This Is Guernsey

By Emily Burden

DJ Smellz always get the crowd dancing (0592814)

Friday of last week brought you your monthly fix of drum’n’bass sounds from Dub Sessions.

It was a night which focused on showcasing talent rather than concentrating on a big name – so it made a nice change to really get stuck in with the island’s best DJs.

Pressure, Smellz, Arby and B-Long packed their record cases with some heavy tunes and all played really vigorous sets.

Rogues was empty at first, but it soon filled and the crowd, as always, were really getting into it.

Kicking things off back to back were Arby and Pressure.

Arby likes to play a loud and progressive set, throwing a record bag of goodies right in your face and serving you tracks to lose yourself to. He seems to be picking up some more flavours each time he plays and you can clearly see his confidence behind the decks growing.

I have always been a fan of Pressure’s style – intelligent d’n’b. He plays tunes with heavy, rolling beats that you can feel vibrating through your body. He has a real knack of keeping it raw but fresh at the same time and the thing that makes you enjoy his set even more is knowing that he has a real passion for what he does. When he mixes he seems to get into a ‘zone’.

For me, however, the night went to Smellz.

She really pulled it out of the bag and stepped up. The night highlighted how much she is standing her own in a scene that is filled with testosterone. She plays real jump-up, bouncy d’n’b, which always gets the crowd dancing.

Keeping it dirty and in your face, there is no messing about with her sets.

The crowd had noticed her improvement: comments included, ‘Smellz has graduated, I’m impressed,’ and, ‘As the only female playing in the game: power to her.’

She seems to enjoy it as well, which is good as it’s an incentive for the crowd to get into it.

B-Long was up next and he played some absolute filth (by the way, that’s a good thing). To describe it as heavy, dirty and grimy just doesn’t do it justice. He doesn’t play out as much as he should, but when he does he is really up-front.

B-Long has a love for the flat-out, techy, loud sounds and his experience from playing for around six or seven years shows.

The thing I admire most about B-Long is that he isn’t a crowd-pleasing DJ.

He plays what he wants and doesn’t really care if people are feeling it – he has a pure love for the noise he creates and people do dig it.

Again, another good night, filled with some fresh.

• Thirsty for more? A big night from Dub Sessions is not far away now – it’s bringing over special guest Loxy and the always-welcomed MC Joker-D. Supporting is Pressure, Arby and, returning to our shores, Hydro, on Friday 4 July.