Liverpool Sound City 2016: Leftfield, DJ Koze, Mount Kimbie, Floating Points & more

Leftfield

Spending his day at the Baltic Warehouse, Getintothis’ dance columnist Ste Knight was entirely in his element.

It’s fair to say that big things were expected of this year’s Baltic Warehouse line-up. It’s fair to say big things were delivered. With a roster that packed punches instead of pulling them, Freeze illustrated to all present why they’re such a success. And why they were employed.

Derek Kaye booted things off in fine style, with his inimitable disco-tinged house doctoring. The only complaint here being that with proceedings starting at 12 noon, the massive warehouse was empty, meaning Derek‘s set went largely unheard. A real shame for those that missed out.

What followed was a series of peaks and troughs, as Âme switched the tempo up a notch with some tough techno to get the warehouse rumbling, a theme which was continued in Mano Le Tough‘s performance (questionable footwear aside).

Be sure to check out the rest of our Sound City 2016 coverage here.

Floating Points gave the crowd a real spectacle. Playing material based largely around his latest album, we were treated to an astounding live show (with real instruments and everything) which gave more than a nod towards the post-rock sensibilities of Godspeed! and Mogwai, as well as retaining the wavy electronica sound that Points has more recently turned to.

Mount Kimbie‘s set was a little on the disappointing side, as he flitted between musical styles somewhat clumsily at times, and struggled to pick the pace back up again in the warehouse. DJ Koze managed to set things on fire again with his turn at the wheels.

Leftfield, however, blew the water clean out of the Mersey with a fully live set that exceeded expectation. Eschewing the decks in favour of his keys, and various other modules, Neil Barnes stormed through a set featuring tracks old and new – Phat Planet and Afrika Shox both making an appearance. Barnes had hands raised in supplication – a true legend, and a truly legendary performance.

Pictures by Getintothis’ Ryan Jafarzadeh, Marty Saleh and Mark Holmes.