Since the release of their debut album Good Lies in 2023, Overmono have carved a niche for themselves in the world of dance music. The Welsh duo released their debut EP seven years prior, but truly broke out with the record’s mix of ambient instrumentals and infectious, dancefloor-ready songs such as its title track. Returning to The Warehouse Project for a fourth consecutive year, Overmono brought a wide-ranging and impressive line-up with them that left their own live show outshone.
Once Hamburg’s Helena Hauff had warmed the crowd up with her atmospheric fusion of Electric Body Music (EBM) and industrial acid techno, French mixed-media artist CRYSTALLMESS combined melodic Afro-trance with dancehall influences, and a remix of Beyoncé’s ‘Halo’ to close.
As the crowd filled up at the concourse stage in anticipation of Interplanetary Criminal’s set, the excitement was palpable. The Manchester DJ and producer has had an unparalleled few years, dominating the UK garage scene as the founder of ATW records and creator of a multitude of hits.
Paying tribute to the jungle scene, Interplanetary Criminal’s set included a spin of Tony Jungle and Capleton’s classic ‘Wicked & Bad’, but standard crowd-pleasers such as this and Philip George’s ‘Wish You Were Mine’ were mixed in with tracks from artists like Silva Bumpa who are currently making waves across the scope of dance music. It wouldn’t be an Interplanetary Criminal set, however, without some of his own material, and it wouldn’t be an Interplanetary Criminal set in Manchester without the appearance of his Riko Dan collaboration named after the city.
‘Damager’, which was also included in his set at this year’s Parklife Festival, heightened the crowd’s enthusiasm: the song was produced alongside Sammy Virji, who headlined The Warehouse Project only two weeks prior, and is well on its way to becoming a certified classic in UK garage. Closing with ‘Yosemite’, his collaboration with KETTAMA, testified further to Interplanetary Criminal’s dexterity and diversity, providing a euphoric end to a brilliant set. The song produced a similar effect to its appearance in KETTAMA’s own set at BBC Radio One’s Big Weekend this summer, facilitating moments of friendship and emotion that are rare to see in spaces such as The Warehouse Project, where the main priority is partying.
From one hometown hero to another, Jyoty kept up the pace at the concourse stage, while frequent Overmono collaborator Joy Orbison appeared alongside SP:MC at the Depot. Delivering a set which was unexpectedly fast paced, considering the mostly mellower nature of his studio recordings, Joy Orbison was also aided by the stage’s incredible light show, which featured moving fixtures for this event. The set was heavy with the sounds of bassline, leaning into jungle as it reached its end and thrilling the large crowd gathering before Overmono’s own performance was due to begin.
Overmono are renowned for blending trance and breakbeat sounds with hip-hop and R&B influences, refusing the constraints of genre and recreating all of their songs entirely live. Highlights from their show included a jungle remix of ‘If We Ever’, their latest single in collaboration with High Contrast, as well as the performance of ‘Good Lies’ which was bound to provide a fitting finish. Surprise appearances from For Those I Love and Kwengface sent the crowd into uproar, yet after the speedy start to the night, Overmono’s ambience seemed slightly subdued.
Despite being one of the most exciting names on the line-up, ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U failed to deliver one of the hard, fast, and invigorating techno-gabber sets he has become known for worldwide. When making his Warehouse Project debut, the DJ instead opted for a mix of slower electronica and drum and bass, featuring strange and eventually off-putting laser noises that seemed more suited to an American audience, instead of Manchester on a Saturday night. Skee Mask’s genre-bending set on the concourse stage provided solace, however, demonstrating how experimentalism can be applied successfully in a space like The Warehouse Project.
Skin on Skin followed Skee Mask to close in heavy fashion, delivering one of the night’s biggest and best moments through his smash hit ‘Burn Dem Bridges’, which was rightfully unavoidable during the summer of 2022. This cemented rap music’s domination of the event: the song features an earworm of a rap verse looped throughout, while Joy Orbison, Interplanetary Criminal, and Overmono themselves are all also known to utilise hip-hop verses across their respective discographies.
With a strong line-up promising eleven hours of music in three of Depot Mayfield’s rooms, it really isn’t a surprise that Overmono’s Pure Devotion sold out well in advance of its date. Combining homegrown talent with some of the best electronic artists from across the world, Pure Devotion showcased a range that was occasionally jarring, but unexpected for The Warehouse Project, which usually hosts delicately curated and genre-specific lineups.
Although this year’s season at The Warehouse Project has featured exciting headliners perceived as the best in dance music, it seems to be a recurring theme that they are outshone by their undercard: Overmono might have put on a good show, but once again it was artists on the smaller concourse stage who prevailed.
