Bloc looking into the future

So, Bloc has outgrown Butlins Minehead and is looking for a new venue for 2012. I was really sad when I heard the news, I've been to the festival the last 3 years and I've always had such a good time. I loved the setting; the stages, the accommodation, the beach... Then I thought, well change is good and I got quite excited with the prospect of a new, better, bigger venue. I then heard some pretty dissappointing rumors on what the future holds for Bloc... As it's not public news yet, I won't go into details, but I think Butlin's Minehead was better... I can only hope for the best though, and even so I can assure you I will be there for Bloc 2012! And hopefully I will love it! Anyway, I'm sure the line up will be good, no matter what...

For now you can enjoy some of the sets from Bloc 2011.

Bloc Weekend 2011 - Day 3

Day 3 would have started with A Guy Called Gerald in the Ableton RFID Dome, if there wasn't such a massive queue outside, again!... Such a shame, I loved being the dome last year. I think for next year they should get a bigger dome... Is that possible?

A Guy Called Gerald - 2010-09-24 - DJ Set at Long Late Night Drive by Electro-Mix-Memory

Anyway, off to the Reb:Bloc to see Gentleman's Dub Club, which really is the best start of the day I could have asked for! The only improvement would be to be outdoor, under the sun, on a sandy beach, next to the sea... Have to stop thinking of sunny summer, it's too painful... brain, go back to beautiful Butlins!... So, Gentleman's Dub Club, love it! Love the energy, love the dub, love the trumpets and the crowd seems to love it too! It's wild, everyone is dancing crazy!

Next stop Jak:Blok to see Lone and Kyle Hall. And then for the close of the festival... Laurent Garnier, who was there with another two guys, one on the machine and the other on the keyboard. At the beginning it was a little bit too housey for me but the last hour was wicked! They went much harder, the sound of the keyboard was absolutely amazing and the lighting with the lasers just made the whole experience so much better. Nothing more for me to say, just watch the video...

Can't wait for next year!!!

Bloc Weekend 2011 - Day 2

I was hoping to start my second day of the festival at the Ableton RFID Dome. I arrive there and the queue is massive. Really wanted to see Luke Vibert, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen, there's no way I'm queueing... I quickly go to the Hotshots Sports Bar to see LuSINda, I really like seeing girls playing good techno! Then at the Tec:Bloc I see Geddes, who's also really good! Even though the room is pretty empty, as the time passes there is slowly more of a crowd and everyone seems to be having a good time.

Next stop is Red:Bloc to see King Midas Sound. Simply amazing! I love King Midas Sound, but this is so much better than I expected! Really powerful! You feel the bass vibrating everywhere inside you. I then move on to the Centre:Bloc to see Dopplereffekt.

Their sound is so dark and hypnotic. I then head off to see the first half of Jimmy Edgar and then the second half of dOP... What a performance?! The guy is hilarious! It's impossible not to get into it. It'a all about getting everyone into the party mood! He even gets a girl from the audience to dance with him on stage at the end... I have to admit I was a little bit worried at that moment, but thankfully the girl could actually dance! That was definitely a relief! Once dOP finish I naturally move to Soul Clap, to experience the funk!

Before ending my evening at the Jak:Bloc, I have to go see Venetian Snares. Aaron Funk is his usual self... grumpy looking, no eye contact with the audience, drinking beer after beer, getting off the stage and leaving the music playing in a loop. Can't say I understand exactly what he does or how he does it, but whatever it is I like it!

At 4am back in the Jak:Bloc! I have to stay till 9am to see Matilda, who plays a great set, finishes a few mins early and as soon as the crowd complains she's back on the decks! Class!

It would have been great to see Four Tet and Aphex Twin, but I've never seen a queue so long and I'm seriously not into queueing. I was glad to have seen them both before, so I wasn't too disappointed!

Bloc Weekend 2011 - Day 1

This festival has become a must attend event to anyone into electronic music. I've been at Butlins in Minehead on the 2nd weekend of March for the last 3 years. We get to Bloc around midnight. By the time we get our keys, we find our chalet and we are ready to go it's 2am.

Stop 1 Centre:Bloc to see LFO who hasn't played in the UK since 2008. It's good, but I stay only for 10mins as I simply have to rush to Tek:Bloc to see Shackleton, whose set is as always deep and atmospheric with his distinctive eastern/oriental sound.

Shackleton, Deadman by honest jons

After Shakleton I rush to the Red:Bloc to see Ben Klock who once again proves to be one of the greatest techno DJs with his raw and hard set. Then back to the Tek:Bloc to see DJ Pete; I think if it is techno you are after, just seeing Ben Klock and DJ Pete is more than enough to feel complete, even though they both played just for an hour, which wasn't quite enough. I think especially in techno, sets should be at least a couple of hours long, giving DJs enough time to build up their sets and get the crowd taken over.

I then end up at the Jak:Block, the only room open after 3.30am. Taken over by Plex, I get to see Ancient Methods, Silent Servant, James Tec and Jamez. I really enjoy all Plex DJs, but head back around 8am.

I think even though I enjoyed a lot the first day of Bloc, it was far from flawless. There were long gaps between DJs and there seemed to be issues with the sound. While DJs were playing there were sound engineers on stage changing cables etc. This was definitely not the case in previous years.