Cockermouth Rock Festival 2012

Okay So having got the offer of a festival this year, I thought it would be great to tag along with the folks from Leeds, Tyrone was on the Decks and it was a great way to capture some footage and Support Ty and MC Dale, the music style of theirs is nothing that I usually listen to but I had guessed that as this was more a live performance than the club stuff it would be great to take a tent and soak up the Atmosphere and see how this production was put together.

The last Festival I attended was at Leeds to see Rage against the machine a few years back and the Atmosphere was electric, and having DJ'd in one of tents a few years back I kind of knew what to expect really, but had no idea the scale of this particular one as it was in Cumbria in the Lake District.

After Picking up everyone in Leeds we set off for the Lakes, everyone in good spirits and really up for this one, after many food & piss stops we arrived about 15:30pm on the Saturday and we parked the car no problem booked in and met up with the Xanadu crew & organisers of the dance tent that Tyrone & Dale would be performing in on the night.



The site is quite large and upon the approach into Cock-Rock everything was in full swing, weather was not as hot as it has been for the last couple of days but was dry never the less, so after the long journey it was time for summat to eat.



Walking round here are a few photos of the Site, there were some awesome setups in other tents and different music, here again this was one I found with a truly awesome setup & sound





A couple of Bands to which I could not tell you who they were but appeared to have a good gathering and lots of support, much of the festival I was taking in appeared to capture young people and was also very family friendly.



One of the Promoters Micky Reilly from Leeds loves his bands so this was a great opportunity to walk round and look at what was on offer, not that I am an expert by any stretch of the imagination, I heard lots of covers done such as Kasabian & the White Stripes..



So by tea time and after a good wander round we ended up at the main stage to see Zane Lowe, Micky & me were divided on this as me from a DJ perspective this guy had no headphones and was bouncing round like a Rapper Gangster, however that said we both agreed that as a live act this lad got the crowd in the palm of his had and delivered on his contract, Fantastic stuff, however My Respect levels hit zero when he started chanting oggy oggy oggy... hahahahaha



And here is Zane in action on the main stage, the folks seem to be enjoying themselves, I was almost compelled to see what his setup was as I don't think I heard a full record played, plenty of energy and time on the mic, crowd were going crazy..



And another is here, the atmosphere was just fantastic, I have never seen Zane Lowe live but he is on the money and knows how to rock a microphone.



So After this we decided to go and find the others and get ready for the nights events, and headed back to the dance tent where Tyrone and Dale would be performing amongst Others, the night scene would get very busy from now on...

Seen Here are the Hustle, these guys were great, and for me totally something different but never the less a fantastic performance..



Met up with the tribe of xanadu had plenty to drink and met some of the other DJ's who had been and who would be playing in this dance tent.



tribe of xanadu, Olly & Adam were perfect hosts and worked really hard to ensure a smooth delivery of what was to be quality night, we also met up with a DJ duo who were just fantastic planet zogg, here pictured below :-)



These guys were really very good in my eyes and played some phenomenal music I liked their sessions only because their style of music I really enjoyed.



Tyrone & Dale would play a two hour set after this only because one of the other DJ's forgot part of his traktor power lead he was gutted. EPIC FAIL......hahaha



DJ Tyrone, Seized this opportunity so he was next up. I enjoyed his session both him and dale went on to play for 2 hours of absolute filth the crowd really enjoyed it.



Here is more footage of the dynamic duo, they both were in their element and rocked the place for a full 2 hours Leeds in the house, the revellers just poured in and danced like nutters for the entire session, an MC and a Scratch DJ what more could you ask for....



Tyrone & Dale were really up for all this and the tunes just came thick & fast, Banger after bsnger, crowd going mental, all in all this was fantastic to see,



Adam & Olly were getting into the Spirit by now and the duo Goldie Looking Chain were on their way into the tent to play on after the Last DJ a Bradford lad playing Breaks and other filth to deploy to the dancefloor :-)



Last up in the dance tent was fab also Goldie Lookin Chain, had the pleasure of having a few beers and a chinwag with em, very down to earth and lovely fellas, in all a fantastic weekend was had by everyone, Both Adam & Olly were in good spirits and working hard to support the DJ's and have a few beers



Goldie Looking Chain were really fun and this was a perfect end to the evenings festivities, Early to rise the next morning and cooking bacon sandwiches all round we managed to get going on our way back to Leeds,



Hopefully next year there will be more of this and we can capture more and stay for the full weekend, After talking to Olly & Adam there are also some underground parties to be had to which I would love to cover, and DJ at, just have to Say a massive massive thanks to the Tribe of Xanadu for a colourful production, friendly people and monstrous sound system, keep em coming Fellas nuff respect...



Peace.......@(*_*)@

Unite - Saturday 14th July 2012 @ the VOX

The Weather was picking up so Off I went once more this time Back to Leeds for Unite with Lee Softley, Ian Ossia & Mike Richardson. Okay well in truth not really heard much Blue Amazon Stuff or heard Lee Play out before neither Mike Richardson but it was all there for the taking. Had a good Chat with Lee and met his fiancée and have to say Lee is a fantastic fella and also his good lady from Australia who was full of energy & fun.



Meeting up with the Shine Crew early on I had the pleasure of having a few beers and a listen to Sasha & Digweed in the Kitchen, a rare delight ....hahahaha



About 22:30 headed into Leeds City to the Club, One thing I liked about the VOX this time was I was able to park my car right outside the venue which for me was a huge bonus. The VOX is a great venue, however I think it should have invested in a couple of coaches and been a bit more innovative in terms of getting people to the venue, for big events like these local pickups around Leeds, Wetherby, Harrogate & York even, marketted in the right way could pay huge dividends for club nights, just my 50p's worth..

The start of the night showed Mike Richardson from Manchester playing some really pumping Tech-house and made for a fantastic opening set for the night Mike played for 2 hours and I listened to most of it in-between catching up with the promoters and new people who share the same music passion on Facebook. on the whole a great atmosphere very relaxed, this coupled with Mike's set early on was very good indeed.



Here is a clip of Mike Richardson in Action....



Looking at all the DJ's set up it was fantastic to see so much technology that was being used and I want to see more of this in clubs, too many shots of DJ's behind a set of CDJ's posing, however it nice to see some difference and the DJ's had put in the Effort in this way, well done guys :-)



I have to be honest here and say that the place was not packed to the rafters but the folks that did turn out were really great and supportive, Lee was bouncing around and getting really excited talking to everyone, and was up next to play, its nice to see that all the people were very happy people and very interactive.

Next up was Lee Softley (Blue Amazon) this session from Lee was absolutely stunning, he was really in his element behind the decks and was loving every min of it. He played some signature tracks there and a favorite for me was Underworld - Dark & Long (Dark Train mix)... absolutely top draw stuff that was blasting out of the speakers :-)



here is a clip of Lee in action on the decks, absolute stunning display, want to see more of this passion, absolutely top stuff, definitely would recommend Lee Softley



not long after Ian Ossia turned up and played his session, 2 hours of fantastic music, Ian never disappoints, people from Venue 44 old days were saying how fantastic the music was by Ian, a cool customer and somewhat reserved, but his passion comes out of his music, having heard Ian play many times it was a pleasure to see him out doing what he does best, and he did deliver, well done Ian...

In terms of the DJ's and performance everyone played very well, but my favourite had to be Lee Softley as the sets were just slamming, and his energy behind the decks was awesome, also a fantastic fella with a lot of passion about music, this guy really knows his onions and was a pleasure to listen to, definitely going to get him on the Radio to show you what I mean, in a word Brilliant stuff, well done lads :-)



Absolutely fantastic people, the Lovely Linda, Mark Watson, & Micky Reilly,



Okay so in Summary then this night not the busiest event I have been to recently but that said musically it was absolutely flawless, looking forward to getting these guys on the radio, to give you a taster musically what you missed, that said hopefully Jason Hankin will stick with this and look at further productions with Unite, and it would be great to See all the DJ's play again, so well done everybody.



Lovely happy People that's what its all about Big Thankyou to Jason Hankin for making all this possible :-)