As 2018 drew to a close, I stood in front of the Electrikal Soundsystem in Old Crown Court, Bristol, and thought to myself, ‘is there anywhere else I’d rather be?’, the answer was a firm no. 

 

Timewarp brought together an absolute belter of a night, with 7 venues to get yourself lost in it was definitely way more of an experience rather than a music event. The rooms split off from the courtyard that interlinked them in the centre: then you could find yourself walking downwards to The Island and the Prison Cells. The place was one confusing maze. 

 

I spent a vast amount of time between 11pm-2am in The Station, for the destruction that was the V Records takeover: Bryan Gee b2b Krust b2b Jumping Jack Frost. Prior to this, I thought I had heard a dirty tune or two in my time, although this set welcomed a plethora of rankness that I really didn’t expect. The stage production was really impressive on this stage in particular, however, this could be said about every stage there. 

 

The place was filled with friendly faces and, in general, was a rather pleasant atmosphere. Unfortunately this couldn’t be said about all aspects of the night. One of my friends got punched by some random guy, we also experienced quite a few sketchy incidents with people starting fights on bouncers and such like. Nevertheless we never let that ruin our time. 

 

Courtroom 2 was home to the bassline and the gun fingers, this area wasn’t such a sweaty pit so it was a nice relief to bounce about to some wonkiness without catching people’s sweat flinging from their hair. 

 

The venue was packed out although it didn’t seem overly crowded in the stages, the courtyard was a proper squeeze but that enhanced the intensity and overall murky atmosphere. The contrast of disgusting, howling drum and bass to the jolly, laid-back jams of the disco stages, invited a great spectacle of opposing musical genres. 

 

Ray Keith was in the Court Room 1 stage from midnight to 1am, and you could really feel the energy in that room. There’s nothing more powerful than full crowd involvement in a set, it was nothing but pure love for the music.

 

Overall, Timeworn absolutely smashed it with this event: in terms of stage production, sound systems and artists. What a fantastic way to bring in the new year. 

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Matthew Knight

January 3rd 2018