Rob Swaine finds hope in the future of dance music at East Village courtesy of Gilles Peterson and a few friends.
Not having been to East Village before, it takes a little while to acclimatise to the new venue and in fact to realise where the music's actually coming from. Leaning against the bar in the cosy lounge area on the ground floor, I can see the conga and timbale setup standing unmanned infront of two derelict CDJs, yet over the speakers I recognise the sound of Havana Cultura Remixed in its full percussive glory and can hear the dulcet tones of Gilles Peterson's voice, but fail to locate where it's all coming from.
With a five pound mojito in one hand courtesy of tonight's Havana-themed drinks offers, and my own newly acquired free Havana Club maracca in the other, it's time to find Gilles. It's a task that takes no more than thirty seconds as he is, of course, downstairs in the club area of the establishment. The basement room is by no means anything special and is a whole world apart from the intimacy and comfort of the upstairs bar. It's a little reminiscent of G.A.Y. in Soho, particularly with 'East Village' spelt out in light-up squares across the wall. Thankfully the music outclasses the setting as Gilles Peterson hammers out a selection of remixes off of the latest Brownswood release.
What's immediately noticable is the atmosphere in the room. It's fun and unpretentious. Although East Village lies somewhere in between the City and the scenester streets of Shoreditch, the people here tonight all seem surprisingly normal, not out to flash the cash or be seen by someone of subjective social superiority. Everyone here is either a Gilles Peterson fan or simply partial to worldly dance rhythms. It's unclear how many people there have indeed heard the Havana Cultura Remixed album but with Mr Peterson giving us a running commentary, there's no prerequisite to have done so.
Scene-setting aside, what is truly awesome about tonight is the music. Gilles carefully intertwines album tracks with unreleased remixes and relevant tracks by other artists including Riva Starr and DJ Mujava. It's dance music at its most interesting and most refreshing. Totally unrestricted by genre, the set slips from silky samba and traditional Cuban 'son' into dubstep (specifically the delightful Carl Cox remix of 'Arroz Con Pollo'), through to hip hop and back to house. What links all the songs is the emphasis on real instrumentation and organic sampling, ranging from sampled live percussion to full-on piano solos and horn stab hooks. His roots in hip hop combined with his instinctive jazz mentality are at the forefront of his tune selection and it's great to see a hugely positive reaction on the dancefloor as he delivers a set that is heartfelt, uncliched and most excitingly, the final product of two years' hardwork.
The supporting artists could not have been more suited to the evening either. Seiji immediately follows Gilles Peterson, delivering a soulful mix of broken beat and UK funky. His own tracks are the stand-out tunes, identifiable by the chunky stabbing bass sound that is typical of a Seiji composition. The set peaks with his remix of 'Chekere Son' off the new Havana Cultura Remixed release that tears the place to shreds. Striking the perfect balance between the tropical rhythms of the original Havana studio recordings and the gutsy, in-your-face production style of Seiji himself, it sounds massive over the East Village sound system.
Sofrito rounds off the night with a showcase of South American baile funk and afro-beat. Playing exclusively off vinyl, it's clear that everyone present is being treated to some lesser known, hard to find records and it's great to see how well they're received. I reluctantly have to leave after just under an hour of his set but I do so thinking how great it would be if this became a regular event, rather than just a one-off celebration of an amazing new album. Perhaps I'm just being greedy but this is alternative dance music at its best and by the reaction of the crowd tonight, I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking it.
Click here to see all London DJ music.
Click here for things to do in London.
Return to Spoonfed's London Clubbing homepage.
Add an event
Frieze Art Fair to launch new section for young galleries in 2012
Frieze have today announced details for the 2012 edition, their tenth art fair in London. Taking place...