Joe Brooke-Smith makes his secretsundaze debut.
It's the May bank holiday and guess what… the weather is terrible. But the hype for the long weekend is not lost, in no small part because I'm going to be making my first visit to iconic London party institution Secretsundaze who are holding their opening party with the residents James Priestly and Giles Smith being joined by the talent of AYBEE, Wbeeza and Deetron.
The excitement takes a blow from the start when a last minute venue change is announced. Instead of the Hackney Downs studio (which I was very much looking forward to checking out) we now have to trek all of the way down to North Greenwich and as we wander across dual carriageways past industrial estates looking for the venue I can't say my spirits are exactly high. That said, when we enter the House & Terrace I'm actually pleasantly surprised. There is an indoor section leading through to a large, bright terrace that is thankfully covered with a perspex roof that still gives the impression of being outside but still protects the revellers from the elements.
As we arrive the dancefloor is already heaving to the sounds of AYBEE. Hailing from California, AYBEE is the founder of Deepblak - and also co-owner of Prescription sub-label Sub Vision with the legend that is Ron Trent. In short, AYBEE's house credentials are as solid as they come and he's quite at home here warming up the bank holiday ravers on the terrace.
Following AYBEE is the young sensation that is Wbeeza. He steps up the pressure immediately. An anomaly in the current London deep house scene - seeing as he is a black lad from Peckham - Wbeeza has quickly built support from some of the biggest names from both sides of the pond after being picked up by Third Ear recordings. He performs off a laptop and controller but conforms to none of the stereotypes of the subdued boring bloke hiding behind his macbook. Wbeeza is full of energy, bouncing around behind the decks and getting on the mic to get the people moving.
After 2 hours of Wbeeza, Peckham gives way to Belgium as Deetron takes the stage. I have been following this man for a long time and have his releases going back to his outings on Dave Angel's Rotation Records in the early naughties and of course his knockout album 'Twisted' on Music Man back in 2006. That said I still haven't had the chance to see him play so I'm doubly excited to see him tonight. He cuts a slightly more reserved figure behind the decks than the hyped up Wbeeza (who's still up on the stage diggin the music) but his skills a veteran DJ are instantly apparent. He takes the sound more electronic straight away and brings the crowd with him but for the next two hours he slips effortlessly between styles, now throwing in some disco house, next warped techno, next a party banger.
Lastly Giles Smith, Secretsundaze resident, takes over and the party continues. Towards the end of the night they seem to be having some trouble with the sound system and people begin to drift away. All in all Secretsundaze have done us proud, serving up a diverse selection of talent from across the globe and giving us a stinking hangover to boot!
Joe Brooke-Smith
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