progressive house & then to get a little trancey. Second track I played was the massive 'Phantom' by Jerome Isma-ae, definately one of my favourites of the last couple of months, the pounding bassline managed to draw a few more people in & the boat began to rock, both figuritively & literally as we turned a sharp corner. DJing while rocking is quite an experience & definately not a good idea if you're easily sea-sick.
Moving on up the gears I decided to drop Dubfire 'Roadkill' (Breakfast Remix). As this track is one that seems to be getting big plays accross the board from minimal to progressive to trance jocks it seemed a good choice & I was vindicated as people began to recognise the chords. Definately one of my biggest tracks. Trying to keep the energy high but not to get carried away I dropped a nice little progressive house number before moving into trancier territory. As Mr Sam was on board & chilling near by I was a little reluctant to play one of the big tracks from his latest 'Opus' compilation but the mood was so right I went for it anyway. Global Experience 'Madras' got arguably the biggest reaction of my set with some hand claps & big smiles generated, Sam himself remarked later that it was a good choice of track for the scenario!
Keeping the energy levels up I played some more nice prog trance before dropping one of my favourite releases of late Purple Mood 'One Night In Tokyo' (DJ Shah Savannah Mix) which seemed to get a great reaction, definately some Anjuna people on board!
As was requested by Ross (Promoter) & Andrew Bennett himself (who had now moved into the booth) I ended on a much more housey tip, dropping one of the best records ever made imo, Nathan Fake 'Outhouse'. One of my friends who had come down instantly recognised it & started dancing like a nut, somehow managing to get others suitably worked up much to Andrew's amusement. I left things at a nice 132bpm for Andrew, helping to get the monitor turned up & having a quick chat, thanking him the guest mix on my show a month earlier & general chit-chat, a thoroughly nice guy whom I hope to catch up with soon.
Andrew played a great set, beginning as I had expected with some housier stuff & working his way thru the repotoire to the usual Andrew Bennett Progressive fare. Definate highlights were Pryda 'Genesis' Deadmau5 'Faxing Berlin' Mark Knight & D. Ramirez 'Columbain Soul' & incredibly the track that started it all for me Energy 52 'Cafe Del Mar' a great set with a perfect vibe for the boat party.
Taking over from Andrew was the excellent talent that is Niklas Harding, I'd managed to grab a word with both Niklas & his manager James prior to the set & Niklas was in high spirits, ready to kick things on. As always Niklas' set was spot on, a perfect combination of electro, house, progressive & trance with big tracks such as Remy & Roland 'Mexico Can Wait' Marcus Schossow 'Mr White' Niklas Harding & Funabashi 'Addictive' (Mat Zo Remix) & many more (which may come to me later) as well as finishing with the sublime Andain 'Beautiful Things' (G&D Unplugged Mix). Stunning set, played out perfectly to the capital's stunning backdrop & the blazing sunshine.
Mr Sam took over from Niklas at 4.45pm to play the closing headline set. As a huge fan of Mr Sam's production work I was keen to see him play & was not dissapointed. Opening with the awesome Cressida track 'No More Lies' & moving thru some highlights from his 'Opus' compilation & the brutal Mojado tracks he carved out a gorgeous set, perfect mood & tempo for the summer cruise & closing things with Maor Levi 'Reflect' (with some delicately placed Nelly Furtado accapella) timely as we cruised underneath Tower Bridge & back to port. Having helped him with his jacket & things he bid farewell as he told me 'I must get my train or I will miss my flight to Italy & you know my wife, she will kill me' :p What a great fella
An outstaning days DJing, partying & sunburning was done. Many, many thanks to all who attended & everyone I got to meet, particular acknowledgements go to Rav, James, Greg, Ross, Rich, Kev & Mario as well as the many others I got to meet up with and chat to. See you all soon! |
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