Live Review: The Field

Stripping it back to basics, The Field's Axel Willner drops a late night, laptop set to an enthusiastic crowd who are keen to dance the night away. The set begins slowly with ambient washes of sound evolving into ambient house with a compulsive four on the floor beat that has almost everyone energetically pulling shapes. The set list deals epic ten-minute tracks that mix up new material, possibly giving us a taste of Willner's next release, with some tracks from his fourth and most recent album Cupid's Head.  

Like most dance acts, The Field is perched at the edge of the stage, towering over the crowd in almost darkness while a riot of coloured lights behind him dazzle and hypnotise as they flash at us through smoke machine induced haze. Interaction with the audience is minimal and his concentration is intense as he presses buttons and twiddles knobs.The sound issuing from the PA is essentially an order to dance. The beats are balanced out with blissed-out synths that drift across the mix, inspiring a spaced-out feeling of euphoria.  

As The Field's set progresses he gets his ambient trance on, as though he is channelling the spirit of '93 on one of those almost forgotten Secret Life Of Trance compilations. These jams roll like classic trance choons. Of course there is the odd drum roll but it's the drops that get the crowd's hands waving with excitement in the air. Avoiding authentic retro that Sgt Pepper might have rocked some 20 years ago today, The Field filters his influences through minimal aesthetics and modern production techniques, providing an update for a new generation of listeners. The Field shoehorns what would have been an all-night rave of yesteryear into an easily consumed 60-minute set, which is not a bad thing if you need to get up early the next morning.