Fresh off the release of their second album, Spiritual Milk, Camelphat returned to Depot Mayfield for their second headline event and brought a small, but stacked lineup with them.
The duo of Mike Di Scala and Dave Whelan seemed to burst onto the scene with their 2017 hit ‘Cola’, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. They worked for years on the Liverpool circuit, playing at clubs across the city and holding down positions on radio. Whelan was a DJ on the much loved (and missed) Juice FM, whilst Di Scala played on Radio City.
In the late 2000s, the pair started to work together under a variety of different aliases producing tech house tracks. They had some small successes, but ‘Cola’ launched them onto a different level. Since then, they’ve gone on to play at nearly every superclub imaginable on the planet, and had residencies on the ravers paradise of Ibiza at Hï, Ushuaïa, and Pacha.
After almost a year since my last rave, I was nervous about stepping into the Warehouse. The nerves calmed a little when my partner told me that a group of Londoners who we danced the night away in Printworks last time out had made the journey up north for Camelphat. After the always arduous 15-minute search for each other in the neverending stretch of bodies, we eventually found one another by frantically waving our phone torches in the air. We then ventured into the concourse for our first set of the night from Ukrainian DJ Miss Monique.
Despite having never heard of Miss Monique prior to checking the setlist, she is often referred to as the fastest-rising star in tech. Her set was frantic and full of heavy basslines. Her most popular track, ‘Concorde’, was her only song that I’d heard previously, and her energy behind the decks when it played was infectious. Her electric green hair bounced to the beat.
Rebūke followed, and as if to match the energy from Miss Monique, he opened his set in the Concourse with the track ‘Syren’; the crowd was electric. Of all the reactions in either room, this was certainly the biggest, and by some measure. ‘Syren’ was co-produced by Italian DJ Anyma and is a regular song in the setlists at sell-out ‘Afterlife’ events around the world. The whole crowd shivered when the distinctive opening notes played. It started the set off on a high that didn’t come back down until the Irish “rave ringmaster” was finished.
We wandered back into the main room and caught another tech duo, Fideles. Good tech acts must come in pairs at the moment, because the scene seems to be full of them. Their set wasn’t as memorable as the others, not because they were bad, but more because the quality of everyone else’s sets was so high. As with all WHP events, you’re bound to miss someone because of clashes, but this event really felt like you couldn’t afford to miss anyone. Then, it was time for the main event.
Camelphat’s set went through a host of their biggest songs, with a healthy dose of newer songs from Spiritual Milk. They opened their set with ‘Compute’, a funky reworking of Kraftwerk’s 1981 song ‘It’s More Fun to Compute’. The song takes the incredibly catchy rhythm from the original, adds a brilliant vocal performance from Ali Love, a heavier bass, and freaky visuals to make something groovy and unsettling at the same time.
Yet another song that features Anyma sent the crowd into hysterics, this time Camelphat’s collaboration with the Italian, ‘The Sign’. If this event proved anything to me, it’s that the people of Manchester (me included) are absolutely desperate for an Afterlife event in the North. Camelphat and most of the lineup have played across a number of Afterlife events in the past few years, and this event felt as close as WHP has ever been to one.
Part of me feels an Afterlife event hasn’t been to WHP because of the visuals on offer at the Depot. This is perhaps my only gripe from the evening, and this is not to discredit the visuals Camelphat or any of the other acts put on – they were brilliant. My issue stems from the screen on the main stage. The cavernous room gobbles it up, which means that unless you’re close to the front, you’re missing out on the full experience. Compared to other superclubs around the world, WHP’s screen is puny.
Purists may argue that for a real rave it’s not necessary, but for me, it feels like a missed opportunity. The now shut-down Printworks in London was far from perfect – it felt like an experiment of what a rave at rush hour on the tube would be like – but it managed to feel like a special place to rave. The warehouse does achieve this in part too, but I want more. Perhaps I’m greedy.
Back to Camelphat’s set, the 2018 track ‘Breathe’ had everyone belting out the chorus at the top of their lungs, but I completely lost it when ‘Along Came Polly’ by Rebūke dropped. The metronome-esque beat sounds unbelievable in the big room; the bass rattles about in your chest. Another high point was a remix of ‘Relax My Eyes’ by ANOTR and Abel Balder. It was a moment where the song, visuals, and crowd were in perfect harmony.
As the set was winding down, ‘Hope’ began to play. When listening to the song prior to WHP, it sounded like a closing song, but it didn’t prepare me for hearing it in the room. It was so emotional. It’s one of those rare songs that manages to be beautiful, joyous, and have a note of sadness. It was the perfect ending to the journey the crowd had been on for the previous two hours.
Part of me was a little annoyed when they played an encore, but the sound of Annie Lennox belting out ‘Sweet Dreams’ quickly made me get over myself as the crowd turned into the world’s most intoxicated choir. Camelphat at The Warehouse Project was a triumph as far as the artists are concerned. The venue, however, needs to be improved if it wants to continue to attract the world’s top talent.
Tickets for the rest of the WHP 2023 season are available here.
