British dubstep artist, Flux Pavilion, real name Joshua Steele, visited Lincoln’s Engine Shed as part of a UK-wide tour, on Tuesday, October 16th.
The set was a first peek at Flux Pavilion’s new material for many Lincoln fans, as well as a chance to enjoy his more well-known hits such as “Bass Cannon” and “I Can’t Stop.”
Support on the night came from Brown and Gammon, who kicked off the night with a good mix of underground beats and basslines.
American dub artist, Dillon Francis followed, who showcased a set mixing dubstep beats with a heavier side of well-known anthems. The highlight of the set was a darker version of an A-Trak remix of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Heads Will Roll,” which instantly had hands in the air.
With the audience well and truly warmed up, lasers flickered out over the crowd and a panorama of screens behind the DJ decks lit up with graphics, ready for Flux Pavilion.
After a few words to the Lincoln crowd and the Flux Pavilion logo behind him, Steele jumped straight onto the decks, totally engrossed in mixing together tracks.
He wasted no time going into his heavy beats, taunting the crowd by mixing in snatches of 2011 hit, “Bass Cannon,” before dropping it properly, and the crowd screaming as they recognised the beat.
It didn’t take long for the crowd to get lively, with hands thrust into the air and heads nodding down at the ground – helped along with stage effects and smoke cannons whenever a heavy beat dropped.
“Hold Me Close,” from the 2010 “Lines In Wax” EP, quietened the crowd for a moment with almost haunting electronic notes, before picking up the pace and the bassline kicking in.
The backdrop of electronic screens behind Flux Pavilion heightened the energy of the music, showing stunning visuals and colourful graphics for more euphoric songs, along with a strobe-like effect for faster beats.
The set saw Flux Pavilion mix much of his own material with well-known heavy dubstep sounds, even treating the crowd to what he called a: “Lincoln exclusive” of his new single, “Do or Die,” featuring Childish Gambino.
Flux also showed off a remix of his 2012 single, “Daydreamer” featuring Example, hyping the crowd even more.
However, he also kept a light-hearted side to the set, playing the more mainstream, fun and slightly laughable, “Internet Friends” by Knife Party, with lyrics that mimic obsessive stalking on social networking sites between a heavy electro beat.
At one point during the set, a song cut out. Flux laughed: “Let’s try that again, shall we?” The crowd simply got even louder, as he started over and mixed the track back in twice as hard.
“Got 2 Know” was followed up with the 2012 hit, “I Can’t Stop.” However, also well known for remixing big names in the industry, Flux Pavilion played out his remix of Nero’s “Crush on You,” with its electro eighties pop beat sparking some two-stepping amongst the crowd.
One particular highlight was when Flux shouted to the crowd: “Lincoln, who has heard of Jungle?” before blasting out a jungle-esque remix of The Prodigy’s “Smack My Bitch Up.”
Making sure the crowd were well and truly finished off, Flux shouted: “Anyone feeling tired and want me to stop?” Following a resounding “no!” from the crowd, he went straight back onto the decks to finish the set with a crescendo of big basslines.
Flux Pavilion left the stage with the audience still chanting, until there was tapping on the mic and Steele’s voice came over the speakers from backstage. He coughed awkwardly before saying: “Lincoln, are you still there? What were you saying? You’ve got to be louder than that to make me come down these stairs again!”
He took to the stage once again for an unexpected encore, finishing off the set with his remix of “Golddust” by DJ Fresh.
Despite the dubstep genre itself facing criticism from hardened music fans and critics alike, Flux Pavilion is definitely one to watch. And after sets like this, he is worth his weight in gold to Lincoln fans.