While the ridiculous riches of London's nightlife on any given weekend makes disappointment seldom, bank holiday weekends provide an entirely new meaning to the dilemma of choice. 2020 Vision did its best to make people's minds up with two marathon events spanning 24 hours at two of East London's most unique and treasured venues. The first part kicked off at 10am at the appropriately named Shoreditch Underground, the former tube station located conveniently close to the thriving Sunday activity of Brick Lane.
Steve Bug and
Ralph Lawson, among many others were enlisted to take care of that, eventually wrapping things up at around 10pm, by which time the second part, little more than 10 minutes walk away at Village Underground, had already been underway since 6. I debated taking tickets for both events, but eventually decided on just Village Underground, which having been there only the previous night for Krush (see previous post), I now knew was a venue fit for an occasion as big as this.
Any major night has at least one name that is generally designed to pull numbers, and 2020 Vision was no different.
Maya Jane Coles,
Ralph Lawson (again) and
Simon Baker on the flyer undoubtedly turned heads, but for most, including myself, it was
Ewan Pearson's name that had really convinced us that this was where we should finish our weekend. The British-born, Cambridge educated and Berlin based DJ and expert remixer is not often found packing the warehouses of London these days, preferring to hone his abilities on the continent, occasionally making the journey back to his home turf for festivals, such as last year's Bestival. I have long been a keen admirer of Pearson, ever since his contribution to the fabric mix series, a wonderfully original exploration of lyrical techno and house which proved that pop influences in underground electronic music is not quite as absurd as it may seem. Other mixes, such as his addition to the
Sci.fi.Hi.fi series for Soma and his own
We Are Proud Of Our Choices for Kompakt, illustrated his distinguished selection philosophy, while his prolific repertoire of remixes, such as Courtney Tidwell's
Don't Let The Stars Keep Us Tangled Up demonstrated his imaginative and unconventional attitude to making music. That barely scratches the surface of what Ewan Pearson has achieved, but it at least helps qualify why he was appointed as the key figure in London's most significant party of the weekend.
First impressions were not good as we arrived at Holywell Lane, the easily-missed turn off Great Eastern Street where Village Underground sits. Despite having shelled out almost £20 for a ticket, we joined an ominously long queue of many other angry ticket-holders who told me that we were going nowhere for at least another 45 minutes, as the notoriously slow 'one-in-one-out' process had already began drip-feeding impatient people into the venue. It appeared that 2020 Vision had taken over-booking a little too far, obviously cramming in anyone who arrived at the door from 6pm despite having sold all pre-sale tickets. After around an hour's worth of complaining about our criminal injustice of having to queue as we gripped our printed tickets, we were finally granted entry.
Jozif, who performed at both events over the day, stood at the door greeting as we entered. An attempt by 2020 Vision provide some kind of lame consolation to the disorder outside? Possibly, but either way we were just grateful to be in. Predictably, things looked chaotic inside as the main dancefloor heaved and queues for the cloakroom and the toilets were looking prohibitive. However, overcrowding didn't seem as much of a problem as I first assumed it would be, with refreshing pools of space on the dancefloor as we wriggled through towards the front where Maya Jane Coles was around half way into her set.
With the soundsystem perfectly EQ'd, the visuals simple, but effective and a fervent crowd nearing the peak of its energy levels, the tiny spinstress was able to please everyone with her uncomplicated yet rousing array of cutting-edge house. Based on this performance, there is no doubt in my mind that MJC will soon be one of the most desirable headline DJ's in Europe. Not only was her mixing flawless, but her set was clearly something she had thought about before. Marked with several climactic tracks, she kept the dancefloor consistently pleased, and perfectly prepared for Ewan Pearson who took over at 2am.
The atmosphere couldn't have been better by the time Pearson started. Enough people, assuming they are the ones who had found their way in at 6, had vacated the the venue and provided everyone with just the right amount of dancing space. Ewan Pearson performed like a headliner should, with bold, confident selections that flowed seamlessly into each other, but remained individually authoritative. Acid was a very prominent theme throughout, unsurprising when you consider his passion for the sound in his remixes, along with his peerless ability to invest tasteful electro flavours into his sound. His recent remix of Seelenluft's 'Manila' was undoubtedly a high point, instantly recognizable to the educated ear inside the vast main room and wonderfully euphoric for all. To my dismay, his set flashed by far too quickly, but Simon Baker closed the night in style with an energetic last session of adventurous house. Although his set lacked the assertive manner Pearson's did, it was nonetheless a very good end note to the night, Julio Bashmore's sumptuous bass-house bomb 'Ribble To Amazon' had a loyal handful of longstayers moving gratefully before things were brought to a close.
I learned many things that night. For starters, Village Underground has the potential to be one of London's superior warehouse spaces when it's like it this, no easy feat considering the intense competition in London today. Secondly, I learned that 2020 Vision may have the connections and the muscle to put on some of the most extravagant parties, but their programming and organization still leaves a lot to be desired. I also learned that the UK has produced two exceptional DJ's in Ewan Pearson and Maya Jane Coles. While one is undoubtedly a veteran, the other is arguably the most exciting talent this country has seen in some time.
