On December 1st, UFK brought an exciting lineup to the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City for their US Launch Party. This event marked the beginning of a new era for UKF. Not only did they provide one of the most exciting lineups I’ve seen in a while, they offered an experience that you won’t get at any other electronic dance music show. The visual production was astonishing; everything from the graphics to the lights were choreographed perfectly and matched up with each DJs attitude and style of music. The lineup was diverse, it wasn’t all heavy dubstep, there was a nice mixture of dub, electro, drum & bass, and more. The Hammerstein Ballroom couldn’t have been a better venue choice, it provided an adequate amount of space for the amount of tickets that were sold. The balconies at the back of the venue offered VIP ticket holders a place to both relax and enjoy the music as well as a place to take stunning photos.
The event opened up with one of New York’s resident DJ/producers, Alex English, followed by UK-based DJ/producer Xilent. Both provided opening sets that set the tone for the entire night. Fans lined up at the door of the Hammerstein Ballroom eagerly awaiting entry as they went through a thorough security check. Once Daniel Brown of Bare Noize took the stage, the ballroom was filled with hard electro and dubstep fans that wanted nothing more than to rage. Although Danny was missing his partner in crime, Oliver Pile, he didn’t hold back. By dropping fan favorites like Nero‘s ‘Promises’ he quickly won over the crowd. I wasn’t the only one surprised, yet thrilled, that he also played Dillon Francis‘ rather new record, ‘Bootleg Fireworks’.
When Danny handed over the reins to Delta Heavy everyone knew they were in for a wild ride. The transition track was TNGHT’s ‘Higher Ground’, once Delta had full control he got things started with one of his very own records entitled ‘Get By’. Throughout the entire show the transitions between DJs were seamless, which contributed to the high energy throughout the night. As Delta Heavy’s set continued I heard everything from the heaviest of dubstep to a hint of trap. ETC!ETC! & Brillz‘s ‘Swoop’ came out of nowhere leaving the crowed stunned, but he quickly transitioned back to the main theme of his set with Alvin Risk‘s mix of Kaskade‘s ‘Eyes’.
Gemini put on arguably my favorite set of the night. He began at nearly eleven o’clock on the dot. Having released his extremely impressive ‘Mercury‘ EP on November 11th, I was keen to hear which records he would play and how they would translate on Hammerstein’s sound-system. Needless to say I wasn’t disappointed when he dropped all five tunes. ‘Second Law’ nearly blew the walls out with its extreme bass, while ‘Robots’ called forth an all-out freestyle dance competition. The crowd’s response was ecstatic towards Gemini’s track selection – he had found the perfect balance between dark dubstep anthems and danceable electro house.
I was amped when UKF announced Borgore was on the bill for the US Launch Party. His all-around comical attitude and hilarious personality bled through into his set. He opened by rapping the lyrics “All the bit*hes love me cause I’m Mother F*cking Borgore”, which was then quickly followed up with the most beautiful of females presented on the LED screen above his booth. The highlight of his set was when he dropped an unreleased collaboration between himself and trapstyle heavyweight Carnage. Bleedhouse captured the moment on video and uploaded it to their YouTube channel, which you can check out here. Aside from that record, Borgore threw in classic tunes like ‘Ice Cream’ and closed with his collaboration with Miley Cyrus titled ‘Decisions’.
After a two minute intermission to straighten up the decks for the closing DJ sets, Will Kennard of Chase and Status kicked off his hour-long time slot with the help of MC Andy Gangadeen. Like Danny of Bare Noize, we only got half of the Chase and Status duo, but that in no way affected Kennard’s set. He put on by far the most interesting show of the night, with the MC rapping over a majority of his beats and transitions. As mentioned earlier, the visuals and light shows were extraordinary throughout the night, but it seems as if they turned it up a notch for Kennard’s set. He mixed in a few hiphop beats and rap vocals. The sample that stood out to me the most was a snippet of Lil’ Wayne‘s ‘Forever’ verse. He also played a lot of dance floor bangers like Knife Party‘s remix of ‘Crush On You’.
Dirtyphonics was elected to finish off a wonderful night of dubstep and heavy electro house music. They tossed in their personal drum and bass twists to spice up their closing performance. Charly and Pitchin (two of the four members) kept the party running ’til 3 AM, and the music was so fantastic that I only saw a few attendees called it quits early. The duo dropped ‘Bass Cannon’ and ‘Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites’, so it’s easy to understand why fans stayed ’til the very last second. They closed the night out with a new unreleased record titled ‘End Of The World’.
Overall the UKF US Launch party was more than just an electronic dance music show – it was a dance music experience. Eight hours of music, brilliant visual production, and a diverse selection of DJs proved that UKF is on track to quickly become the host of many must-see shows in the United States.
UKF Debut in NYC @ The Hammerstein Ballroom Album
All photo credit goes to Photography by Pearcey Proper
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