When I was 8 years old I accidentally discovered my birthday presents hidden in my mother’s closet. I was rummaging through her clothes, playing dress up and causing nonsense when I hit pay dirt. My parents had bought me every single thing I had asked for and I was pretty certain that I’d never been happier in my life than that moment. When my birthday finally arrived I put on my best surprised face and opened every present as if I was seeing it for the first time.
Waking up in an exhausted haze on Saturday morning, I was overcome with that same feeling. For weeks I knew that Day 2 of CTEMF would be a dream come true. As my eyes began to focus and the hamster wheel in my head started spinning, the day’s activities crept into my conscious thought and a spark kicked me straight out of bed. I rushed to get ready, skipped breakfast and jumped into a taxi. No screaming child or foul mouthed gaartjie would hinder my efforts of arriving on time.
I arrived on the Terrace the moment Watermark High started playing. If you are unfortunate enough to have never experienced his live performance, missing his CTEMF set was sadly to your detriment. A fair amount of onlookers gathered in strategic shady spots as we were all taunted by the searing mid-afternoon heat. Watermark High possesses a near indescribable knack for building sonic landscapes from off beat rhythms and dramatic progressions. I sat, mouth agape, for almost his entire set before my stomach’s incessant grumbling forced precedence over the music.
CTEMF offered a tasty selection of treats courtesy of the El Burro Taco Van, Moni Ami and a delicious Baguette stall but in the end the fried chicken trap summoned us for a quick break across the road at KFC. My lunch break was accompanied by some entertainment in the form of DJ Spoko and Mujava, who remained calm and unperturbed as the surly cashier rolled her eyes while taking their order. She was completely unaware that two of South Africa’s greatest House producers were standing in front of her and I’m almost certain she’d spent at least one night in the last month dancing to their music at one of her favourite jols.
A full stomach and resolute determination sent me straight back to the Terrace stage for what I knew would be a special performance from Thor Rixon. In the last year, Rixon has built a reputation amongst his beat-making peers and music consuming fans as an eccentric and unconventional producer. He made certain to uphold this reputation by having two Thor Rixon look-alikes on stage with him for his performance, complete with dreadlocks and beards. His set was fun and had the now substantial crowd on their feet, dancing and yowling for his entire performance. The highlights of his set were feature performances from Amy Ayanda, with whom he collaborated on ‘La Llorna’, and Push Push on the track he produced for her, called ‘Jut Life’.
I have made no secret about the fact that I worship the ground beneath the feet of Jumping Back Slash. I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with pride as he took the stage with a full dancefloor in front of him. JBS produces his own interpretation of the genre, gqom, which he has dubbed “gqom romance”. His set provided an education to the unaware and a wet dream for his biggest fans. He played a solid array of his productions including a collaboration with Josiah Wise The Serpent With Feet, earmarked for release on his forthcoming EP. There was a moment in the middle of his set where he pushed the dancefloor a little too hard and lost a few bodies, but by the end of his set he managed to coax them back. I am more certain than ever that before the year is out, Jumping Back Slash will be on the tip of everyone’s tongues.
Christian Tiger School laid claim to forming the first queue to the Terrace stage for the night. They were one of the few artists chosen to perform at CTEMF for a second time and the display of maturity in their sound and performance since their first outing was outstanding. Half way through their set, Fletcher In Dub kicked off his performance in the Auditorium and beckoned my attention towards the belly of the beast. The venue had filled up significantly since I last stepped inside, to the point where I was watching my step to avoid bumping into overzealous partygoers. A serendipitous encounter in the upstairs hallway afforded me the opportunity to meet and chat to Slugabed, my inner music nerd had a meltdown while I remained calm and didn’t embarrass myself once in our entire interaction.
I sneakily pushed my way back onto the terrace for Munnibrotherz. Hailing from Port Elizabeth, this duo may be the single most underrated production team in South Africa. Many who have heard the name don’t think they are local because they have music released via the iconic Dirty Bird Records and for those who have never heard of them, shame on you. The dancefloor remained heaving for their entire set as they took the crowd on a Tech and Bass House journey, replete with ebbs, flows and devastatingly whomping basslines.
The biggest mistake I made on Saturday night was leaving the Terrace stage during Munnibrotherz to get a cold beverage. My return was greeted by a 50 person long queue as DJ Spoko and Mujava started their set. I rushed off to the bar area to grab a spot at the window but discovered several people who were smarter and quicker than me, literally hanging over the windowsills to get a piece of the action. I stood in the middle of the room like a kid who had just missed the school bus, until one kind soul allowed me enough room to stick my camera out the window to grab a photo and catch a glimpse of Spoko jamming on top of the DJ table.
I walked with my tail between my legs to the VIP bar and was instantaneously consoled as I was introduced to Joe Kay from Soulection. The renewed energy had me determined not to lose my spot on the dancefloor for Mr Carmack in the Auditorium and as I rushed down the hallway I nearly walked straight into him. I shunned any fragment of shyness and introduced myself to him and The Whooligan before transporting myself in a cloud-like euphoria downstairs to claim my vantage point for his set.
Earlier in the day, Mr Carmack had tweeted about playing a full set of his own music and remixes. I still struggle to describe how overwhelming it felt to lose my mind to the music I have so often played in my own sets. The best reaction to his set from a lot of my more house and techno inclined friends was “OK, now I understand”. Carmack squeezed every last inch of sub-bass out of the Auditorium sound system with an infectious, high energy performance.
The Saturday line up was geared towards the bass music audience, but the techno massive were treated to a legendary back-to-back session on the Terrace courtesy of Johannesburg’s Digital Rockit versus Cape Town’s Killer Robot. Post-Carmack, it was time for beat wizard Slugabed to do the dirty and the man certainly delivered. I’m pretty sure I heard teenage girl screams escaping from grown men’s mouths as he deftly delivered his signature beats with casual devastation. Jono Jebus won comment for the night when he noted that, “he just looks like a dude doing maths on a calculator…”
The Auditorium stage fell into darkness as cloaked beings assembled wielding flags emblazoned with an all too familiar logo. The infectious chanting of the introduction to ‘House of Clashes’ marked the beginning of P.H.fat’s set as the crowd repeated every word back in unison. I possess an unwavering respect for Mike and Narch, they have created a beast. A beast whose claws controlled the puppet strings attached to the spines of every human on the dancefloor. When the beautiful Jung Freud took the stage, the crowd’s elation was deafening. Sean Ou Tim AKA Mr Sakitumi, provided a live bass element that accentuated the intricacies of the already gnarly beats.
As much as I have gushed over every act that I saw over the weekend thus far, none compared to what I was about to experience. No Boiler Room video or EP on repeat could have prepared me for the set Branko was about to play. The Auditorium crowd waned after P.H.fat, the audience had remained steadfast for 3 hours of bass onslaught and it was oppressively humid inside regardless of the room’s expanse. All I could think was how awesome it was to have enough room to swing my arms around wildly as I danced to my favourite producer.
I knew about 80% of the songs he played in his set, not because he played a predictable set but rather because I have quite possibly reached stalker level appreciation for his work. The crowd returned slowly throughout his performance as he whipped us across continents with his amalgamation of sounds from Kuduro beats to PARTYNEXTDOOR and township funk.
Local drum n bass duo, Lazersharkk kicked the gears up a notch with a performance that included live drums by Mr Sakitumi and EJ Von Lyrik on vocals. Not even Kevin’s twisted ankle within the first few songs of their set could affect the pace and quality of their performance.
On the verge of finding a dark corner to crawl into and rest my weary bones, I was dragged from the building before Counterstrike began. It’s been years since I have witnessed the duo perform together but I know the experience would have been wasted on my overstimulated, bass drained body.
I struggle to recall the last time a party has appealed to every element of my music interests and that is the beauty of CTEMF. You might have gone to see your favourite act, but you will have left with a plethora of new favourites and an education in what electronic music is and how it affects every person who encounters it.
Follow Angela on Twitter.
All Day 2 photos courtesy of Laura McCullagh.
Check out all the action from Day 1.
