Lets get this out of the way first. This was an awesome party.
The idea behind the party (or parties, as there is going to be ten of them this year) is to have one dj play 8 hours. In a warehouse. With an amazing sound system..........This sounds good.
Still, I was slightly skeptical about the sound system because in my experience with London warehouse parties, they usually suck. I was also skeptical about Mayer a little bit. Don't get me wrong. I used to be a massive fan. He came out to New Zealand and Dj'd there in 2004 I think it was, and I was totally gutted I had to go to a wedding that weekend. I did briefly meet him in Auckland on the Friday but didn't see him play a single record. Gutted. By all accounts though, that party was one of the best Auckland had ever seen. Unfortunately this didn't hold up when Superpitcher came out 2 years later and played to virtually no one because of Aucklands dying techno scene.
Anyway, I was following him pretty heavily after that and went to a few of his parties over here and in Spain and at C/O pop.
He blew me away the first couple of times, but lately when I have seen him I have been a little bit disappointed. Now I think about it though, its always the short sets where this happens because when I saw him play in a junkyard in Cologne after the Kompakt party at C/o pop 2 years ago he killed it. I guess he just needs time......and he had time here. I'll get back to that though.
The other reason I had low expectations was that I guess the general feeling around the place is that Kompakt has dropped off the boil in the later 2000s. Something I sort of agree with. On the other hand, it just seems to me that in a scene based on ever changing trends Kompakt has stayed a bit more static of late than most of the other labels. But not really in a bad way. I think (this is talking about the 4/4 stuff or course) that when you hear a Kompakt record, you can tell its a Kompakt record. And this is important. So many labels have been losing their identity at the moment by covering their bases and releasing records that are hip and now. The problem being, by the time the record comes out it's neither of those things. Anywho. The party.
The venue itself, was not the one it was supposed to be in (licensing issues made sure of that....and being that I like a drink I am glad they moved it), but it was really good none the less. It was a standard London railway arch type of warehouse and it was a perfect size for the 350 people that were allowed to go. Oh yeah did I mention that? They limited it to 350 people. And 350 fucking great people to be clubbing(warehousing?) with by the looks of it as well, because the crowd was great. It was like they had a no cunts allowed sign up outside. Amazing for London. So people good. Check.
The next thing that hit me was the sound. It was great. Perfect even. That kind of loud that hits you in the guts, yet you can talk over at a pretty normal volume, then you get home and your ears are not ringing at all. So sound. Check.
Service for the bouncers and bar staff. Also very good. Not something that people usually write about but it does help a lot.
So the music. Well. It was kind of like seeing Mayer in 2005. Which I enjoyed. He started a bit slower and ended up pushing it relentlessly into the Speicher-ish territory as the night went on. You know the sound. Brilliant for a warehouse. (correct me if I am wrong but doesn't Speicher mean warehouse or storehouse in german?)
He went through a few hits too. Most memorable for me was the remix of Baxendales - We Built this City. I used to thrash this at my radio show so of course I jumped up and down like a little school kid when it came on.
But the overwhelming feeling wasn't so much for the tracks themselves but more for his ability to play for 8 hours and seem to have a plan of the way the arc of the night is going to go. The way he wound it up, then wobbled around in the middle and slowly wound us all down from about 4.30 so we could go home and sleep. I thought it was brilliant. Sure I didn't find the music as cutting edge as I have found other gigs. But you know what? I didn't give a flying fuck because I had one of the best nights dancing I have had in years. I danced all the way to the end in fact. Something I was beginning to think my 31 year old body just didn't want to do anymore.
And you know what else. He did it on 2 turntables. Not on 4 turntables on a laptop that is making you a coffee and placing 20,000 fx over the top of all of it at the same time. I think this helped with the arc thing. More concentration on the tracks and what they are doing and how they will shape the night and less snap, crackle and pop over the top.
Anyway. As I said. brilliant night. Congrates to the promoter for giving me faith in London clubbing again. And I will be at the next one with bells on for sure. Bells the size of houses. Roll on Matt John.
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