CLUBS

How do you put together a great line-up? Ed Oliver finds out from the tussling minds behind Bloc.

Since its early manifestation in an attic above a nightclub in Norwich, Bloc has evolved into a Butlins-bashing behemoth, selling out holiday camps five years on the trot in its Weekender format and establishing itself as a bastion of the cutting edge of electronic dance music. Making its Bristol In:Motion debut on Friday 25 November, the brand rolls into town accompanied by long-time cohorts and Bristol bass ambassadors Subloaded and James Holden’s influential Border Community.

As we’ve come to expect from the hosts, the line-up is typically well executed, covering most angles of their sonic paradigm, whilst also mindful of the city they are entering and its musical lineage. Bloc founding member George Hull explains: “Artists are everything to us, and without really noticing it we spend pretty much all of our time in the office and late into the night picking line-ups, just by playing music increasingly loudly at each other and arguing about who's putting out the best kind of so-and-so these days, or whether or not wotsit's actually pushing the boundaries of whatever-step.

“What this dedication to the imposition of form onto the swirling forces of underground music leaves us with are many, many lists. So when In:Motion phone us up to invite us to bring the Bloc to Bristol, we can say: ‘Bristol? I stayed up till 5am this morning locked in mortal combat compiling a list of perfectly balanced future-dubstep pioneers and synthetic technoid experimentalists, taking care to tune my selection into the precise point on the dub/techno continuum Bristol is locked into at this moment in time. It'll make the perfect line-up. You're on.’”

Dubsteppers will be pleased to see Bristol boys-done-good Joker and Gemmy bringing their futuristic stylings to the Subloaded arena, alongside the deeper sounds of Dutch producers Martyn and 2652, and Mancunian bass alchemist Illum Sphere.

Al Tourettes is a name familiar to Bristolian crowds and Bloc-goers alike, and one whose profile has risen exponentially over the past year. Expect intelligent and uncompromising beats from him and Bloc’s own Jo Hart, and a hefty dose of acid-saturated electronics from Placid and the always-impressive Luke Vibert (pictured).

Completing the line-up, Border Community touch down with a roster of the imprint’s top exports. Label boss James Holden is joined by Nathan Fake, Luke Abbott and Fairmont, providing a showcase that will no doubt traverse everything from peak-time techno to abstract electronica.Having recently announced the end of its reign at Butlins Minehead and the imminent revelation of its new home for 2012 and beyond, this appearance at In:Motion promises to be an excellent precursor to an exciting new chapter in the Bloc story.

IN:MOTION – BLOC WAS AT MOTION, BRISTOL FRI 25 NOV. FFI. http://www.bristolinmotion.com/

Copyright Ed Oliver 2011