After the awesome time I had at Trilogy part I, it's safe to say I was hugely excited for the second event, especially considering that Knife Party were headlining.   I've been a Pendulum fan for years, so when I first heard Rob Swire's most recent side-project, I was understandably excited.   Seeing that there would be support from people like Shy FX, Beardyman, and the other headline set from Labrinth, as well as the fact that the Mine Bar would also be open as a venue, it's safe to say I was stoked. 

photo Gary brown

Arriving at half past eleven, I quickly made my way to Terrace and settled down to Shy FX's set. Having seen him earlier this year at Brownstock Festival, I had high expectations, which he fully lived up to. Packing out the terrace bar, pulling in possibly the largest crowd I've ever seen in that venue all of whom were up for a huge party. Combined with half the people being in fancy dress it ended up with some of the coolest vibes I’ve run into at clubnight. I next  headed over to catch some of Labrinth's headline set, which, good as it was, surprisingly didn't fully pack out the Stylus Venue. 

Back at the Terrace I caught Beardyman, who was putting down an incredible set, having surprisingly lost almost none of the crowd from Shy FX to the other venues, mixing liquid beats and heavy dubstep and everything in between to keep the ravey atmosphere going. 

Next up was Zane Lowe, but, he was delayed in getting on, meaning Wax:on and Metropolis regulars Prophecy and Mak played a 20-minute filler set that could happily have rivalled any of the big names that had played so far.  Eventually Zane Lowe did get on stage though, but the early part of his set was honestly a little disappointing, not keeping beats going, mucking about with the EQ all the time and generally not letting the crowd really get into their thing. Thankfully though, as soon as he dropped Part III headliners Chase and Status' No Problem, it all seemed to come together, especially as he moved away from Drum and Bass and towards dubstep to really warm the crowd up for Knife Party.  Also, a little note to all DJ’s out there – Drum and Bass remixes of Slayer – Just don't go there. 

It was now time for Knife Party, who in one word were Brilliant. From the moment they stepped onto the stage, it was an all-out barrage of filthy breaks interspersed with massive house remixes. They  effortlessly blended  genres, moving from house and electro, through glitch and dubstep  turning the entire bottom level of the Stylus venue into what can only be described as a seething mass of people. For lack of a better phrase, going mental. There wasn't a dull moment in their set, constantly switching pace and with some really clever mixes, everyone I heard as they staggered out, exhausted at the end of the set was singing their praises. Simply put, Knife Party killed it. Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen are solidly back in the dance world, and long may they remain. 

Bring on part III. 

Article by: Bryn Carter