The Boiler Room: sweating in an oasis of rhythm

By STEPHEN JEWELL

At Big Day Outs gone by, the Boiler Room has provided a refreshing alternative to the main stage, a cool tented oasis to shelter in when the guitar-fuelled, testosterone excesses of the mosh-pit become too much.

But dance music and hip-hop are such an integral part of the Big Day Out in 2001 that it wouldn't be inconceivable for usually nocturnal dance fans to escape the dark confines of the Boiler Room and catch some rays while chilling out to Coldplay on the Orange stage.

Though the 2001 Boiler Room lacks a stellar headline artist with the pulling power of the Chemical Brothers, with Carl Cox and Darren Emerson heading the bill, the Big Day Out has gone for a more DJ lead line-up which emphasises the oonst factor over any other subtler qualities.

If its subtlety you want then why not check out the new and more eclectic Hothouse stage, or some of the many dance and hip-hop artists that feature on the Green and Essential stages.

Dance fans are going to be faced with some hard decisions on Friday, such as when Talkin Loud labelmates Roni Size Reprazent and M.J. Cole, in the clash of the day, hit the Boiler Room and Green stages at the same time.

Reprazent are perhaps the best live dance act to so far grace our shores, and M.J. Cole's debut album Sincere places him firmly at the forefront of Britain's burgeoning two-step, garage scene.

Such hard decisions are at the heart of a multi-stage festival like the Big Day Out, which this year covers many different spectrums of dance music - from house to drum'n'bass and even two-step garage.

House is the order of the day in the Boiler Room, which opens with perennial Auckland favourites Nice n Urlich, aka Peter Urlich and DJ Bevan Keys, who will reprise the feel of their mid-Saturday morning 95Bfm radio show with lots of sumptuous, soulful house and snappy repartee.

The Boiler Room will reach boiling point with Carl Cox, who ranks alongside the likes of Paul Oakenfold, and Pete Tong as one of the world's most popular DJs.

Cox will make his New Zealand debut at the St James the night before and while his pumping, techno-flavoured house may prove too cheesy for the dance connoisseur, he will surely turn out to be a crowd pleaser. So should Darren Emerson, who finally makes his New Zealand debut after his former band Underworld tore the roof off of the 1999 Sydney and Melbourne Boiler Rooms but failed to make the trip across to our side of the Tasman.

Emerson plays a deeper and more progressive brand of house than Cox and though he probably won't drop any Underworld classics like Born Slippy, his recent collaboration with Sasha, Scorchio, is a good indication of his present direction.

The Boiler Room also promises entertainment in the ramshackle shape of the Happy Mondays (see story below).

Bomb the Bass - aka Tim Simenon, who created one of the first entirely sampled records with 1988's Beat Dis - is one of the Big Day Out's unknown quantities. Simenon has yet to release a follow-up to his landmark, 1995 album Clear and has, inexplicably, concentrated on producing the dubious likes of Depeche Mode and Naomi Campbell.

After Simenon, Cox protege Adam Freeland will take his turn on the Boiler Room decks. Freeland specialises in nu skool breaks, a breakbeat driven cross between techno and drum'n'bass. So does Hothouse stage highlight Freq Nasty, aka ex-pat Kiwi Darin McFadyen, who will release the follow-up to his 1999 debut through Fatboy Slim's label, Skint Records, later this year.

Like Freeland, Simenon and English rapper Roots Manuva, McFadyen's services have been secured via the Aussie festival Vibes on a Summer's Day in an effort to provide a more chilled out alternative to the Boiler Room's usual full-on bombast.

The Big Day Out also boasts plenty of local dance talent, including Greg Churchill, Pitch Black, Subware and Soane among others.

Some Aussies, namely delicate house duo Pnau, trancey diva Bexta, breakbeater Friendly and hip-hoppers Resin Dogs have been thrown in for good measure, although not - unfortunately - Australian dance music's brightest lights, the Avalanches.

Dance fans are still spoilt for choice at Big Day Out 2001. And if you still don't know whether you want to catch Size, Cole, Cox or Black Eyed Peas ... then we suggest you just follow your feet.