BAZAA promotions originally centred around Traffic and Perception but now /tek'ni:k/ and Heal Festival take the main focus!
For well over a decade traffic has been pioneering a special unique sound that can not be found anywhere else in Shropshire.  Deep and futuristic underground house and techno is the order of the day at traffic with regular events at The Vaults and The Buttermarket in Shrewsbury.  Always pushing forward fresh new music and painting the soundscapes of tomorrow.  

Its been a long journey for founder James Taylor but even through all the venue changes and shifts in popularity of electronic music it remains essentially the same night after all this time.  A small intimate affair, in a small town with a strict no-nonsense high quality non-commercial music policy and loyal open minded crowd.  Its even gone full circle and now resides at a newly refurbished version of "The Vaults" where it had some of its earlier parties as far back as 2005.  This is also about the time when co-promoter Bazland came onto the scene, first as a dj, then resident, and getting more and more involved as time went on due to the vision and appreciation of this fine music that James and Baz shared.  James had been dj'ing for years but his passion for music soon boiled over into promotion and he was booking acts like Fergie and Jody Wisternoff whilst the rest of his local town drowned in drum and bass, hardcore and commercial drivel.  These were the first nights when Baz introduced himself and handed James the mix cd's that soon culminated in Bazland's first public gig warming up for none other than techno legend Trevor Rockliffe.   

Fast forward 10 years and the guys have racked up an impressive list of International DJ talent on their CV.  Not content with persuading massive UK based artists such as King Unique and James Talk to town, they flew in Techno heavyweight Phil Kieran from Belfast on two occasions, then the mighty Jimmy Van M came over from his Frankfurt base for an exclusive and rare UK set and they even dragged Quivver over from Los Angeles.  Other dj's have included Harvey Mckay, Jim Rivers, Deepgroove, Rebekah, Luke Dzierzik and the masterstroke booking of Meat Katie who was a slight deviation from the normal music policy but easily one of our best guests.  Dave Seaman of Renaissance and Global Underground fame is the latest world famous DJ to sign up for some intimate fun! The freshest techno dj/producer talent is lined up for 2014 with Jon Gurd and Dubspeeka debuting and a special performance from UK techno legend Dave Angel.

Its not all about the big guests though and the foundations of traffic are its residents and regular guests. James Taylor, Bazland and Will Purcell are the three current and longest serving residents.  All dj's with different attributes that allow for every event to be a journey.  Traffic has also plundered surrounding areas with dj's from similar nights in places like Birmingham, Leicester and more recently Liverpool all being allowed to ply their trade and add that extra dimension to proceedings.  

Another key element to the success off the night is attention to detail, not only in the music selection but in the sound and production.  Always willing to go that little bit further with some extra decor, new banners, led lighting rigs, custom visual projections, and sound systems built and tailored for the venues they use.  The fun doesn't stop when the club closes every month though, as the community is always conversing on the internet and regular dj mixes are being provided, such as the Traffic Transmission, which is a regular 2 hour podcast type concept that is downloadable and streamable to all.  They even design their own flyers with artwork reflecting the futuristic minimal aesthetic of the night.  The traffic brand sometimes travels for occasional tour nights and traffic broke new ground again by being the first underground music promoter to utilise the normally tourist inhabited Sabrina Boat for a party on the River Severn. Traffic also had its own arena at The huge Shrewsbury Fields Forever Festival which was full to capacity.


​Traffic is a non-profit labour of love that exists to spread incredible music to its like minded dance floor and hopefully educate a few people on the way, and i'm sure will be around for many years to come, albeit without Bazland who left the brand in 2020.


Past Guests:
Darren Emerson, Dave Angel, Jon Gurd, Dubspeeka, Trevino,
Dave Seaman, Quivver aka John Graham, Harvey McKay,Steve Parry,
Jim Rivers, Sam Watson, Jimmy Van M, Neil Quigley, Rebekah,
Mistress De Funk, Luke Dzierzek, Phil Kieran, Rui Da Silva, 
​Deepgroove, King Unique, Meat Katie, Will Bailey, Sonny Wharton, James Talk, Paul Thomas, Trevor Rockcliffe, 
Fergie, Jody Wisternoff (Way Out West), Steve Gerrard


Local Contingent:
James Taylor, Will Purcell, Bazland, Alex Evans, Bootleg Ben, Emma Sharp, Tony Brown, Paul Lau
Perception is a regular event in Shrewsbury, Shropshire dedicated to pushing all forms of Intelligent and Musical Drum and Bass. We like to let the music do the talking and have a strict mc free policy. Residents Jay Dubz and Conspire lead the line, joined by local DJ's from around the Midlands and the scenes biggest players. Perception prides itself on being different yet unpretentious and holds an awesome atmosphere in its intimate home, The Vaults and sometimes teams up with the Funktion One laden Buttermarket for bigger events! 

The night started from scratch in a town that had no nights and no venues, even though it had such a rich musical history in all genres! Undeterred by this problem a local pub was persuaded to house our speakers and local dj's sowed the seeds and started the vibes that were carried into our current home, The Vaults when it thankfully reopened the following year.

Word spread quite quickly within the scene as guest dj's enjoyed the intimate vibes and the ravers keep coming back for more.
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As well as the top dj's listed below we have also been lucky enough to have some major tour nights pass through with Soul:ution, Dispatch Recordings, Symmetry Recordings, 1985 Music, Jazzsticks Recordings, Advection Music, Liquid V, Planet V, C.I.A, Critical Sound and Metalheadz all happy to be associated with the night.  A great debut was also had at Shrewsbury Festival with a brimming tent on the night! And who can forget the night the big dog ANDY C came to town for a 3 hour set in The Buttermarket Main Arena, a defining moment in Shrewsburys rich rave music history!!

Afer a decade of amazing partys and crowds Perception will hold its last full scale event on Friday Nov 5th 2021 with Fabio & Grooverider bringing the "Return To Rage" Tour to town for an oldskool/jungle/dnb special.  Salute to everyone involved over the years, especially YOU the ravers who made perception what it is! 

Perception keeps the legacy alive by combining with Heal Festival in the MoonBass Arena Tent every year in Shrewsbury. www.healfestival.co.uk 21/09/24

Past Guests:
​Andy C
Altern-8
Goldie
LTJ Bukem
​Roni Size
Dillinja
Alix Perez
Skeptical
Break
Born On Road (Aries, Kelvin 373, Selectah J Man, Trafic)
DJ Hype
T N A  (Azza, Grima, Nu Elementz)
Jungle Cakes (Ed Solo, Deekline, MC Sye) 
DLR
Kasra
Halogenix
Serial Killaz
Skanna
Randall
Commix
LSB
Total Science
Digital
​Spirit
​dBridge
Calibre
Mark System
Doc Scott
ANT TC1
Cleveland Watkiss
​Codebreaker
​Tonn Piper
Artificial Intelligence
Zero T
Kyrist
MS DOS
Makoto
Madcap
Monty
Payback
A.K.A.
Bryan Gee
Jumpin Jack Frost
Think Tonk
Paul T
P.F.M.
Fabio
Grooverider
Paul SG
Utah Jazz
Jrumhand
Phat Playaz
Dramatic and DBaudio
Malaky
Furney
PHD
Spectrasoul
Blade
Marcus Intalex
Lenzman
Phil Tangent
Scenic & Advisory
Hotwire
BassFlo
Tidal
Jay Le Roc
Soul Objective
Pennygiles
Dynamic
Soulstructure
Fuzz
​Escape
Tim Ryan
Kella
Cautious
MissFortune
Mistress Mo
Ratty
​Fallout
Tango
Pilgrim

Not forgetting our talented Locals:

Conspire,Jay Dubz,Roca,CPH,Colon,Rivmic,Pixel,Mowgli,Missin' Link,Influential,Blood,Undefined