Red Bull Music Academy Presents - Discopolis w/ DJ Harvey, Leon Vynehall, Palms Trax, Job Jobse @ Ca
- [For FYI Leeds]
- Oct 29, 2016
- 3 min read
With Halloween a stones throw away, it was Leeds’ turn to play host to the Red Bull Music Academy, with Canal Mills presenting what can only be described as a ridiculously enjoyable lineup. Seeing Job Jobse, Palms Trax and Leon Vynehall individually is a memorable experience, but to be billed all on the same night and to be backed up by one of the father’s of feel-good djing, DJ Harvey, is a bill to be admired for years to come.
To break in the ears to kick off with was the Leeds-born Grainger, who immediately showcased his versatility of sound, ever-more relative after a late start demanded a more upbeat approach. He quickly built an effective platform of ambient sounds, only to build the set into a playful cornucopia of dancefloor melodies, Grainger seemingly mastering the often misused opening slot.
Following the Leeds lad was the ever-popular Dutchman Job Jobse, who took ninety minutes out of his Resident Advisor Instagram takeover to deliver a solid lesson in how to make a dancefloor pulsate. His growing strength as a selector was evident throughout his sprightly time at the helm, putting together a nonchalantly smooth set including San Soda’s infectious 'Kaizen' and Bicep’s progressive 'Dahlia', paving the way perfectly for the name of the night.
The mood was set and the floor thronged as the moustached enigma that is DJ Harvey donned the decks to a euphoric roar coming from the floor’s cocktail of generations. It was at this stage that a guy next to me gave me a quote about Harvey that I just couldn’t argue with, ‘his effortless style oozes from every orifice, he’s the batty uncle you wish you had.' With his infamous spectacles and unnatural deck-side charm, Harvey swayed to each selection, delivering a set which felt as if he’d been saving it especially for his return to Leeds after over twenty years away. From Balearic shufflers to late 80s classics, Harvey served a royal platter of all things disco. If his three hours of buoyant bouncing were anything to go by, age is literally just a number, as each track seemed to lift the frothing crowd from pedestal to pedestal. I quote Harvey when I say, ‘you can’t understand my music until you’ve had group sex on ecstasy’, and he is exactly right, I haven’t had an orgy on ecstasy and I didn’t understand his music, all I know is that everyone had a good fucking time.
Whilst Harvey kept the main room under one of his infamous jovial trances, room two played host to Palms Trax for a four hour slot of typically sanguine belters. If you manage to pull people away from watching a Harvey set then you know you’re doing something right, and that’s just what Palms has become infamous for. Keeping energy high and encouraging the most elaborate of dance-moves, he continuously seems to know what sounds sweet, all done with harmonious mixing and a typically wry smile.
When the clock turned half three, and the crowd waved goodbye to Harvey for his last UK gig of the year, one wouldn’t be surprised if the atmosphere dampened a little. Not the case. Leon Vynehall came to the fore and arguably overshadowed Harvey. Vynehall is a Dj who always seems connected to his records more than others, with each selection reverberating within, playing records that you just know he truly loves. Vynehall cemented his name as a musical deity that night, entering the Valhalla of Djs (in which Harvey already sits) through his incredible knack for constructing uniquely beautiful dance atmospheres, which he underlined by closing out with the eternally orgasmic 'Wonderland' by Mic Mills.
Red Bull well and truly showcased the best modern disco music has to offer, uniting a bill of talisman Djs with the crowd reaping the consequent ear-sex, all played out in the unique environment that is Canal Mills. Bravo.
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