Friday night had come around again, and it was the night for us to finally head down to Canvas nightclub – known mainly for their infamous event Substance – New Age Drum and Bass. We were ready to see the likes of Nicky Blackmarket, a DJ I admittedly haven’t listened to much before. Alongside Jaydan, another DJ I hadn’t even heard of, but after a quick Soundcloud search, we hyped over the fact it was indeed… jump up.

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As we headed down there, I was intrigued as to what would be coming for us. I knew they had a sick sound system, but apart from that I didn’t know what to expect. We paid £5 on the door to get in, which is probably the cheapest I’ve paid for an event in Leicester. Even Rigidig Soundz was more expensive and there were no DJs there that I had heard of.

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The venue was nothing like I expected, immediately you go in and climb stairs that takes you to one room. A small one at that – but I didn’t care too much about it, as we were greeted by lovely bass, and some trippy lights. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of a crowd, but I definitely expected this given the drum and bass experiences I’ve had in Leicester.

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Jaydan kicked off the night for us, and wow it was so much dirtier than I expected. It was pure filth, and with probably the best sound system in Leicester, it was a sound combination. For me, I always wish there is a bigger crowd because it gets you so much more hyped. But this time, I didn’t really care… we were all skanking so much that if there was a bigger crowd then I wouldn’t have been able to stand the heat.

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After his hour set, we managed to snag a photo with him. Given that though, we were right at the front of a small crowd, so it wasn’t hard. I hate to say it, but apart from the group of 4 lads I was with, we were probably the only students there. It raises a question, WHERE IS THE STUDENTS? Surely we aren’t the only 5 students in the whole of Leicester that like jump up? Well… I already know the answer to that question. We simply aren’t. Marc Pantling, who runs the event, does as much promotion as he can, but students aren’t looking hard enough for it.

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Nicky Blackmarket also did an hour set, and it was again, pure filth. I regretted wearing jeans that night because it was so hot. It was great there being such a small crowd because you would get moments of eye contact with the renowned DJ during a dirty drop, and you’d just smirk at each other. After his set, we managed to get a photo with him – admittedly we all look sweaty and messy, but I wasn’t going to turn it down.

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All in all, it was SUCH a good night. After all, it’s impossible to have a bad night when jump up is involved. I find that with bassline events, the reloads just piss me off and become too much. But at Canvas, they were subtle and didn’t occur often… which is golden – especially in comparison to the Warehouse Rave the previous week that reloaded the same tune twice. This event has introduced me to Jaydan which was madness, and I look forward to seeing Nicky Blackmarket again in a couple weeks’ time. Major big up to Substance!