Finally I've managed to complete Part 2 of my post-exam antics. It took a while, and technically it's incomplete, but here's a flavour of the nights that were in some way memorable. I'll do something a little more specific for the finale of 2020 Vision's bank holiday 'festival'.While April provided a comforting gap between my return to London and the actual date of my exams, May offered no such luxury. My two exams, on the 1oth and 16th, excruciatingly fell either side of a week that offered several very alluring parties in the capital. Questionably, I did secure a ticket for London's latest fund-raising event for the Japan earthquake cause on the Thursday, but I qualified this decision as a 'celebration' for completing my first exam two days previously. I couldn't afford such a lame excuse to go to anything else before I had completely finished all my exams, incidentally meaning I would miss Richie Hawtin and Moby at Camden's early-finishing (and inexplicably expensive) Roundhouse, Ivan Smagghe and Dyed Soundroom at Reliance Square, and most painfully, Zip, Francesco Tristano and Agoria at fabric. While the former two parties would never have been dead-certs for one reason or another even without impending exams, the latter would have been ordinarily unmissable. Anyone who read the last Fabric Watch post or spotlight on Francesco Tristano will have detected my unreserved hype for this hugely appetizing occasion at EC1, so you can imagine how heartbreaking it was for me when I discovered how horribly timed it was. Naturally I didn't immediately rule it out, denying every drop of reason I had but eventually I admitted defeat and was left once again tantalizingly close but just too far from Perlon's legendary minimal shape-shifter. He will be back.
Aside from revision, procrastination, self-pitying and the occasional party, Chris and I also took time out to finalize our plans for this year's EXIT festival. You may recall us previously declaring an alternative festival route this year, one not necessarily dance-orientated, but eventually we succumbed to the tried and tested Serbian experience. I doubt any European festival will equal last year's full line-up at EXIT, but the acts confirmed this time go some way. Straight-up techno is represented by Marco Carola, Carl Craig and Paul Kalkbrenner among others, while the best of house and tech-house is extensively covered by the likes of Maya Jane Coles, Joris Voorn, Martin Buttrich, Matthias Tanzmann, David Squillace, Seth Troxler, Jamie Jones and Damian Lazarus. Responsible for the more electro-edged flavours is Tiga, Digitalism, James Zabiela, Steve Aoki and most notably deadmau5, who will perform one of his less-showy 'unhooked' sets. The full line-up can be found on the festival website for those tempted by the few names I've mentioned, and that's only a fractional representation of just the dance arena. It was enough to lure us back to the Balkans, so let the preparations begin!
Part 2: May
The Official Red Dot Relief Fundraising Event at Crucifix Lane, Cocoon at fabric, Ekkohaus & Federico Molinari at Half Baked, Warm & Electric Minds Lovebox Warm-Up at Crucifix Lane, Krush at Village Underground, 2020 Vision at Village Underground.
At the risk of sounding incredibly insensitive, which I certainly don't mean to be, the sequence of parties dedicated to raising money for Japan following the tragic natural disasters that happened has been like making the best out of a bad situation. Let me explain what I mean by this: Rarely is there a good reason to throw a mid-week party with Seth Troxler, Jamie Jones, Jay Haze, Craig Richards and Ryan Crosson billed, but that was exactly the result of the admirable efforts of Red Dot Relief, who organized one of this years most memorable occasions to help the disaster-struck nation. It was so refreshing to see such an illustrious clutch of acts not only play for free, but look like they were genuinely loving doing so. For once we knew that the £15 we were paying was going somewhere other than just someone's pockets and that as we raved, we were making some kind of difference. Like so many others, I am guilty of giving very little charity in general, but this felt like more than just an excuse for a party and everyone who came seemed to genuinely embrace the reason why they were having such fun.
All the DJ's were clad in the Red Dot t-shirt (pictured above), as were many others who bought one. At one point during Seth Troxler's b2b set with Ryan Crosson (who seemed omnipresent on the decks all night), the music was cut and Seth attempted some sort of call-out to the raucous crowd that had gathered inside Crucifix Lane, the usual fall-venue when Rivington Studios/The Red Gallery is predictably deemed to dangerous, too small and too shit to house a major event . As a result of this, the event was awkwardly split into two parts in two different venues. Jamie Jones and Craig Richards were moved to The Star of Bethnal Green, which doubled as the art exhibition side of the event also, while the remaining acts were to perform at Crucifix Lane. Despite my reservations about the venue change, it worked out very well with Troxler keeping the ball rolling for the first few hours with his usual supply of today's hottest deep tech house, and Crosson by his side pasting over the cracks when the American needed a little breather. Although it wasn't billed as a B2B set, it worked perfectly as Troxler, one of the Japan cause's most dedicated personalities, enjoyed the freedom supplying both the tunes and the entertainment from the front. This he does exceptionally well, always happy to mingle with the crowd and enjoy the party
When Jay Haze took over, I had to painfully begin contemplating my exit. I couldn't afford a whole day of recovery in bed with so much work on my plate, so I always knew that I probably wouldn't see what happened beyond 4:30am. What I did see of Haze was certainly enough to make my departure all the more difficult. His presence was what really made a last impression, his style as a DJ is certainly a product of his notoriously charismatic and uncompromising attitude. Haze's arrival also helped eradicate the remaining major doubts I had about Crucifix Lane. As I wriggled out of the crowded Victorian archway (aren't all London venues these days?), the charm of the brickwork, the people and the atmosphere was resuscitated as I understood a little better why it's a favourite among both music's elite DJ's and London's clubbing cognoscenti.
That would be the last party before all my exams had finished, but the following weekend looked like far more than mere light at the end of the tunnel. I may have rued the timing of Zip's visit to London just two days before my first exam, but the when I look at what the very first post-exam weekend had to offer I can hardly justify feeling like there was a dark cloud hanging over me. A rare Friday visit to fabric to catch BNR's room one takeover marked the first chapter (for elaboration see Now We Rave 12), the second chapter also took place in fabric the following night and Sunday, in blissfully convenient fashion, delivered May's installment of Half Baked and Damaged.
Starting on Saturday, it was the return of Cocoon to fabric, its new London home following the closure of Matter in 2009. When Sven Väth descended on EC1 for the very first time last year, he brought with him several of his label's most illustrious talents. It was the night when Onur Özer, who actually closed Room One following Sven's 4 hours and earlier, Matt Tolfrey's two hour slot, won me over as now one of his greatest admirers with dark and delicious minimal techno exploration. It was the night when Dinky and Ilario Alicate transformed Room Two into for once a pulsing cavern of subtlety, as well insurgency. It was a night when despite the prohibitive numbers that crowded out the club, an unforgettable impression was left on me. From that night onwards, Cocoon Recordings is in my DNA. Could the most recent edition of Cocoon at fabric once again reach those heights? The slightly scant line-up, centered almost exclusively on Sven would lead me to suggest it probably didn't quite live up to the standard previously set. However, Christian Burkhardt's rare live performance in Room One was outstanding and Sven Väth's two sets, either side of Burkhardt, were perhaps even better than last time. I didn't get to see much of Room Two, but from experience I can say that Guilaume & The Coutu Dumonts is a live act everyone should witness at least once, and Sascha Dive is never one to stop bodies moving. Whereas last year's Cocoon at fabric educated me, this year's provided me with a different experience. I wasn't in awe of Sven Väth this time, neither did I waste time wondering around the maze of tunnels and staircases in order to catch a fraction of other sets elsewhere in the club. This time I felt comfortable to just stay in one place and allow one of techno's founding fathers to keep me happy. He certainly did that, maintaining his superstar presence in the Room One booth, pumping his fists with the crowd as he engineered those formidable basslines from his vast arsenal of records. If anything, this should really have stayed as 'fabric with Sven Väth', rather than brand it as part of his Cocoon showcase. In reality, the night was about one man only, and when he leads the line like he did, I can't complain.
Sunday saw the return of Half Baked at Fairchild, later accompanied by Damaged #16. These two often arrive as a pair one Sunday a month, which basically means if you have the stamina, you can party from 12 noon until 4am the following day. Few do this, but trust me when I say that there are a few. The breathless Cocoon workout the previous night delayed my arrival at HB until the evening, just in time for the two headliners. As always, the mood in the tunnel was friendly and relaxed as I was greeted by usual smiling faces, moving bodies and scoop-necked tee-shirts. Ekkohaus was first up, performing live just as the the clock hit 8pm and the gaps near the front of the dancefloor began filling. His upbeat, percussive style of house set the tone perfectly for Federico Molinari, who followed at around 10pm. The pint-sized Italian kept things subtlety groovy, avoiding the more physical, abrasive routes for an amiable blend of tech house, rich with neat breakdowns and colourful bassines. On to Damaged #16 and this time Georgio Oniani and Matteo Manzini were joined by Leftroom's Mark Chambers and Maura. In all honesty, their set did very little to stimulate the tired minds and bodies inside Dalston's Questionmark Bar, the new home of Damaged. It lacked any kind of climax, or anything for me to really grab and get excited. Fortunately Georgio, who was this time responsible for the closing slot, poured all his unfaltering passion into his selections, stitching together a flamboyant and typically daring voyage of obscure house and minimal that had me trainspotting. It was an appropriate way to end the night, and firm reminder to those who forget the importance of an excellent resident.
With the gift of yet another bank holiday weekend on the horizon, unsurprisingly there was no shortage of Sunday spoils, but Friday and Saturday were equally appealing. Warm & Electric Minds' Lovebox Warm-Up kicked off the weekend, the latest party moved from Rivington Studions to Crucifix Lane at the last minute (notice a pattern here?). Inside, every inch of space was used to accommodate the capacity crowd that gathered to witness the fascinating and diverse array of acts lined-up. The venue's second room, usually nothing more than a crash-zone, was headlined by legendary British duo Optimo, who managed to hold a densely packed crowd from the minute they began. Over in the main room, John Roberts, responsible for one of last year's finest albums, Glass Eights, was billed to perform a rare live set. To our dismay, we had missed the vast majority of this when we arrived, our belated departure from Waterloo was something we would later regret as Roberts apparently dropped jaws on the dancefloor as we trudged towards London Bridge. Fortunately we didn't miss Motor City Drum Ensemble who followed with two soulful hours of deep, foggy house, keeping the mood inside wonderfully warm and fervent. Anyone familiar with MCDE's productions, most notably his Raw Cuts volumes, will naturally expect to hear the feel-good, harmonious texture invested in his music also in his DJ sets. Indeed, his style diverged very little, maintaining the same mellowness to his mixing which acted as a perfect warm-up for Efdemin. One of electronic music's old guard, Efdemin's reputation as an astute DJ of traditional values, as well as a revered Berlin-based producer couldn't have been exhibited better. His all-vinyl set dipped in and out of every corner of the house and techno spectrum, initially taking MCDE's sultry depth and gradually edging into more pared-down techno territory. Although we did vacate the main area to catch the tail-end of Optimo's fearless mash-up of everything from techno and electro to rock which was endlessly entertaining, upon return we could immediately sense how gripped everyone on the dancefloor was by Efdemin. As the clock struck 6am and closing time became imminent, several stalwart ravers from the front climbed upon to the stage, unchallenged, to where all the DJ's in the main room performed. Although I didn't partake, it was a great sight and a perfect image to capture such an eye-opening night for all who were there.
While I had my mind firmly fixed on what Village Underground had to offer on Sunday, Saturday night there also appeared irresistible. After the intensity of Friday's offerings at Crucifix Lane and the guaranteed super-rave of 2020 Vision's bank holiday 'festival' on Sunday (ultimately spanning 20 hours), I had banked on perhaps giving my feet, and my mind, a rest between the two. Fabric's line-up didn't particularly appeal to me, but I certainly didn't expect to end up in Village Underground a day prematurely. However, the lure of a live Mathew Jonson set was too persuasive in the end. It also gave me an opportunity to discover a little more about Village Underground, one of the few remaining Shoreditch venues I was yet to visit. Anyone's first impression of Village Underground will be one of awe. I was no different as I entered, taking a few minutes to observe the gargantuan Victorian warehouse space that comprised the main dancefloor area of the venue. I had read up on the place and the height of the ceilings had not been exaggerated- they seemed to reach the sky, yet the acoustics remained uncompromised as Deetron kept the place rumbling with his patiently progressive warm-up set. Mathew Jonson got started at around 2am, equipped with a vast, complicated mixing desk and other impressive gadgetry, beginning at a steady pace of around 122bpm before he began gradually tweaking up the tempo. The sombre piano chords of 'Marionette' began filtering in far earlier than I expected, surely no later than half an hour into his set and from there he proceeded to really experiment. His recent release on m-nus, Learning To Fly was instantly recognizable even though I was yet to hear it, with crisp, shiny, Hawtin-esque synths delicately layered over Jonson's trademark bassline. The soundsystem coped with the complex sonics exceptionally well, and Jonson was determined to deliver something definitive and profound. Unfortunately, he was unable to go all the way as his set came to a crude end at 4am. Quite why the party ended so early is anyone's guess, but it certainly felt like a stain on what could have been a truly memorable performance from one of electronic music's most revered producers. But perhaps it was a blessing in disguise as I began replenishing my energy reserves for what Village Underground had up its sleeve the following night...
