Since transforming into a 6,000 capacity dance music location, East London’s grimey warehouse venue, Printworks, has changed the face of the electronic scene. Where glitzy super clubs ruled supreme during ‘the EDM boom’, numerous underground venues have since seen a resurgence, with modern day ravers now preferring the gruff authenticity of such spectacles, over popping bottles and sparkler-clad champagne served by swinging BBLs with faux rabbit tail. February 2023 heralded the much anticipated UK return of deadmau5. Making fleeting visits to the Brexit-voting island, the Mau5 – real name Joel Zimmerman, showcased his ‘cube v3’ show to a rowdy Brixton last year, including performances at the likes of Creamfields South, but fans would have to travel all the way back to 2018 for Joel’s last headline performance in Printworks, a venue inspired by the the minimalistic German techno genre which has dominated the city of Berlin for decades.
Sadly, like all good things, the end is near for the Canada Water warehouse, with 2023 confirmed as the final season of the Surrey Quays venue’s more-than-half-decade reign through London nightlife. Going out with a bang, hoards of ravers piled through the former loading bay, where lorries would pick up freshly printed newspapers from the now slowly-dying newspaper print trade, and into the grungy, yet staggering, main room. With support acts OCULA and Volaris both bringing shuddering beats to the steel-clad Cathedral of dance, each bass rippled rebounded perfectly off neck-strain inducing high-ceiling, making way for Chicago-born superstar, Kaskade. The U.S producer and DJ, who has regularly teamed up with the mau5 in the bread of their sandwich-esque career(s), made his name with collaborations such as ‘Move For Me’ and ‘I Remember‘ all the way back in 2008. But these days, the duo have reunited once more under their Kx5 alias, becoming the hottest property in dance music today. Blitzing their way to the summit of the industry last year with Dancing Astronaut’s ‘Track of the Year’, ‘Escape’ (which later received a scrumptious John Summit remix), all eyes are now on their eagerly anticipated forthcoming Kx5 album.
After a beautifully potent mix of intoxicating emotion and euphoria, thanks to tracks like ‘Disarm You’ and ‘Atmosphere’, Kaskade bowed out to rapturous applause, and Printworks was plunged into darkness – albeit briefly – as jaw-dropping visuals began to shoot lights into the crowd as the narrow silhouette of deadmau5 emerged. Lacing the first quarter of his set with the deep techno sounds of his Testpilot alter-ego, a sound fitting for such a venue, stunning strobes illuminated the darkness in a style that only Pryda’s HOLO show could rival. Through a smattering of IDs and Kx5 teasers, the lights started to rise up, the visuals moved from atmospheric and brooding, to in-your-face and animated, as a cacophony of roars greeted the moment the giant mouse ears and bulging LED eyes of Joel’s Mau5-head burnt a never-ending stare through the crowd. The biggest cheer of the evening was reserved for the introduction of ‘Raise Your Weapon’, a frenetic finale from the Canadian as it rang around the press halls. Fully selling out the 6,000 capacity, deadmau5 x Kaskade‘s Printworks show not only served up a smorgasbord of Kx5 starters for all to feast on, but also became the blueprint for the level of effort all artists should be placing on their live shows when it comes to providing fans with a visual spectacular. If this, as we suspect, to be the final ever show at this venue from this duo, then the memory of it is one that will stay with most for an eternity.
