Event Review: Future x Release – Third Party @ Ministry of Sound, London
On Friday October 4th, London’s Ministry of Sound, a place where people can dance the night away in one of the first London-based venues to prioritise having a top-tier sound-system was set to be taken over by Jonnie Macair and Harry Bass, AKA Third Party, and they were to host a ‘Release’ night in dedication to their record label ‘Release Records’ in collaboration with Future events.
Third Party’s career has always been on an upward trajectory since it launched, and once they both graduated from a London-based music school they were taken under the wing of Steve Angello’s ‘SIZE Records’, and during their mentoring by the Swedish House Mafia member they pumped out progressive anthems including ‘Release’, ‘Feel’ and ‘Everyday of My Life’ which earnt them a reputation as upcoming talents in the music industry to keep an eye on for the future.
After firmly cementing their name in dance music via Size Records as ones to watch, Third Party launched ‘Release Records’, which allowed them to stretch their wings more artistically, and via their imprint they have released two studio albums, ‘Hope’ during 2017, and also ‘Together’ during 2019. Both of these albums epitomised their signature sound; progressive, melodic, and laced with catchy top-lines, with highlight tracks including ‘Live Forever’, ‘Veins’, and ‘Remember’.
When they aren’t assembling anthemic albums in the studio, they can be heard mustering solid solos including ‘Believe’, ‘Thee Chords (Feel So High)’, or ‘Joy’ or solid collabs with artists inc. Dutch-dons Martin Garrix via ‘Lions In The Wild’ or ‘Carry You’ or Nicky Romero via ‘For The People’ and ‘Bad Boy’, or overseeing the development of artist associated with Release Records including Stevie Krash and Pete K.
For Third Party’s ‘Release’ night at Mininistry of Sound, London, they were joined by special guests; the Netherlands Dubvision, and Release regulars Corey James and Pete K, who all played The Box [the main room], which has a world-renown sound system to compliment the all-star line-up. The 103, where emerging artists get to break through to new audiences featured Stevie Krash, Mark Roma, Ben Wood, Medcraft and the man himself; DJ/actor Kristian Nairn, AKA Hodor from Game Of Thrones who recently released his book entitled ‘Beyond The Throne’.
Favourite highlights of Third Party’s set was their ability to read a room and know when to play a club-banger, something progressive, but peak-time, and examples in their set included ‘In My Mind (Axwell Mix), their ‘Like This’ with Pete K and Cory Lasser, or their ‘Bad Boy’ collab with Nicky Romero. These tracks raise the roof, and amass more energy from the crowd to keep the night flowing.
I do feel that Third Party really do come into a realm of their own when they showcase their melodic/progressive tracks which feature memorable vocals, and to me, these tunes are their ‘crem de la crem’. They build you up emotionally in the melody, they make you sing along, and when the drop hits it makes you feel ecstatic. My favourites in their set on the night included ‘Remember’, ‘Joy’, and ‘Everyday Of My Life’.
What I also enjoyed about Third Party’s DJ Set was their ability to weave in classic vocals by bootlegging them into their tracks, including ‘Delrium – Silence’ over ‘Veins’, or ‘The Chemical Brothers – Hey Boy, Hey Girl’ over ‘For The People’ or adding ‘Everything The Girl – Missing’ too into another track too. It’s these extra details and efforts they put into their sets which make the next tune cued up on the musical journey an adventure into the unknown, suspense.
There was also plenty of astonishment for attendees and this included a surprise B2B DJ’ing between Third Party and Dubvision; it’s moments like this which take you by surprise as you get to see two world-class artists DJ together and bounce their styles off each-other to create unique musical moments, a proper ‘you had to be there moment’. They also teased future music releases through a rumoured collab with Mark Roma, and also gave another of their new ID’s ‘Human’ another run-out in their set which graced their Creamfields set recently too.
From an artistic perspective, I also respect that Third Party haven’t jumped on the bandwagon of every Dance music trend to try stay relevant during their glowing career. I’ve seen situations where artists producing predominantly big-room EDM switch to Techno or Afro House to remain relevant, not cool, poor MGMT. You really do have to appreciate Third Party for not being a genre-hopper, they stuck to what they know best – Progressive House, and now they are considered by many as one of the best purveyors of Progressive House currently in the music industry. Consistent quality.
Overall, I feel my night with Third Party was A*, their popularity was justified by a sell-out night, and I also feel what separates Third Party’s ‘Release’ night to other club night at Ministry of Sound is the fact that the majority of the attendees are proper passionate about Third Party and their Progressive House exploits. Third Party have garnered a cult-following and when you are in the crowds of a packed-out ‘Box’ you can feel the energy and passion radiating in unity between Third Party and the attendees, attendees singing their infections vocals, and embracing those ‘hands in the air’ euphoric drops which are complimented my mesmerizing melodies. Unity.
