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On entering the secret location of Grand Theft Audio, which I can now reveal was the LeftLion base camp of The Corner, I was shocked at the transformation of the place. There was a seriously gritty vibe going on, with UV paint highlighting all the amazing artwork from Tekonta Secta and a DJ booth on the stage making the artists look like kings of the ones and twos, all encompassed by camo-style netting and dazzling lights.
For the majority of the evening, the beautifully clad main room was rather empty - not because the place was dead, but because the outside area had outdone itself. After grabbing a cheap drink from the bar and having a humble lone boogie to all shades of electronic music being spun by J.Matta, we ventured out to an inner city oasis of lovely people and nice vibes.
Despite what the weatherman had forewarned, the evening was warm and toasty. There were loads of little areas to cotch and everyone was having a relaxed natter with laughter ringing out from every group. Laura Decorum was decorating everyone’s faces with twists on logos and other pretty stuff; 3C’z had the barbecue fired up, much to the joy of all nostrils and taste buds; and everyone seemed to be having a great night. There were even projected images on the upper walls, putting you somewhere between Vegas and some free party you find yourself at come 5am.
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Throughout the night, we dipped in and out of the unoccupied dance floor. With all ticket holders enjoying catching up with fellow Nottingham family members so much, Fel Dem and One Bomb were slept on a lot. The tunes all kept a solid theme of a house cum dubstep rave with touches of each DJ’s taste woven into the sets – the chilled atmosphere that was created outside was a bit disjointed with what was laid down inside, but all technical ingredients were in place for a night of satisfying, sweaty skanking.
When 1st Blood took to the stage, everyone decided to migrate inside and the dancing began. With the four emcees rapping to some seriously groovy, face-twisting beats, it would have been impossible not to stir up at least a few nodding heads – with drinks flowing and plenty of people havin’ it out, the evening began to take its intended form, albeit a little later than expected. Each emcee in 1st Blood brings his own feel to the quartet, and they all merged together beautifully in hatching a lively, knees-up warmth that rippled throughout the room.
Leygo finished up the evening with a set of big beats and heavyweight mixing. By this point, everyone was jollily swaying and the early(ish) finish meant people could hit the hay to do it all again the next day. Apparently the turnout wasn’t amazing due to the already festival-heavy weekend and shaky weather start to the day which is unfortunate, but some amazing art was produced and there were appearances from an extensive list of Nottingham artists. Cutlass fired things up, then Yahma and ARJ took to the stage before Magowan, the NG64 crew, Leetabix and Ashmore, Echo and Sub:Conscious, Mimm DJs and the Phlexx crew. With Motormouf hosting the whole two days, and snippets of his expert beatboxing skills chucked in for good measure, everyone in attendance was suitably riled up in smiles.
There’s a lot of potential for Grand Theft Audio. I really enjoyed the chilled out atmosphere and having some decent music to melt into. It was the first of what will hopefully be many to come, and once the creases are ironed out I’m sure it’ll be a regular shenanigan-filled shindig.
Grand Theft Audio was at The Corner on Friday 6 - Saturday 7 June
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