Our first experience of drum and bass at Tobacco Dock was certainly one to be remembered. On all previous occasions it’s been house or techno, but, this time, Good Friday saw one of the scenes most respected labels hold their second takeover of the mighty Tobacco Dock. From Finsbury Park to Motion Bristol, Hospital Records’ legendary takeovers are synonymous with quality drum and bass, quality sound systems and, above all, a quality crowd. And Hospitality in the Dock was no exception.

From London Elektricity in the Great Gallery, to a standout performance from Break in the Car Park, the spectrum of drum and bass on show last Friday was impressive by anyone’s standards. Neuro into jump up, liquid into rollers, jungle into breakbeat, the day was a hodgepodge of class DJ sets and quality raving antics.

And as usual, we’ve done our best to put the whole day into just three tracks. So sit back, and hear what we thought of Hospitality in the Dock below!

Track No. 1 – Benny L (Low Blow) – Metalheadz

The Car Park shuddered under the weight of Benny L and Voltage, as the two played an early back to back set in the afternoon. A tasty combination of stone cold rollers and crunchy jump up, a double drop of this and Serum’s remix of ‘Quarterpounder bass’ inflicted some serious damage. One of those moments where you can feel the bass truly going through you. Check head honcho Goldie spinning it in his In The Lab session below, stone cold business.

Track No. 2 – High Contrast ‘If We Ever‘ (Unglued remix)

The dub we’ve all been waiting for. Four times we heard it on the day, and every time sounded as good as the last. Still unreleased, this absolute gem started to snowball back in early January time. After the Hospitality takeover of Printworks on New Years Day, a video emerged of this track. The soothing vocals of High Contrast’s absolute classic, followed by a drop that drifted far from the original. Dubby and soothing, yet simultaneously dirty, Unglued’s take on this classic has had ravers in an absolute frenzy. As much as we hope it stays a dub forever, everyone deserves to hear this. So catch a snippet of it below, ripped from a Rinse FM show earlier this year. Prepare yourselves, this new talent is coming in like a wrecking ball.

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Track No. 3 – Dilinja ‘Hard Noize’ (Break remix)

We’ll set the scene. Car Park, mid afternoon. Benny L and Voltage have been and gone, and on comes Break. MC Bassman and SP:MC are on mic duty, and through Bassman’s cries of “batty rider” and SP’s shouts for “energy”, this scatty number penetrates the walls like a drill saw. A neuro/roller hybrid, it sounds devilishly good in the flesh. Another dub, another unreleased beauty. Check the clip of the tune below, courtesy of Break’s set from Let It Roll: it’s serious business.

Boom – 9 hours of upfront DnB sandwiched into three highlight tracks from the day. As with all Hospitality events, the whole thing moved like a well oiled, well calculated machine. No hiccups, no issues, just a wicked atmosphere formed by educated ravers, and a quality appreciation for good music. Hospitality – we’ll be seeing you soon!

Hospitality on the Beach lands in Croatia from July 12th to July 16th. Tickets available here.

Photo Credit: Jake Davis