A year past, Bigfoot’s Tea Party and Minival collaborated for the first time to bring Nina Kraviz to the Granite City in Scotland. On this occasion they brought a double headliner of Octave One and Dinky to the cavernous Tunnels in Aberdeen, for a nine-hour debauchery marathon. For the first time, The Tunnels opened their outdoor entrance space that effectively replicates the layout of the main tunnel, but with a more stripped back feel to it. There was a six-hour residents roster, where a unique atmosphere was crafted by both sets of residents. With tracks such as Barac’s Cuvantul Lui Iancu, Virginia’s Shifter and The Lovers Night by Subb-an, the excitement escalated for the forthcoming chaos indoors.
Chilean ace Dinky took control in Tunnel 2 around midnight and instantly took to the Aberdeen crowd. She chopped and changed between genres and tempos just as well as I have seen from any DJ, and it comes as no surprise to me that she has caught the eye of fellow Chilean 
musicians such as Luciano and Ricardo Villalobos, who she met back in 1994. She played a variety of old and new high energy tracks such as You Spin Me Round (Murder mix) – Dead or Alive and other acid dancefloor slammers such as Todd Osborn’s Put Your Weight On It (Chicago mix). As we were all animated for the start of Octave One in Tunnel 1, Dinky brought her set to a climax with my favourite techno track of 2014 - Never Grow Old (Re-Plant) by Floorplan (Robert Hood). This track fuelled Tunnel 2 with immense energy and the Aberdonian crowd was ready to dash through next door to guarantee a space on the dancefloor for the arrival of the Detroit techno pioneers. The sheer exertion and passion both Lenny and Lawrence Burden of Octave One show behind their mighty rig that they call ‘The Mothership’, instantly gives you a shudder of energy. Their live set encapsulated many sounds of the 90s Detroit techno and an abundance of intensity with riveting peaks that brought the crowd into uproar. Big hits of their own such as The Greater Good were heard and towards the end of their enthralling set Octave One performed classics such as Black Water that had the swarming Tunnel 1 going berserk.
The night encapsulated old and new facets of house, techno, disco and anything in-between with all eight DJs providing distinctive but complementary styles of electronic music. These heavyweight promoters prove yet again who does it best in the Northeast. Next up Minival hold their 7th Birthday in Aberdeen on 23rd of May flying in four surprise guests, and The Black Madonna joins Bigfoot’s Tea Party for her debut in the Sub Club on 24th April.
WORDS | Ramsay Muir
