Tief w/ Voyage Direct at Corsica Studios, London - August Bank Holiday

A review for www.spoonfed.co.uk 

Tief, the party previously responsible for bringing the likes of Prosumer, Lawrence and Iron Curtis to the music enthusiasts of London were rounding off the last bank holiday of the summer with a collection of acts guaranteed not to disappoint.  Heading back to their home of Corsica Studios after a few flits around the capital over summer, tonight’s party was in collaboration with the Voyage Direct series which had been released through the massive Rush Hour label.  Tonight looked to be a veritable Dutch onslaught; headed up by one of the label’s most prominent producers, Tom Trago and consisting of Awanto3 (whom Trago was due to perform with under their Alfabet guise), Dexter, Legowelt live, as well as Bulgarian techno maestro KiNK.  The evening’s line-up was set to span house, techno, disco and electro, ensuring that the crowd would be kept locked in and entertained until last man standing.

The venue was filling up early as Corsica based party ‘Church’ founder Seb Wildblood played bass driven house that rumbled across room one, as punters grabbed their drinks and headed straight for the floor.  Room two was yet to fill up however the deep sounds of Seldom Seen Smith from Banquet Records included Motor City Drum Ensemble’s ‘Raw Cuts 5,’ which is always a welcoming way to entice folk in front of the decks.

After easing into proceedings it was time to head back into room one where Dutch stalwart Dexter was playing a series of broken electro-funk rhythms that maintained a high energy and occasionally forayed into a techno assault to the appreciation of the rapidly expanding crowd.  After 90 minutes of Dexter it was time for Legowelt to take over and perform a sixty minute live set to a now packed and sweaty dance-floor.  Legowelt  AKA Danny Wolfers appeared, dwarfed by the formidable Corsica DJ Booth as the clock struck 3 to the sounds of whoops and cheers, and his unique electro/disco/techno hybrid sounds hit the low ceilings and boomed out into the cobbled smoking area.   Meanwhile in room two Dutch golden boy Tom Trago was treating his subjects to a selection of deep beats which at this time of the morning had listeners in a tripped out state, however when he dropped his own disco tinged track ‘Use Me Again’ it was clear that people were still paying attention as they showed appreciation in the form of hollers and hands in the air.
As 4am hit it was back to room one to check out techno talent KiNK, who gave the crowd just what they wanted at such a late hour with a chunk of relentless jump-up beats that proved he wasn’t messing about, and turned dance-floor into a pile of party people jumping up and down, and in the end singing their heads off like no-one was watching to a remix of CeCe Peniston’s nineties dance track ‘Finally’ (or it could have been the original, it was late!)

The lights then came on and it was time to shuffle through the streets of Elephant & Castle to head home as the sun came up.  August bank holiday was over for another year, but it had certainly been finished in style.  Tief are celebrating their first birthday in September with Omar S, Daniel Wang and many more, so if strong line-ups and positive vibes are your thing, this party will be the perfect reason to take a trip back to Corsica.

photo credit: www.spoonfed.co.uk

Review of 'A Love From Outer Space' with Andrew Weatherall, Optimo and friends

A review for www.residentadvisor.net


‘A Love from Outer Space’ is the cosy brainchild of pals Andrew Weatherall and Sean Johnstone; a third-Thursday-of-the-month get-together that has kept the folk of East London entertained with unique beats and quirky rare musical gems for the past few years.  There was no better time to hold a huge Thursday night party than the beginning of the Easter weekend, where the night could be approached with wild abandonment and no fear that usually accompanies school-night-raving.   It was also an excuse to celebrate Weatherall’s 3 disc compilation that was due to hit the shops at the end of April - any reason for a party.

Weatherall has been labelled a ‘dance music veteran’ more times over the years than anyone would care to mention, but it seems necessary to pay homage to his many years at the forefront of the electronic music scene; making ridiculously good Essential Mixes when half of today’s clubbers were in nappies, producing Primal Scream’s ‘Screamdelica’, playing house, techno, disco, funk, rockabilly and everything in between to crowds across the world.  Working alongside one half of the Hardway Brothers,  ex house, Balearic and techno DJ,  London rave-den Cable resident and future disco spinner Sean Johnstone,  this was a team that had mastered the tried and tested combination of a good atmosphere and a no music policy, music policy.  Joining them tonight for the ride were Berlin duo Trickski, Daniel Avery under his Stopmakingme moniker and Glaswegian masters JD Twitch and JG Wilkes, AKA Optimo.

Upon entering the club, Weatherall and Johnstone were playing slo-mo creepers of the highest order; music so dubby and sleazy it felt like you’d been hit with a tranquilizer dart upon entering.  Traipsing through the dingy corridors and into the smaller second room, Dan Avery was enticing those seeking a little more energy into the fold, with a BPM speed that was still on the ploddier side of the spectrum but with rumbling bass-lines that made your ears itch.  Avery AKA Stopmakingme has made a name for himself through his razor sharp productions, regular slots at Bugged Out!, a residency at Fabric and as the founder of Kill Em All.  Very quickly it was clear the hype was justified as he showcased a series of records that that were rave-heavy yet diverse and never 2 dimensional; with undercurrents of electro, snifters of acid house and waves of breaks and early 80’s riffs, living up surprisingly closely to his chosen genre description of ‘tight machine funk’.   Avery treated his now packed dance-floor to Intruder’s acid house /techno crossover ‘Amame’, and when the decision was made to drop Lil Louis’ ‘French Kiss’, it was received with hollers, whistles and stomping of feet before Optimo took over.

Optimo spent 13 years holding their Sunday night party of the same name at Sub Club in Glasgow, with a miscellaneous music policy and a packed out basement every week.  Now touring across the world, this evening it was anyone’s guess what aural direction they would send their listeners: would it be House and Funk?  Rock & Roll? Punk? It became apparent very quickly that this little sweatbox was to continue with the tech-house vibes following Avery’s exit, with another two hours of fist pumping to one half of Optimo JD Twitch which was far removed from the ‘sleazy post-punk nuggets to apocalyptic disco bombs’ billed on ALFOS’s original blurb.  As much fun as that was, once Wilkes, the second half of Optimo took over (following some sound issues which almost saw the set cut short), it was time to seek out some of these disco oddities that had been anticipated from the evening.

Upon taking a trip back to room one it was clear that the sleazy disco soul vibes were all in here condensed into one hazy package, as the ALFOS guys took back to the decks from Trickski after their 2 hour set.  Inebriated groups of girls in frocks and moustachioed guys in shirts waved their arms and sang along under the 4am pink lights as the twosome played their narcotic grooves, until the gaudy strip lights were lit and it was time for the squinting revellers to leave their bubble and journey home. It had definitely been a successful start to the Easter break and a lot more fun than church.

ALFOS will be taking their party as far as Italy and then Brighton over the next few weeks, so why not check them out?

Photo credit: Daddy's Got Sweets

A Private Party with Kerri Chandler

Following successful events with Derrick Carter and Francois K, A Private Party With… welcomed house legend Kerri Chandler to London. Chandler’s reputation following his successful appearances at DC10 over the summer showed that he was not just a pioneer of soulful house but an artist who could appeal to both the purists and the fresh faces of the dance music scene.   His latest surge of popularity through DC10 combined with a rare opportunity to witness a DJ play the entire night, something that most people had not witnessed in many years, was a definite selling point.   The opportunity was there to see Chandler in complete control of the musical direction of the evening, with the power to shape his set across a wide variety of styles, from checking in of coats through to last man standing.  His appearance in London was held in a disused building in a grotty corner of East London, coincidentally sharing the building with Gilles Peterson who was holding his own party in another corner, as were Art Department. None of the parties ever collided, but it meant that there were plenty of confused punters milling around outside the disused space and deciding which queue to jump into.

After finding the correct entrance, punters were greeted with a large warehouse, dimly lit in red.  Chandler - surrounded by equipment at the front was welcoming his audience with a selection of vocal house. The audience consisting of a third soulful house purists, a third DC10 kids who caught him over the summer and a third slightly bolshy Essex wide boys.. The first few hours of Chandler's set were heavily textured, taking revellers from sing-a-long classics such as Cassius' "Sound of Violence" down to the grimy bass of the Jamie Jones rework of Azari & III's "Hungry for the Power," right up again to the soulful chords of "Track 1" from his 1993 Atmosphere EP Vol. 1 with barely room to catch a breath in between, the chords from Track 1 giving a particularly euphoric moment from the jumping crowd who were turning the room into an authentic sauna as the night drew on.

The sound in places was questionable but it was just a small case of finding a decent spot near a speaker, as Chandler played records from the sublime to the obscure, for the number one fans down at the front to those staggering around at the back.  Seminal house records such as Basement Jaxx’s ‘Fly Life’ leading into jump up looping tracks like Butch’s ‘No Worries’; Chandler was as comfortable playing records that were 20 years old through to the hottest releases of the last 12 months, bringing the audience up and down on a wave of tech-beats followed by soul soaked, percussive yet bass heavy tracks.  Big room piano house, 90’s classics, and many of his own releases were interspersed with records well suited to a hazy afternoon on the DC10 terrace.

At one point Chandler chose to play Master at Work’s ‘To be in Love’ – the quintessential soulful house record; perhaps a touch obvious, and most certainly overplayed to the soulful house pedants occupying the space.  It was only on closer inspection however, that Chandler was in fact playing keys over the top of the track, or an acapella; it was hard to tell through the haze.  This was further proof that these were the actions of an artist truly at the top of his game; daring to take a risk that certainly paid off.

At a very hazy 4am, Chandler’s voice shyly came out from the speakers on the mic, asking how the audience was doing and explaining his love for a night where he could play for a whole 7 hours, to a rapturous response his tones broke out into the singingof his own track ‘Rain’ to the elation of the audience who cheered their appreciation.

As 6am rolled around and Arnold Jarvis – ‘Inspiration’ played out to the dishevelled and sweaty crowd, it was wondered whose private party they would be invited to in 2012.

Plastikman in London, a review for www.residentadvisor.net

It was the second day of advent when Richie Hawtin donned his Plastikman guise for a slot at Brixton Academy alongside Magda, Gaiser and Ambivalent. The second night of a UK tour covering only London, Manchester and Glasgow had sold out in the weeks prior, meaning that energy in the Academy was high long before the Minus boss appeared on stage.

Upon arriving at Brixton Academy, Minus affiliate Ambivalent was looking miniscule behind his setup on the colossal stage in front of a large black curtain, playing an energetic warm-up set that threw listeners into raw techno territory from the inset. The crowd, which was rapidly growing in size, consisted of older techno lovers undoubtedly coming out of retirement to see the '90s hero and younger kids from across London, Europe and beyond. It was clear that the crowd required no real warm-up as Ambivalent smashed his way through a series of his own releases including his shoulder-shaking collaboration with Alexi Delano, "Lights Down," as the excitement visibly fizzed through the mass of bodies congregated on Brixton Academy's sloping floor.

Finishing on a bass-heavy mash-up of two tracks by Skudge and Titonton Duvante, it was then time for Gaiser to take to the stage. The producer is renowned for his subtle performances, and his subdued drum patterns and slight melodies seemed like a massive thud to earth after the electricity of Ambivalent. It was, however, programmed perfectly to guarantee maximum impact when Plastikman made his appearance.

After what seemed like a long 20 minutes, the stage went black and silent, causing the crowd to increase their enthusiasm to deafening cheering and stamping of feet. The words "I am the voice inside your head" boomed across the space as the drapes dropped to reveal a semi-circular cage with Hawtin and his equipment inside. Gradually, grumbling beats started and the arc was taken over by floor to ceiling projections. The headliner was controlling all of the music live, as well as the lighting and crystal clear visuals reminiscent of acid trips and strange dreams that were taking over the front of the cage, occasionally flashing to show a silhouette of Hawtin hunched over his equipment.

Playing a range of his earlier releases with occasional teasing riffs of "Spastik" appearing throughout, the music bounced off the high ceilings and finally crescendoed as he emerged from his cage to thrash out the record in full. By that point, Brixton Academy was shaking from the snares as well as the audience's fervent reaction. Now looking surprisingly small after such an epic show, Plastikman acknowledged his audience's frenzied cheers before disappearing and leaving the space empty for Magda to take the final slot of the evening.

The crowd hollered and whooped as her beats boomed out across the space once more, but the mood quickly dropped to typical head-down late night Minus terrain, with deepness that bordered on flat in places. The crowd still managed to maintain some enthusiasm for the final hour, however, the dip in the energy was palpable. That was to be expected really: There's not much you can do to follow up one of techno's most beloved live acts.

Juan Atkins at Content Manchester - A review for www.residentadvisor.net

Manchester's scene has changed somewhat over the past few years. In the middle of the '00s, old Mill "Sankeys Soap" was undoubtedly one of the coolest places to go on a Friday night. So when someone decided to open the old Boddington's brewery to host a series of one-off parties back in 2006, a move that quickly progressed into the now booming Warehouse Project, many jumped at the chance to take it back to the underground. Now, in 2011 the two events, while incredibly successful, are so vastly popular they seem to have lost that feeling of being a not-so-well-kept-secret. As a result, it seems that many of Manchester's clubbing community are seeking smaller soirees when the weekend comes about.
Photo credit: Nik Torrens

Subsequently, a series of more intimate parties, such as Micron, Cutloose and Content, have charged into the fore: some of which provide an insight into fresh new talent, and some showcasing big names in Manchester's cosier venues. Content is a party that, since its inception in 2009, has booked the likes of Rolando, Kenny Larkin and Delano Smith to name but a few. The six-strong team of promoters and residents' combined knowledge of who and what makes a good party seems to have gained them a dedicated following in the past 18 months. For their March event, they pulled out all the stops in booking another Detroit techno master, Juan Atkins. This, following several years of Atkins' absence from any Manchester line-ups made the ears of the techno purists of the North West prick up.

On the night, all four Content residents were billed to warm the crowd up for Juan's appearance, and the low ceilings and gritty walls made an out-and-out sweatbox situation extremely likely as the venue rapidly filled up. As the lads played house music from the deep to the tech end of the spectrum, throwing in some Green Velvet along the way, it wasn't long before people were taking up every inch of space throughout the various levels on the dance floor, leaving the ever-faithful crammed against the front barrier waiting keenly for Atkins to take to the stage.

The night did not kick off without drama, with a broken turntable switched halfway through one of the residents' sets. However, after a rapid response from the organisers, it was resolved without a missed beat and went pretty much unnoticed by the mixed crowd of older techno fans and fresh-faced students. Atkins eventually appeared on the stage to an expectant and sweaty bunch, hitting them with some heavy techno to kick off proceedings. His set consisted of typically crowd-pleasing records, including old school techno, electro, a smattering of disco and a few classics thrown in (Inner City's "Big Fun"). He played it safe, but was well received by the crowd, and there were still whoops and cheers aplenty, with many still stomping their feet shouting for "one more tune" when the lights came up at 4 AM.

Review: Beyond the Clouds at Corsica Studios, London, with Anthony 'Shake' Shakir, Daniel Bell and BTC DJ's.

A review for www.residentadvisor.net 

The latest Beyond The Clouds venture saw one of the London night's most sizable lineups yet, with Detroit veteran Anthony 'Shake' Shakir topping the bill, closely followed by minimal techno pioneer Daniel Bell. The event, spread over two rooms of the wonderfully grotty Corsica Studios, also had Rinse FM's Ben UFO headlining the second room, backed up by the various Beyond The Clouds residents, Charlie & Dave from TO THE BONE and Rik Moran.


The venue was completely packed upon entering and, in true Corsica form, was looking decidedly sweaty from early on, the smaller room hosting Charlie & Dave who had an energetic crowd engaged with their tech house. The fact that the residents were commandeering this room for most of the night meant, for a large chunk of the evening, they used this opportunity to play not just the warm-up tackle they're usually limited to, but a varied selection of deep house and techno usually reserved for peak-time slots as well.


In the equally busy main room, Shakir was doing his thing. The Detroit DJ has been making music for many years, and is renowned for a varied style, which was certainly on display throughout his set, with sounds that took listeners from the contemporary end of the spectrum to throwback techno. Further along in the night, Hessle Audio's Ben UFO took over from the BTC residents in the second room, and finished the crowd off with a miscellaneous selection of squeaks, bleeps and squelchy acid noises, culminating in screeching electro riffs that seemed ready to take your ears off.


Back in the main room, the heads-down crowd were surprised by an early departure from Shakir, meaning that Daniel Bell took to the decks 20 minutes early. Bell decided to take the pace Shakir had set down a notch with some typical minimal grooves. These basic beats, many of them composed in the '90s, were a minimal diehard's dream, however, when transitioned from vinyl to the dance floor at Corsica, left listeners a little cold. Consequently, it took some time for the music and the crowd to get fired up again following Shakir's exit. Once Bell picked up steam, though, we were treated to a barrage of thumping techno gems. His ability to keep the slightly rumpled crowd in high spirits seemed effortless, and 6 AM rolled around all too soon.

South West Four 2011

A review for www.residentadvisor.net
photo credit: Vickie Parker

London festival South West Four had pulled out all the stops for their August bank holiday knees-up; showcasing a line-up that covered everything from the underground to the commercial side of the electronic music spectrum. With stiff competition across the capital for the discerning dance lover from various events including no less than two secretsundaze parties, SW4 still managed to pull an enthusiastic crowd with a line-up consisting of headlining giants Underworld, chart act Pendulum, old favourites Layo and Bushwacka!, and Laurent Garnier, and techno treats from Sven Vath and Richie Hawtin to Ben Sims and many more.

Upon entering Clapham Common on the blustery Saturday afternoon, the site had been turned into a veritable quagmire as a result of lashing rain in the previous week. Some festival kids didn’t seem to get the memo however; adorned in frocks and flip flops and looking on at the sludge in dismay. It didn’t seem to deter many though and before long plastic-bag-shoe-chic was being rocked by many, with forlorn looking solitary items of footwear disregarded in the mud.

Trudging across the site clutching some warm pear cider it was straight to the Cocoon tent for Guy Gerber who was playing jump-up tech-house at a ridiculously low volume. Halfway into the crowd; the ability to have a chat at normal levels with the person stood next to you was sadly effortless as the beats thumped away in the background. It seemed that unless you were willing to barge your way to the front to stand with your head in the speaker, the chances of hearing anything but muffled kick drums and tinny treble were slim, and the idea of any bass in the music was a distant memory. Many boisterous boozed-up-tops-off blokes had already made the front their stomping ground meaning that this area wasn’t really an area to dance, rather a place to be shoved around like a rag-doll - something that wasn’t particularly appealing.

Teifschwarz, Tobi Neumann, Josh Wink and Sven Vath provided a muted soundtrack in the Cocoon arena throughout the afternoon, whilst in the ‘Shake It’ tent Layo and Bushwacka and Garnier were giving the crowd what they wanted through their classic anthems ‘Love Story’ and ‘Man With the Red Face’ respectively, providing reactions of mass sing-a-longs and hands in the air. If there was an opportunity to gush about some rare and wonderful records the artists played otherwise it was sadly missed, simply as the sound was so poor. After a good few hours of mooching from tent to tent in a vain attempt to get near a speaker, it was then time for headliners Underworld to take to the outdoor main stage. With a back catalogue dating back to the birth of half of the clientele and notoriety for taking electronica from the underground to the mainstream, it was a treat to have Underworld on stage for a full hour. Slightly louder than the covered arenas, the goose bump inducing chords and drums from their opening track ‘Rez/Cowgirl’ resonated across the crowd as dusk fell across the site; an opener from the collective that gave the audience a kick up the backside to ensure they were dancing from the beginning. Throughout the performance they treated the crowd to tracks from their various albums with their familiar tones and Karl Hyde’s iconic vocals, particular highlights being the epic ‘2 Months Off’ and ‘King of Snake’.

Considering the festival was a sold out event the atmosphere during the performance seemed rather lacklustre with only pockets of the audience really getting into the music despite Hyde’s frantic pleas to ‘Come on SW4 make some noise!’ When the familiar synths from ‘Born Slippy’ boomed out for the encore however it was clear that this was what the audience had arrived for, and as the stage lights beamed over 20,000 people waving their arms in the air, it was certainly the most dynamic moment of the day as SW4 Saturday drew to a close, leaving crowds of inebriated festival goers stumbling out of the common and onto further parties, as the night was still so young.

Sunday’s event rolled around, and it seemed that following the many complaints that had flooded in on the SW4 Facebook pages, someone had quite possibly listened; with the sound levels much clearer and louder than the previous day. The line-up for Sunday was just as strong and after walking into a packed ‘We Love….’ arena where Simian Mobile Disco were playing an acapella of their track ‘Hustler’ over a banging techno beat, it was time to seek out Minus records maestro Richie Hawtin. Hawtin’s diversity and longevity in the industry meant that exactly what he was going to deliver on a set-by-set basis was unpredictable, and on this Sunday afternoon anything from minimal clicks to frantic pitched-up rhythms could be expected. The arena, today sponsored by Last FM and hosted by Together was not as crowded which provided a welcome relief from the crush of the previous day, and it meant that there was plenty of room to get a decent stomp on. Hawtin provided his audience with a cleverly crafted set that consisted of fresh sounding beats that had bite but that kept enough of a groove to keep the techno-sceptics dancing for the duration, a far cry from the click-y minimal he was originally renowned for; his loyal audience locked in with him throughout and applauded him as he played his last track.

Following Hawtin it was time to go and check out Ben Sims in the Drumcode arena (In association with Mixcloud). Sims was playing techno that wasn’t as ridiculously hard as his usual offerings, with beats that were fast but from the funkier end of the spectrum. As darkness approached outside the tent however he moved into more standard Sims terrain with a relentless chunk of techno that maintained the visible high energy atmosphere, an atmosphere more electric than at any other moment of the festival. People of all nationalities and ages jumped around as he finished with his own remix of Sylvester’s ‘You Make Me Feel’; a techno and disco collision which was a perfect way to end the set and close the arena for another year. The record caused a mass sing along from the crowd of dancing bodies– a definite festival highlight which judging by the hollers, cheers and applause was a common feeling from all. As Pendulum played out the final chords of their chart-y d&b rock on the main stage, SW4 2011 drew to a close. Despite the poorly stocked bar and by and large shocking sound levels, the festival was a fun day out with a great line-up. Please just turn it up next time!