Rik Abel

It’s been great to come back to London and ease back into the swing of things with not one, but THREE wonderful musical evenings out in the last couple of weeks. First off was the Kompakt guys at Fabric - Superpitcher, DJ Koze and Michael Mayer - nearly ten hours of pure german house dancey smiley killer sound system bliss. Rumour has it that they (German DJs) aren’t too keen to play in the UK since most of the sound systems in the clubs don’t meet with their approval, but what with Fabric Room 1 being totally amazing in that respect, they are there fairly often. Happy me.

Last night, however, was extra special - Michael Mayer (again) Miss Kittin and Mad Professor rocked the crowd at Plastic People, an intimate venue in Shoreditch with strictly limited numbers allowed entry - there were only 40 tickets on sale at the door but luckily we got there an hour before doors opened. I say luckily because by 9pm the queue must have been 300-400 strong. So anyway, we got in, and I had the most wonderful evening. Mad Professor was OK, but I find dub a little tedious so didn’t pay too much attention. I had heard the Plastic People sound system described in hushed, reverential tones by the cognoscenti, but on my only previous visit (to see Murcof) I was completely underwhelmed. I was feeling kinda the same through Mad Prof’s set, but then Miss Kittin came on and they actually turned it up. And I heard that it was good. And felt it. And I was obliged to dance from that point on. The room’s walls and ceilings are covered with black foam rubber panels and it has to be said that the sound was very good indeed. I was told they even have deaf clubbing nights once a month where they REALLY crank it up. You can go if you are not hearing-impaired, but you have to wear earplugs. Yay!

I hadn’t heard anything by the lovely, young and French Miss K (who was very fetching in bobbed haircut and Cheongsam-style dress) but she was most excellent and eclectic, combining detroit tech house with old school classics, electro, minimal and just plain funny stuff. The crowd was really into it and by the time M. Mayer came on the vibe was excellent and the dancefloor crowded (but not too crowded). I’ve been lucky enough to see three top female DJs lately - Magda, Ellen Allien and Miss Kittin and they were all great. More women on the decks, I say!

Michael Mayer, of course, completely owned. He can do no wrong, IMHO, and he played my current favourite Kompakt track (Brutalga Square by DJ Koze, fellow geeks) early on, which was nice.

I have recently discovered that I absolutely LOVE to dance - I mean, I always used to like dancing, but always felt somewhat self-conscious about it. Some time while we were in Toronto this went away - possibly because there seems to be an emerging trend toward, for want of a better word, weird dancing. Like a malfunctioning robot, only minimal, or something. Anyway, I learned to just free my mind and lo, my ass did follow. Result. I was even told that I ‘had moves’. Sweet. I find it helps to imagine that I am a psychdelicized cyborg from the future - maybe that can work for you, too!

My favourite DJ twice in a couple of weeks, and in between I also got to see the finest metal band in the history of the world, MASTODON. Gosh, I’m so eclectic. The gig was totally awesome - they are incredibly tight, the drummer is an insane genius, they look great, and the crowd were going metal mental. I made the devil horns unironically quite a few times. I also noted that whereas folks used to hold lighters aloft, they now hold up their videophones, presumably to capture some blurry footage which will forevermore remind them of the night. Or just because they can. Why is it that no matter how good the music, at least 10% of the crowd will be texting at any one time? I find that quite irritating. Just leave it alone for a few hours, willya? Phone zombies. Ah, I’m just feeling superior ‘cos I haven’t had a cellphone for six months…

And so but, it is feeling good to be back in London. I really enjoyed living in Toronto and met a lot of great friends, but London is doing it for me right now. I’ll live the manic clubbing life for six months or so before retiring, exhausted but happy, to the peaceful environs of Cambridge. That’s the plan, stan.

My good friend Pier is coming up from Southampton this weekend for Ricardo Villalobos at Fabric. Should be great. And so it goes. I hope my ageing knees hold out.

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