The UK’s Jon Hopkins has made a unique imprint on the world of electronic music by being a leader, being experimental and not following trends when for many artists it’s often the easiest and tempting to do.

His music ranges from ambient chilled out beats and bass lines to hard pounding technoish nightmares. On Saturday at the red marquee, he took us to a dreamland, we visited his nightmares and then went back to a quiet slumber.

His newest album from this year, Singularity, has been described by Jon as a natural psychedelic trip, including a natural progression, with a rising come up, a violent middle, an introspective peak and a calming end.

His hour long set on Saturday followed a similar course, except for one minor aspect. The violent part of his expressive set actually shut down the massive speaker system. The large Red Marquee crowd was ripped from their journey. All around people were being woke to reality for a few minutes. People began slowly to realized what had happened, but we all knew the set was far from over!

When our speaker rig finally got back up, Jon the consummate pro, picked up like nothing had happened. Listening to his set on a proper system like what exists in the red marquee is the only was to experience a Jon Hopkins live show. The bass and treble on a proper system are felt instead of just heard. The speaker system shakes the senses to deliver a feeling that is impossible to register from a small system or even good headphones. Jon’s set has been a standout for me thus far, and Jon himself is definitely someone I’ll keep high on my radar henceforth.