Amenti Presents James Zabiela at Poison Apple, Bournemouth

Bournemouth’s teeming nightlife always has new and exciting events cropping up. This time it was turn of brand new events company Amenti to take charge of Poison Apple’s bunker. Amenti choose Southampton boy James Zabiela; a well-rounded tech/house producer. Amenti aims to pick quality lineups aimed at bringing revellers the best in dance music, and not all focused on musical genre. This evokes the quality of the company’s event production, hand-making strobe boxes, and wooden Amenti logos. Certainly giving them something different to shout about in Bournemouth somewhat overcrowded dance events scene. Speaking to Amenti owner Amir Ezhaghzadeh he says, ‘We don’t care if you are a music head or if you know nothing about the scene. As long as you leave with a smile and tired legs!’

James Zabiela made his mark on dance music with a style of breakbeat and house music fusion, but is now regarded as a house/techno producer and DJ. Zabiela is the DJ’s DJ; a bonafide master of digital sound looping, scratching and technical transitions. At a James Zabiela set you’re not going to get rage-faced, but you’ll be treated with a eloquent sounding, groovy and artistic performance. One that is chilled, but will keep you dancing all the night long. He is not a man who falters behind the decks as each move and motion is deliberate, accomplishing everything from triggering new beats to modulating sounds. And, although James’ visual element may be stark compared to some DJs, Amenti well placed strobes, and Poison Apple’s array of ceiling lights certainly made up for this. Zabiela was also involved with the development of Pioneer’s Nexus 2000 CDJs, an industry standard used by all great DJs today. This proves further James’ musical and producing talents.

Zabiela’s set was one of greatness. Nice to see a DJ prove his worth with a two hour set. His list of song choices cleverly used tech/house tracks, as well as mixing in some of his own productions. Dropping Four Tet’s remix of Eric Prydz’s ‘Opus’ was a touching end to the set, playing out all nine and half minutes of the song, with its immense, melodic seven minute building up before holding a categorised, experimental-sounding drop.

As an opening night, Amenti have done well. Picking a quality lineup coupled with a caring sense of event production. Shame the place wasn’t busier, but what can you do? All I can say is that I hope Amenti is here to stay, and next up they’re hosting French producer Detlef on December 5th. We wait with eagerness. Don’t miss out! Tickets below:

https://www.facebook.com/events/882502681819627/

Venue – 7/10

DJ/Band – 9/10

Music – 8/10

Overall – 8/10