Event Review: On The Beach Brighton Presents Carl Cox
From Friday 22nd July to Sunday 24th July On The Beach events took over Brighton sea-front for a 3-day bonanza of events, which included a Friday headliner of Fatboy Slim, a Saturday headliner of Carl Cox, and a Sunday headliner of Andy C. It’s safe to say the south-coast was in for a treat with multiple musical maestro’s spinning tunes behind the wheels of steel! I was fortunate to acquire VIP tickets for the Saturday, Carl Cox’s day, and he bought along with him an all-star cast of Kieran Bradley, Russell Small who has 30+ years of DJ experience, Chelina Manuhutu who also celebrated her birthday on the day and lastly, Nic Fanciulli – the man behind Saved Records, another industry legend.
I got into the venue at approx. 1545, halfway through Russell Small’s set, and he played the perfect warm-up set, it was not full of heavy-hitters, and he was able to get the crowd grooving and singling along, by entwining infectious vocal-driven remixes of hits including ‘Basement Jaxx – Do Your Thing’ and also ‘Kings Of Tomorrow – Finally’ into his set. Other tracks which worked well in his set was ‘Ewan McVicar – Tell Me Something Good’ and ‘CASSIMM – Boca Linda’. I personally think playing the perfect warm-up set is a hard task, as you have to set the tone early, and not get the crowd over-hyped before the grand finale – Carl Cox. Kudos Russell.
Following on from Russell Small was Amsterdam-born, Ibiza-based DJ/producer Chelina Manuhutu, and as previously said she celebrated her birthday whilst spinning on Carl Cox’s event, that alone is one of the best presents you could ask. She played a more Tech House driven set which included Armando’s ‘Kinky In The Corner’ and also the Robert Armani, DJ Skip Zonum S&S Remix of ‘Military Science’. She also teased her upcoming release on Solardo’s ‘Sola Records’ in her set too. The tunes in her set were a good step-up from Russell’s quality warm-up set, they were more rousing.
Next up was Maidstone local Nic Fanciulli, a DJ/producer with an elite reputation; his producing achievements include a Grammy nomination, hits on Defected, his own Saved imprint, whilst as a DJ he has held down multiple Ibiza residencies/outings at events including ‘La Famalia’ and ‘ANTS’ at Ushuaia, Circo Loco at DC10 too , whilst he also shut down Space Ibiza as the final set in the club via a 6-hour B2B set with the headlining man himself – Carl Cox.
Nic’s set delivered the goods; he showcased his multiple genre knowledge, and also was able to keep the energy flowing,and growing, early standout tracks included a bit of Jackin House and Tech House from ‘Mochakk Feat. Joni – Da Fonk’ and Lexlay’s ‘Bassdown (CASSIMM Remix)’ before showcasing his own studio work via his ‘B Beat Girls – For The Same Man’ remix, and then more heavy-hitting tunes including ‘Skream & Jackmaster – The Attention Deficit Track’ and ‘Massano – This Feeling’ and a bit of nostalgia by dropping the Brigado Crew remix of ‘Oxia – Domino’.
Finally, after an epic set from Nic, it was time for the main man himself – Carl Cox, a true ambassador to the music industry, an acid house veteran, the techno king, a truedance music pioneer, there are so many superlatives to describe this man who also spent part of his career residing in Brighton as a teenager too. A local legend.
Carl’s set was a true musical journey through multiple genres, and he got the crowd moving early on with some Jackin House/Disco vibes via ‘Don’t Touch The Boogie (Pinto NYC’s One Two Edit)’ and some catchy Tech House tracks from Mark Knight & James Hurr and Crusy, both on Toolroom Records.
Carl also added more reminiscence by dropping the Joel Corry sample of ‘Da Hool – Meet Her At Love Parade’, whilst he was able to weave other classic vocals including ‘Whaere’s Your Head At’ and ‘Music Sounds Better with you’ into tracks too, to get the crowd singing along, DJ/crowd engagement at it’s finest.
Carl then went innn on the crowd in true Carl style, full of energy and intensity, there was big tribal drums from Belocca, infectious piano cords from a ‘Very Chic Blackman (Horatio Remix)’, the classic Peak Time Techno via ‘Josh Wink – Balls Back (Marco Faraone Remix)’ and he also dropped his own remix of ‘Burns – Talamanca’ which features string work, lots of percussion, and the catch vocal. As Carl would say himself ‘Oh yes, Oh yes’.
I also want to say a thank you to the staff who were on-site working throughout the day, including the people in the ticket office who were quick, polite and efficient in getting us into the event ASAP, the stewards were also helpful with access queries, whilst the staff in the accessibility area were caring when my partner had to take a time-out as the mass amounts of people, approx. 8k became a bit too much for her, it was also her first rave too.
Overall, I would rate my experience at On The Beach Brighton for Carl Cox as the perfect day event for any music enthusiast, the weather was sunshine – hot, the drink prices were affordable, transport to/from the event was easy, the line-up for the event was A*, a blend of up-and-coming talent, to established world-class superstars, whilst every person looked super happy to be at the event too. Registration for the 2023 is already live, so get involved next year – https://onthebeachbrighton.com/.
