When I was commissioned to write this piece I had heard about Max Cooper but had never given him much of my time for various reasons and was not too sure what to expect from him on the night.
His mixes on Soundcloud made me feel as if he would be better suited for perhaps a morning afterparty with everyone lying snug in blankets chewing gum and blowing Vicks in each other’s faces as the sun comes up. Alas, I was excited to see what he was going to bring to the party so to speak. South African audiences like it a bit harder than our European counterparts so I was convinced he would have his hands full. Boy was I wrong.
We arrived at the Seapoint library collection point at about 1 p.m. on Saturday only having slept for about 3 hours after the previous nights mayhem delivered by Playtime in Paradise with Stimming. Don’t ask.
We were greeted by smiles and friendly faces, one of the most jacked up and professional taxi services that I have had the pleasure of dealing with, really top class. On time and safe, you need no more.
It wasn't 15 minutes before we were en route to the venue. The venue had been a contentious issue in the run up to the event, the organisers had tried desperately to secure another venue but ultimately it ended up back at the popular Ostrich farm. I must say I am not averse to the Ostrich farm as a venue, I think it’s a great space, not too far from town but not too close either, my only gripe would be that it has been over-used over the past few years. That being said, I felt that there could have been a bit more effort put into the decor at the event. Don't get me wrong, the setup was awesome, they had a very decent sound rig and the dancefloor was up to scratch but I just felt that the rest of the space was underutilised. Perhaps a bonfire?! (I think there were a few people who agreed with me) but once again, we don’t know what goes on behind closed doors, chances are the venue had something to say about that. Altogether, the space seemed a little bland against the backdrop of the stellar line-up. Just my opinion.
By the time Mark Henning came on, the crowd was hungry to get going, literally champing at the bit.
Mark did not impress me all that much, his set seemed to casually saunter past and it wasn't until Bruno Morphet came on after him that the crowd really got into it.
It has to be said that Bruno was in fine form, his set was great. But Thiago (Kanan K7) not wanting to be out done, delivered what was in my opinion a thunderous set with more belters in his bag than there were on the dancefloor. If you are looking for his set, it’s over there, in the top drawer. Epic set! You had to be there.
Then finally at 10 p.m. it was time for Max to hold down the fort, and boy oh boy did he do just that. I have to take my hat off to this guy, he took a dancefloor that had just been aurally raped for 3 hours and delivered a set that injected a fresh-sense of energy from start to finish. I was shocked at the layer upon layer of sounds and textures hidden within in his tracks. There were times when I was so overwhelmed that I had to take a few minutes to regain my composure before I could continue dancing. I kid you not, if you were not there you missed something special. His ethereal soundscapes and deep running basslines had the crowd stitched up good and proper, he deserves every accolade he has won thus far...and all the recognition that's coming his way in the future. The man has talent and his set was by all intensive purposes, a beast.
After that Ivan Turanjanin and Monique Pascall were granted the task of winding down the dancefloor, which they did perfectly. By the time we left it was almost 2:30 a.m. and we had definitely gotten our money’s worth. The bus trip back was quick and painless and it wasn’t long until we were in town looking for more, but of course it was futile. Parties like this only happen once in a while so I reiterate, if you missed it, you have my condolences, you missed out.
All in all, if you need a number 7/10. See you at the next one.
Over and out.
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