Eat Your Own Ears return to Warehouse Project for star studded anniversary show
Eat Your Own Ears returned for an expectedly star-studded anniversary show in Manchester’s iconic Depot Mayfield, as part of The Warehouse Project 2022.
Since missing Floating Point’s & Ben UFO’s five hour set at last year’s Curated by Four Tet event, I’d been itching to see both the skilled, revered DJs. The biggest draw of Eat Your Own Ears? For me, Floating Points back-to-back with electronic legend Four Tet. A musical match made in heaven, and a raver’s dream come true. Whilst I’m still yet to see Ben UFO, I do have one more ticked off the ever-growing list, in the ever-evolving electronic landscape.
Every time I’ve seen Four Tet, I’ve been astonished. His blend of crowd pleasers, heavy speaker shakers, and mellow cuts always translates perfectly to the packed crowds. He’s always on top form, whether he’s playing PinkPantheress and Blackpool Grime for thousands at Parklife, or playing fan favourites Baby and his remix of Sugababes’ Overload last year at the Depot. Seeing him alongside Floating Points was an opportunity not to be missed. In fact, in my Four Tet review last year, I even said “It’s just been announced that Four Tet and Floating Points are going back-to-back at Avant Gardner in New York, and if our student loans were coming in any sooner, we’d be on the next flight” – good thing I didn’t splash out on that then.
But, to reduce the event to just those two names would be ridiculous – the resume of top shelf talent was endless… Daphni, Overmono, Two Shell, Joy Orbison, TSHA, DJ Seinfeld, I. Jordan, Leon Vynehall, John Glacier, Romy, Jayda G, and Folamour all under one roof is just a testament to the incredibly versatile electronic scene in 2022. All those names on one line up is quite the jaw dropper, so we feel lucky to have been in attendance.
Arriving an hour before doors closed was definitely a bad idea, with seemingly everyone with a guest pass in the press queue – because of our own mistakes, this unfortunately meant we missed what we’ve heard was a phenomenal set from Joy Orbison, just rubbing salt in the wound for missing John Glacier earlier that day too (fingers crossed they’re both back next year…they probably will be, right?).
From roughly 8pm to 4am, the old, converted train depot was our home for the night, as we embraced all the equally ground-breaking (and ground shaking) sounds roaring from each stage. With sounds ranging from UK bass, IDM, techno, house, 140bpm, UK Hip Hop and breakbeat, it was a truly unforgettable experience.
Starting off the night, we thought we’d catch a little bit of DJ Seinfeld, performing his latest LP Mirrors live – definitely a standout from this year. It was the perfect setting to hear his world of music come to life, but as much as we were having fun, we couldn’t miss what was going on one stage over.
One of the best sets of the night was at Concourse from Caribou alias Daphni, and it was the second set we saw. Whilst I’m still devastated that I missed the opening WHP ceremony with Bonobo and Caribou (who stay firmly at the top of my list of DJs to see), this helped soften the blow a little. If any DJ plays Floating Points remix of Headie One & Skepta’s Back To Basics, I’m immediately won over – that song gets crowds going like nothing else, as does Adam F’s Circles, which he played a heavy, heavy remix of.
This was followed by catching a pretty magical glimpse of The xx star Romy, who performed tracks like Lifetime, and Fred again…’s Lights Out. It definitely captured the crowd’s attention, who let loose to the blissful soundscapes she delivered. We then snuck off to the absolutely packed Archive to see Two Shell, the secretive duo whose identities remain a mystery (they’re not Disclosure, or any other rumour you’ve heard spreading, apparently). The current Banksy’s of electronic, their set was expectedly hypnotising, especially when getting to hear tracks like Ghosts and Pods in the murky atmosphere of Archive.
Following this we managed to catch the last 20 minutes of TSHA over at Depot, who unpredictably spun a heavy selection of 140bpm and grime bangers – quite the contrast from her most recent LP.
Maybe the best set of the night though, was from Overmono, who were excitingly doing a live set. Playing every Overmono gem, and saving the best tunes till last, we got right up to the barriers, as members of security took pictures of people amongst the crowd from various fans phones. Of course, one standout moment came in the form of their remix of I Have A Love, even bringing out For Those I Love who stood in front of the decks and delivered a heartfelt performance of the poignant track. Another standout was the classic So U Kno, one of the best electronic tracks in recent years, and one that definitely had the crowd going crazy. The transitions were amazing, the visuals were glittering, and it would be hard to follow up for Four Tet and Floating Points…
The two DJs (Four Tet + Floating Points) made their way on to the stage, setting up for their performance as hundreds cheered for the iconic duo. For whatever reason though, as much as we were having a great time, as each DJ tried to one up the other’s track selection in a healthy competitive manner, the bass on the sound system was very overpowering, to the point that you almost couldn’t hear or differentiate the music. The tracks were explosive though, and it was exciting to see the pair together for a unique performance. Maybe the highlight of the set was Four Tet teasing everyone with his beloved track Looking at your Pager (that remained unreleased for painfully long) released under pseudonym KH. I do feel that they were slightly overshadowed by the energy brought by Overmono and Daphni, though (but I am ecstatic to see Four Tet at Alexandra Palace next year).
The best thing about the event, for me, was that it brought people from all across the country to see the crazy line-up, I pretty much bumped into everyone and their nan – people I hadn’t seen in years from home that had made their way to Manchester for this event.
The Warehouse Project is maybe the best series of club nights going in the UK, so don’t miss out, as the events only come around seasonally. Make sure you come to Manchester this December for your last chance this year. I’ve been to six of their events over 2021-2022 and each of them has made me seriously impressed, and I can’t wait to go back this weekend.
Check out the rest of the talent WHP has to offer before the year ends here.
