Since bursting onto the scene in 2012 and being named ‘Best Breakthrough DJ’ by Mixmag and DJ Mag, Hannah Wants has gone on to conquer both the UK’s house scene and charts alike.
After the huge mainstream success of Rhymes – with frequent collaborator Chris Lorenzo – three years ago, a BBC Radio 1 residency came calling for Hannah, followed by an invitation from Pete Tong to appear on the station’s Essential Mix. The fact that her cover issue of Mixmag was the highest selling edition that year only further cemented her undisputed place at the pinnacle of her trade.
With SWG3 the second stop on her extensive UK Play Tour, could Hannah fulfil the Glaswegian crowd’s Wants?
Hannah was accompanied at the SWG3 warehouse by supporting DJs Klose One and Devstar, with the former being hailed by Resident Advisor as ‘The DJ’s favourite DJ’ and the latter winning Hannah’s own competition to find the best up-and-coming DJ talent in the UK.
As the ‘Play’ logo lit up and strobes of light were cast on the growing crowd, Devstar delivered banger after banger – including a killer remix of Ride On Time by Black Box – before Klose One’s more funk-ridden set really got the sell-out SWG3 into the swing of things. In the form of Denis Sulta’s L.A. Ruffgarden, Klose One passed the torch onto Hannah, who seamlessly took over Sulta’s iconic tune in stepping up to the decks.
Hannah’s set was hugely enjoyable, with each of her trusted picks being rapturously well received by the raving crowd. Her deep cuts ranged from the entertaining crowd-pleaser Freed from Desire, to monumental remixes of La Roux’s noughties classic In for the Kill and Noir & Haze’s supremely catchy Around.
Ending her set with Underworld’s Born Slippy, a cult phenomenon in Scotland thanks to Trainspotting – merging sweetly into Faithless’ Insomnia – was a masterstroke; demonstrating her insane ability to captivate a crowd with her impeccable selection of tracks. When the lights came on and Hannah took the hollering plaudits as she left the stage, it really was a shame that playtime was over.
Words by Jonno Mack
