A month or so ago the students and music fans of Leeds received a special announcement. Promoters Wax:On and Metropolis had put together a series of three huge events for the 1^st term of the year. Named ‘Trilogy’, these events would see a monthly takeover of the student union building with each event seeing some of the biggest names in dance music gracing the stages of Stylus and the huge Refectory room. They promised much and part one kicked off on Saturday 24^th Sept.

Metropolis and Wax:On have curated big events at this venue for years now and they’ve got everything well organised. I entered alongside a snaking queue of people humming and chatting with excitement. Many of them knowing what to expect but for many more this was their first trip to such an event, it all added up to an electric atmosphere.

The venues filled up over the next hour or so and soon each of the three rooms were heaving, although it was always easy enough to move between them. Stylus, the enormous underground room with a sunken dancefloor, was playing host to Annie Mac, Nero and Aeroplane, with residents People Get Real getting the whole thing started. As things went this was definitely the most crowded and (eventually) sweaty of all the venues, the majority of punters wishing to see Annie and Nero. Indeed it got to the point where taking any pictures was fruitless as my lenses were steaming up too quickly! 

Aeroplane played out his usual styles, disco house vibes keeping the crowd in a groove for nearly two hours straight. Following on Annie Mac emerged to a now packed out room, performing a similar house/techno/electro set to the previous evenings in Manchester. It was a much more refined affair than the sets I’ve witnessed at recent festivals and all the better for it in my opinion. She is clearly improving considerably as a DJ, apt given her position as near-enough dance music royalty. To finish the event and bring some bass to the proceedings dubstep heavyweights Nero played a DJ set. Their commercial ‘stadium-esque’ sound filled the venue, pushing the system to breaking point. The crowd were rapturous but I always leave Nero feeling there is something amiss- all the ingredients are there but the final product always seems lacking, and in a way I can’t explain.

Of course Trilogy was more than just this one room. Above Stylus the Student Union’s Terrace bar was hosting another mass of big names. It was more Drum & Bass centred up here and the Brookes Brothers were superb. The pair have slowly built up a big reputation and a back catalogue of stunning liquid dnb hits, and although only one half of the duo was present, the DJ sets I have seen only add to this. Northern Lights aka Steppa and Kitcha have seen many a night in this venue. They brought some hard and heavy jump up for the skanking masses which went down a treat. In a change of venue Ms. Dynamite played her set in this room as well, a much more intimate setting than many of her usual gigs. It went down really well with the crowd, who were within touching distance of her and able to shout song requests between every tune, eventually provoking a candid remonstration from the singer!

The biggest room of the Student Union is the huge refectory. Once solely a live music venue, legendary bands such as The Who and Led Zeppelin have graced the stage over the years. Last year it was granted a late license and promoters were able to take full advantage of its capacity and soundsystem. 

Trilogy Part One had the Refectory playing host to some huge names. Oneman kicked things off, his deep dancefloor dubstep allowing punters to get settled in before Redlight and Dread MC hit the stage. Within minutes all of the slow-paced groove Oneman had maintained was blown out of the window and the crowd had doubled in size and started bouncing. “This is not dubstep. This is not house. This is Redlight!” exclaimed Dread. He’s 100% right too- to try and pigeonhole this artist would be an insult to the unique sound he has crafted since leaving the world of drum & bass a few years ago.

As much as Redlight isn’t dubstep, Caspa truly is. A pioneer in the meteoric rise of the genre he is now at the top of the game and can sit alongside any dubstep DJ on the top of a bill. Watching him now you can see that there maybe a slight sense of boredom with the traditional dubstep drum patterns as he introduces tunes with different percussion patterns, from 4x4 kickdrums to garagey snares. It all adds up to a more energetic and interesting listening experience however, so it’s no bad thing!

A later gap in the schedule was filled by North Base- a collaboration between 2 legends; Metropolis founder and resident, Prophecy and Drum & Bass producer Silver. Although they both cut their teeth in the Drum & Bass scene, the collaboration sees them producing a unique sounding 140bpm rave music. Think early 90’s hardcore updated for 2011, complete with heavier breaks and more sub-bass. It’s a sound which seems to be going down well, and their remix of Ms Dynamite’s Neva Soft has received big support from fellow artists. Keep an eye out for more releases soon.

The ravers of Leeds received a fitting finish to their night when the Executioner, Andy C stepped up. Some technical difficulties made for a late start and I must say I was nothing but disappointed when I saw Andy C with a laptop and a serato system. As one of the last champions of vinyl I thought we could always rely on the Ram Records boss to keep things traditional- it’s not like he’s short of dubplates!

As things went it was as exciting an Andy C set as we’ve come to expect, with a huge surprise thrown in; a series of heavy 130bpm breaks tunes. A sacreligous as it seemed it was still a really well constructed set and the crowd we’re rightfully happy with it,  right until the very end.