Junction 2 – the first festival to offer London some serious techno. In June it will be the third edition of the festival, but this year, for the first time, LWE offered up two warm up parties, one at Tobacco Dock and one at Motion Bristol, for a full day and night session. Both occurred on the 10th of February, with the first taking place from noon till night at the infamous ex tobacco factory, and the second happening from dusk till dawn in the cavernous warehouse spaces of Motion Bristol. As much as we’d have loved to have attended both – our hands were tied – we realised it had been a little while since we’d headed down to the South West. So we packed a bag, hopped on the train, and allowed ourselves to be taken on a journey, right through the techno spectrum.

The lineup was stellar, featuring the likes of Scuba, Nina, Paula Temple, Luke Slater, and a back to back from Adam Beyer and Ida Engberg. There really were some outrageous tracks played, the kind that induce goosebumps in the rave and force you into feverish, no-holds-barred dancing. Whittling it down to our top three tracks was tough, very tough, but we did get there in the end. So here’s our top three tunes from the Junction 2 warm-up at Motion Bristol.

Track No. 1 – Wehbba (Unfold) – Second State Audio 

Scuba. Scuba, scuba, scuba. The head of Hotflush Recordings, a prolific producer, and a DJ who offers a different breed of techno. This was an absolute leveller, with a rolling up and down beep at the beginning, leading into an other-worldly vocal sample. Ethereal, robotic, demonic, whatever you want to call it: this is proper warehouse music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9GN_itp21Y

Track No. 2 – PTU (A Broken Clock is Right Twice a Day) – Trip

Oh Nina, why did you ever have to go, Nina. Putting the Ed Sheeran quotes aside, Nina Kraviz needs little in the way of introduction. So we’ll get straight into this teeming little number from PTU. It’s after 5am now, deep into the night, and Russia’s finest export delivers this. Fast; driving; minimal. Layers of futuristic sounds, given rhythm by hissing hi hats, and aided by intermittent electronic chirping. What could be better?

Track No. 3 – Paula Temple (Gegen) – Noise Mainfesto 

Old but gold. Some things get better with age, and that’s certainly the case with Paula Temple’s ‘Gegen’. Released in 2014 on Temple’s very own label, this one isn’t for the faint hearted. With whining synths giving way to quick paced claps, followed by the sudden introduction of a driving snare drum, this was certainly a tune to remember.

It was just past 5am that we ended up leaving, and, on a quick paced walk home, we all agreed the standout performance had to go to Luke Slater. The fact none of the tracks he played could be identified says a lot about his set. Seamless mixing, not just tune over tune, but a performance, as if it had been crafted and thought about. Slow paced moments, leading into quality crescendos, echoing the sentiments of a quality DJ who’s been active for nearly thirty years.

Well oiled, well organised, well executed. There’s no doubt Motion excelled themselves in the handling of this event. Sold out events can lead to some very sticky situations, especially in venues as large as Motion, but the whole rave moved like a well oiled machine. Hats off to everyone involved, this was a Junction 2 warm up not to be forgotten.

Junction 2 lands in London’s Boston Manor Park on June 9th. Fifth release tickets available here.

Photo Credit: Alastair Brookes for Entirety Labs.