Catherine Sinclair-Jones
I think it’s fair to say that the prospect of Skream descending on Micklegate was pretty surreal and very, very
exciting…At only 21, the Croydon born DJ has already established himself as one of the best dubstep producers in the world, so the chance to see the man himself on York soil was not to be missed. Herbal Mafia and Breakz have brought a wide range of underground acts to Ziggy’s over the last few years, and with a varied support line-up of dubstep, mashup and DnB DJs including Signus, Brothers Grime, and Spoonfed to name but a few the night promised to be one to remember. After a diverse and energetic warm-up set mixing everything from Digital Mystikz and Loefah to darker material including 16Bit and Reso it was time for the man of the hour, and as expected Skream did not disappoint. In a fast-paced and expertly mixed set, Skream quickly reminded the crowd of his incredible versatility, balancing subtler, softer tracks like I and Too Much Sushi with heavier hits Chest Boxing and Aggy Face. By the time he dropped the now iconic In For The Kill remix to an ecstatic audience. Everything was sweating on an unprecedented scale, even for Ziggy’s, with the glistening audience, DJ, walls and ceiling creating the feeling of an increasingly messy underwater cave rave. The end of Skream’s session was met with a great reaction from an impressively diverse crowd, with students and locals alike showing their appreciation for what was surely one of the best dubstep sets ever to be played in York. The follow up from Signus, although definitely a lot mellower, met with a good reaction and kept the crowd going merrily and sweatily along until close. With what had been a truly breath-taking range of dubstep over 6 hours, the night definitely rose to the challenge of living up to its much hyped expectations, and sent us home trying to get our heads round the fact that yes, we had just seen Skream in Ziggy’s.