Top 5 moments from Half Baked
Half Baked have been a stalwart player within the house scene in our capital over the past 10 years. From hosting sell shows at Sonar, to out door raves under the bridge, the Half Baked team pick out their to top 5 moments from their illustrious catalogue. They will be hosting their next outdoor rave this Saturday at Distrikt, which is free.
www.facebook.com/distriktbarleeds
- Half Baked’s 5th Birthday with Zip
Zip has been one of our favourite artists since long before Half Baked had even started. To finally get the chance to book him for our fifth birthday party meant a lot to us and the build-up of excitement in the lead up to this party was huge. When the party finally came around it more than lived up to expectations. All the artists played sets right from the top drawer from the start on Saturday afternoon right through to the end on Sunday morning (and the afterparty following that) and the atmosphere inside Studio 338 was amazing, the crowd were all super up for it and having fun in proper Half Baked fashion. It was one of those parties that will always stick out in your mind for all the right reasons, great people from all around the world and next level music!
- Half Baked vs Lola ED at Off Week 2014
For us this is another standout moment from over the years at Half Baked. This was Sam’s first Off Week working with Half Baked having started the previous October and what a party it was to introduce him to Half Baked out in Barcelona! Back then the Picnic Area at Poble Espanyol was set up completely different and the stage was set up on the opposite side of the area to where it has been for the last few years. What is now the chill out/bar area was then the main dancefloor and with the wall around it, it felt like you were in a mini amphitheatre with some dancing on the raised part, above those on the dancefloor (see photo), the way it was allowed this amazing atmosphere to develop and this coupled with some huge sound made for the perfect ingredients for a wicked party. Out of the many years we’ve been doing Off Week this is definitely the party that stands head and tail above the rest.
- Half Baked Under the Bridge Summer 2011
In the early days of Half Baked when London wasn’t experiencing the difficult and damaging licensing restrictions that we are facing these days, we used to throw all of our Summer parties outdoors in various locations across East London. All of the parties were wicked, the feeling of dancing to some of our favourite DJ’s in the sunshine in random car parks and other outdoor spaces in the middle of the city was great! There was one particular party that stands out under the bridge right outside Shoreditch High Street station, it was a super hot day and hundreds of people came out to dance in this space that nowadays you could never even think to throw a party in with the overground trains coming in to stop just above. We pass that spot pretty regularly and every time we do it brings back memories of a wicked party!
- Half Baked at Secret Garden Party 2015
We were first asked to host a stage at Secret Garden Party two years ago. Having been to the festival a few times before we knew that this was a very special place and we couldn’t be more excited. We arrived to perfect weather and everyone was in good spirits, it wasn’t until the next day when the rain started and once it started it just didn’t stop. No matter how much rain fell it just seemed like it would never stop, unaware of the rain (probably partly our fault) Seuil & Le Loup turned up from Paris, but hadn’t brought boots or wellies with them (in our defence who doesn’t bring them to an English festival?!), only brand new Nike Air Max, they then had to walk across the drenched muddy site using all they could to protect their trainers which failed miserably, they weren’t happy to say the least. The time came later that day to host our showcase on the stage, with the rain still falling heavily this finally played into our hands, we were one of the only stages at the festival that was covered, therefore the tent was absolutely rammed and stayed that way the whole way through the night. The showcase went amazingly and despite the rain the entire crowd was in the best spirits you could imagine. A big soundsystem, a couple thousand soaking wet but happy people and great music, what more could you want?!
- Half Baked 7th Birthday Afterparty(ies)
Following our biggest birthday yet at Great Suffolk Street with [a:rpia:r], Margaret Dygas, Sammy Dee, Cabanne, Fumiya Tanaka, Thomas Melchior and many more across 3 rooms last November we of course weren’t ready to finish when the time came to 6am so it was naturally off to the afterparty. Off we went to the Brewhouse in London Fields, two great arches under the railway with fantastic warm sound, it’s perfect place for an afters. Robin & Le Loup opened the afterparty before they had to leave for flights home at which point we took over, joined by Lowris and our friend Mouloud from Concrete in Paris we played for a good 8 hours to a packed Brewhouse who didn’t seem to want to stop (neither did we). The energy was still high from the previous night and it was one of the best afters for a long while. From there we were invited to play another afterparty inside what was essentially a huge fridge (literally), it was a meat deli and we were playing in the room used to keep all the meat cool some more hours were added on there and finally we moved over to a friends bar for a lock in to play some more until the next morning. We added up a decent number of hours playing following that birthday and had a lot of fun along the way, definitely one to remember!
