NEWS
EVENTS
WAH IN THE CITY WAS BIG, BOLD AND BADDADAN
Drum and Bass | Friday 18th August 2023 | Rosh
Drum and bass took to the the big stage when WAH (Worried About Henry) ventured to the big smoke and took over The Dockyards in London for an all-day knees-up for the die-hard bass heads.
Renowned for their riotous raves up and down the UK, this was WAH biggest event to date. High-voltage party crews Crucast and Breakin’ Science hosted stages alongside WAH’s heavyweight headliners Chase & Status, Hybrid Minds, Andy C, Wilkinson, Dimension, Friction, Bou and special guest Hedex. Kanine, Skepsis, Flava D, Darkzy brought their raucous energy to the Crucast stage, whilst party collective Breakin’ Science celebrated their 21st birthday with Turno, Serum b2b Mozey, Sub Zero b2b Logan D, legendary special guest DJ Hazard.
With the weather on our side (for once), we made the relatively short journey from Hackney to be met with a seamless and efficient security check process that ushered us quickly into the venue.
Crowd pleasers Hybrid Minds – who had the crowd singing in anticipation, came with their trademarked lush and liquid beats and vocals that complemented the sunshine rather well. The EDM-leaning set of Andy C came later with his household drops and cuts working up the Silverworks massive to a near frenzy accompined by his current MC of choice, Tonn Piper.
Afterwards however, Flowdan asked the crowd who they were anticipating the most and it was the British drum and bass producer duo on everyone’s lips Chase and Status, whose set appeared to cause a swell in the football-pitch-sized audience, who skanked away in unison under the unique city backdrop. Mixed in with some of the classics, they dropped all their anthems which felt like a remedy to the harder, more serious drum step and bass that had featured before them. Their new single "Baddadan" had the crowd reaching down to the floor (all 15,000 of them) as a barrage of MCs including East London's Flowdan shot lyrical fire into the crowd for the climax. Rounding off their dirty set with professionalism, they controlled the crowd with a carefully curated selection that kept everyone (including security) on their toes and anticipating their next move. Chase and Status delivered a set of bassy anthems to a WAH crowd that was literally miming every lyric. The bucket hat-wearing brigade was in full swing, brandishing facecloths as they sprang to action at every drop.
The only usual gripe that I had would be that it was difficult to walk around due to the rocky surface that made you pretty uneasy on your feet after a few (very expensive) gin and tonics. Overall this was a big, busy and beautiful celebration of drum and bass in one of Europe’s biggest city outdoor event spaces. Roll on WAH in the City part 2 happening at the Drumsheds in November, indoors in North London.
