The Book Club hosts one helluva party. Electro Swing has arrived.
Electro Swing is a genre taking Europe and now, East London, by what could be a volcanic eruption of some serious partying. The queue outside The Book Club is as long as China's Great Wall. I arrive and the venue has reached its capacity. No one may enter and I feel like I'm being told there is no room at the inn. Nick Hollywood is merely metres away, but I'm bouncer-blocked. List or no list, this party is chock-a-block full, a testimony of its success.
Finally the doors open and I walk downstairs. The party is already in full swing – literally... The music hits me like a bag of bricks, and so does the heat. The temperature rises by 5 degrees or more. The room is packed and DJ Switch is at the decks. The contemporary tunes ring a bell, but infused with horns, the swing vibe comes across in full force. Toward the end of his set, Switch halts the dancing tunes and launches into a scratching frenzy. The Correspondents' Mr. Bruce and Mr. Chuckles stand behind Switch, a look of awe on their faces as this fast-fingered aberration occurs. Although it's a feast for the eyes, perhaps this event isn't the ideal place to indulge. It stunts the room's movement and pace; but it's impressive all the same.
The Correspondents then take to the stage. Mr. Bruce looks the part; he dons glimmering purple drainpipes and coattails. The duo are recording a video, so cameras roam the room, and the crowd gives them a footage feeding frenzy. The performance is incredibly charismatic, the energy that exudes from Mr. Bruce is as catchy as chicken pox in a play school. Accompanied by skilfully wielded beats from Mr. Chuckles, we are putty in their hands. The room is packed and I'm a sardine in a can of swing – not a soul in the room can stand still, even if they wanted to. Mr. Bruce's voice is smooth and his rhymes come fast and furious – the decks are nothing but complimentary. Frontmen have a tendency to separate themselves from those behind them, but these two are a single entity. What is bread without butter? What is Bruce without Chuckles?
Dutty Moonshine, aka Don Von Drop It and FunkUnFurl, introduce the crowd to Swing 'n' Bass. The two-piece stand, scantily clad, and compile classics, drum 'n' bass, breaks and hip hop in a cocktail of vintage vinyl. A seriously danceable set is the result. The floor is all smiles as I attempt to Charleston my way across the room to some swinging Everly Brothers, Elvis and Eminem. Yes, I just said Eminem.
As the venue starts emptying early on Sunday morning, there's an echo that accompanies me home. The evening is unique, dynamic and I never stopped moving. In the words of Louis Armstrong, "'Hot Music' shall last for ever. There'll probably be new names for it, that's all."
Image courtesy of Doublebug.
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