so i finally went to drumsheds
I have been waiting for months to write this one
For those who know me, I was a big fan of Printworks. It had everything I ever wanted: great lineups, a fantastic stage setup with an awe inspiring light show, and the infamous printing hall where I spent many nights cutting shapes (badly). In the end, I think I went a total of 9 times to the fabled factory. The first time being Peggy Gou in 2019 and the last being Hospitality in 2023. As much as the tickets sky rocketed in price over those years (£27 in 2019 vs. £45 in 2023), every memory I have there holds a special place in my heart.
So when Broadwick Live announced their newest venue Drumsheds with a capacity of 15,000 people (!!!), I couldn’t contain my excitement. I had to go.
Fast forward to the 25th November 2023, and I’m sat on the train to Meridian Water trying to catch a glimpse of this new venue from the window. Tonight’s lineup is graced by CamelPhat, ARTBAT, Stephan Bodzin, and other melodic techno legends.
The journey there was initially quite daunting, Tottenham isn’t the most accessible area of London. Back in the day, Printworks had two lines servicing it and getting back from the venue may have been long, but it was easy. Drumsheds, however, is only accessible via Meridian Water which is serviced by an overground rail line. How was this going to work?
Getting to Tottenham Hale tube stop on the Victoria Line, we were greeted by a small army of Drumsheds staff all directing us to the train. We were in safe hands. One stop later, we’re at Meridian Water and Drumsheds is a mere stone’s throw away.
“It’s in the old IKEA there, right?” a friend asked me a few hours before.
“Yeah, it is” I answer.
“I wonder if they changed it much, reckon it’ll look like an IKEA still?”
And let me tell you, they’ve changed nothing, and I love it.
A proud bright blue building greets you immediately after exiting the train and working your way through security, you walk over the old parking lot, white paint still marking where the cars would stay. “I wonder if they still sell the meatballs.”
We enter underneath the dancefloors on the ground floor and make our way upstairs. The main rooms are all situated on the first floor, with the titanic X room on one side, and the smaller Y and Z rooms on the other. A mishmash of sponsored bars litter the space between them.
Heading outside, we’re greeted by a spectacular smoking area. Spread over two levels, there’s plenty of space for people to mingle and lots of bars. Sadly, the seating options were limited, but the food options were not. I couldn’t find any meatballs in the end so opted for an entire pizza instead. I had dancing on my todo-list today and I needed fuel.
the rooms
We spent most of our time in the X room and that’s understandable when you see the space. There’s no other way of putting it, but it’s absolutely massive. A huge central dancefloor is flanked by two viewing platforms elevated 3 metres above the crowd. A screen stretching from one wall to the other stands behind the DJ booth at the front making the whole space feel quite like Printworks but as if someone pinched it and stretched it sideways. No more cramming yourself into an essential single file to get any view of the DJ. You’re now in the arena with them.
As much as the X room may overshadow the others, the Y and Z rooms are in of themselves impressive spaces.
Y is a similarly long and wide space, however its much lower ceiling gives it a more intimate vibe. Columns interspersed in the crowd provide a maze-like feel and I could definitely see myself getting lost in there.
Z is even smaller and therefore even more intimate. The DJ stands behind a cage in this one with dancers right up in front of them. I had seen a few clips prior to coming of ravers crammed up to the front, the room full of energy. It looked like a blast, but I unfortunately didn’t spend enough time here to experience that.
the djs
ARTBAT are a particular favourite of mine. Their combination of heavier techno inspired sounds and the melodic nature of the genre are uniquely atmospheric. Their 2022 track Tibet is my top track of theirs.
Seeing them live for the first time was an experience. Their signature huge sound filled the X room easily and had people moving everywhere. I luckily got “up front” for this one, I was still a good few dozen metres back and in any more regular club, this would have genuinely been the back. But in Drumsheds, I was a good way towards the front. Turning round, you could see a genuine ocean of faces looking back at you, dancing in the lights
.
However, my time at the front was short lived, and I returned further back to meet my friends in time for CamelPhat’s start. They were situated not in front of the sound booth, but the mixing tower. This place was so big it required a full tower for the sound engineers just like you get at festivals.
Back to CamelPhat, they’re usually a hit-or-miss artist for me. Their smash hit Cola was funky initially, but its incessant overplaying in every single club or bar made me begin to hate it. Other tunes such as Panic Room and Breathe I also loved to start, but again hearing them at every gig and night out had me bored. A victim of their own succes some would say.
However, as a live act, I was blown away. Their sound was well suited to the space at Drumsheds and the room was filled with their rhythmic, hypnotic beats.
The lightshow matched their set perfectly. Waves splashing up the screen, words spelling across them, light rigs even descended into the crowd; we witnessed an absolute spectacle of light and sound that night.
farewell
Twenty-two thousand steps later, it’s time to head home. The room is still buzzing, a few have left but what’s a few to 15,000 people. CamelPhat close out with Cola and Breathe and the crowd goes wild. We turn to leave and see a throng of people doing the same. Filled with fear, we turn to each other and ask if the journey back is as easy as the journey there.
Funnily enough, it was.
We’re guided slowly through a long maze of walkways all the way back to the station and by the time we get there, the crowd has thinned to a point where getting onto the platform is no longer a nightmare. A short wait for the train, and we’re back at Tottenham Hale embarking the Victoria Line. “This is way better than leaving Printworks”, I hear from a friend behind me. I can only agree.
final words
What can I really say?
I think I found my new home for the next 2-3 years or however long they have the space for. It’s another temporary space with a Meanwhile lease and there’s talk of a housing redevelopment happening there in the coming years too. Could we be so lucky where they extend it like Printworks’? I doubt it.
However, while you’re here Drumsheds, I will definitely be gracing your dancefloors again. Whilst you’re a different experience than what Printworks was, I think you may have lived up to its name.
Be seeing you again soon.