Origin Festival @ BelvoirAmptitheatre, (31/12/11)

Fri 6th Jan, 2012 in Gig Reviews

The giant end of year gathering of all that is Drum and Bass, Dubstep and Hip Hop, Knowledge Musics celebration Origin bounced into Belvoir as the dust settled from the breakier vibe from days past.

Getting the party started upstairs were local DNB superstars Ekko and Sidetrack, smashing out the feel good vibes and epic anthems, they rolled out Tantrum Desire’s latest Reach and set the tone for the evening.

The internationals came thick and fast, S.P.Y. and B-Complex drew mad props from smiling faces all round, Complex dropping Beautiful Lies early to the bouncing heads delight, while S.P.Y. played one of the finest sets of the evening.

So hot right now, Shockone took over the main stage decks and proceeded to show why he is Australia’s best and most exciting DJ to witness, rolling out dub step horror with Dr P’s Tetris before unloading the anthems of his own Relapse and Crucify Me, Shockone, so hot right now.

Live dub step cover band Modestep were quite fun to watch, and held the most epic light show of the evening, running through bass heavy versions of Bittersweet Symphony and Killing in the Name, before finishing off with rousing rendition of their own track Sunlight, they proved cheese can also be a lot of fun.

Alix Perez had a building set, slowly rising on the upstairs for the fans of a deeper sound, whilst Danny Byrd delivered the most disappointing set of the evening, with minimal mixing, another stop start set, for such a great producer he really doesn’t deliver from behind the decks (he did however, apparently smash it at the Origin Sideshow).

On the upstairs, glitch-hop boy wonder Opiou had the Robo Booty blasting the kids into a frenzy before dub step abomination Borgore came to the decks and played the sloppy hip hop he has made a name for himself with.

Major draw card Calyx And Teebee did not disappoint, smashing out the finest set of the evening to a full Amphitheatre, this being without doubt, the most loving and appreciative Origin crowd I’ve been a part of since its inception, well done to all in attendance.

The white light spread through the frenzied DNB heads, and bounced off the trees as C&T tore it apart, such a beautiful sight. Make Your Choice took it to another level, leaving us wanting more.

Foreign Beggars was an interesting choice for pre-midnight, and most folks flooded out to catch what was going on upstairs or to mingle with wide eyed friends, however their set picked up once joined by Noisia to smash out Contact and Shellshock.

“3,2,1” and it was 2012, as all three members of Noisia took position A behind the decks and smashed us into the new year, dropping anthem after anthem, Machine Gun, Tommy’s Theme and their remix of Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites came in quick succession.

Origin 2011/12 didn’t have the all-star line up of the previous year, but what it did have was a unity, and positive vibe not seen in other years, the music was good but the feeling was great, and the perfect way to enter a new year, Big ups Knowledge crew.