Defected's Greg Sawyer gets all emotional in his report of 20 Years of Planet-E at Melkweg; one of the first parties of ADE 2011. Check out the party report as well as audio and video footage right here...

Apologies if this gets a little gushy, but I experienced somewhat of a musical revelation last night, due mostly to the frankly sublime Hessle Audio crew. Ben UFO, Pearson Sound and Pangaea played the first three hours at the Planet-E 20 year anniversary at Melkweg last night, and a couple of minor technical glitches aside didn’t put a foot wrong during one of the most innovative, engaging and energetic sets I’ve heard this year.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been following the progress of bass music in all its myriad forms for the last few years, but only really as a casual  - albeit interested – observer. Being a house head at heart though, I’ve never actually experienced it in a club or live setting, choosing to spend my nights out at more four-to-the-floor orientated events. After last night, this is set to change.

Hessle Audio Live at Melkweg for Planet-E by gregsawyer

From intricate and meandering drum patterns that at times felt like they were doing their utmost to prevent you from getting into any kind of rhythm, to straight up, hard, driving techno, this was a masterclass in genre-spicing, combining, destroying; moving from seismically deep dubstep to euphoric house and techno, while making the transitions seem entirely natural. And while Ben UFO’s decision to concentrate solely of DJing seems to have paid dividends (he was by far the most accomplished turntablist) all three delivered faultless performances.

After the busy on-stage presence of Hessle Audio and their entourage, Kenny Larkin cut rather a solitary figure when he started his hour-long live set. And while it took a few tracks for the crowd (the average age of which must have risen at least five years, post-Hessle exodus) to get into the new, comparatively linear rhythm, the veteran DJ/producer soon had the room swinging to syncopated techno beats and piercingly sharp synth stabs.

The swell of numbers in the main room was noticeable about five minutes before Carl Craig’s arrival on stage a little after 2am. Taking centre stage flanked by both techno pioneer Moritz von Oswald and pianist Francesco Tristano, the trio moved through a ten minute intro consisting of little more than ambient, subterranean echoes before introducing the suggestion of a kick-drum for a further ten minutes. Sadly, the swell in numbers that has proceeded their arrival quickly receded as clubbers – hyped-up on the warm-up sets – went off in search of harder grooves in the second room, of which Kyle Hall was only too willing to provide. 

I have no doubt that C2’s extended intro into the meat and bones of the set will have proved well justified, but this was day one of what will be a very long week, so we sensibly decided to retire shortly after 3am. Sitting here, feeling relatively fresh at a photoshoot with Inner City and the prospect of shortly interviewing one of the greatest dance acts of all time, I have no doubt that this decision was justified, if not a little regrettable. 

Tomorrow, I shall regale you with tales of not only the DJMag Top 100 party (keep an eye on Twitter for instant results info), but of the Innervisions party at Trouw, as well as what it’s like to be face-to-face with techno legend Kevin Saunderson.

Until then…

The Defected In The House ADE party takes place at AIR on Friday 21st October - tickets are very close to selling out, but there are still a few available from the AIR website.