Bedrock 15th Birthday – Fire, London

It’s not every fifteenth birthday party that commandeers five rooms at South London club Fire. But then not everybody’s celebrating fifteen years of a successful house and trance label like Bedrock Records.

For its anniversary the label once again took over Fire, in Vauxhall, using the night as the launch party of John Digweed and Nick Muir’s latest compilation Versus (you can read the Data Transmission review of the album here), and boasting a six-hour headline set from Digweed itself.

It was testament to the size and success of Bedrock’s previous parties that all five of Fire/Lightbox’s rooms were open, and with the club heaving everywhere you looked (the outdoor space was quickly standing room only) negotiating the different sounds on offer in the warren-like lay out of Fire made it feel at times more like a dance festival than just one club night.  

There’s something quite nice about a night that draws out a crowd who maybe aren’t out raving every Friday and Saturday night anymore – it shows the draw that a cracking line-up can have – and Bedrock got its fair share of late 30s ravers who were absolutely going for it on their rare night off. For his part, John Digweed’s set delivered everything they were looking for. This was beat-heavy, vocal-free house music at its best, and when you shut your eyes it felt like being back in Space’s main room listening to Digweed deliver the warm-up set at Carl Cox’s Tuesday night Revolution.

From the tiered ticket sales to the organisation of the night itself (forget set times stuck up inside the main door, clubbers at Bedrock were treated in advance to an e-map of the different rooms and who was playing when) the events of promoters Lock ‘N’ Load are nothing if not slick, and their commitment to production values was evident throughout the event. From the arresting lighting displays taking place in most rooms, to the amazing visual effects that kicked in across the wall behind Digweed at about 1.30, this was a night that embraced the importance of the overall experience as much as it did the music.

Away from the main room, Gary Beck drew a good crowd with some deeper, darker, more stripped back techno sounds, while Max Cooper in control of room 3 was typified by strong jazz horns mixed up over a rollocking house beat.

We only caught the start of Japanese Popstars kicking off their set with some very heavy basslines, delivered with the kind of energy that showed how they’ve earned a reputation for amazing live performances.

Probably the final sign of a good night came as we wandered out into the early hours of Sunday morning in search of a taxi, only to find groups of clubbers still arriving, determined to catch what was left of the night.