Back To The Music

It’s February and boy are we back to the music. After a rather deliberately slow January it’s an absolute pleasure to be venturing out once more and attending events.

So without further ado, here are some of the recent happenings I’ve been lucky enough to witness.

Reflections Label Showcase at NT’s Loft

Reflections is Anjunadeep’s ambient electronic offshoot label and they had their first ever label showcase in the first week of February hosted in the gorgeous NT’s Loft near Broadway Market in Hackney. I’ve been there once before to see Laurence Guy’s debut live show back in June 2023 and was delighted by how open and light the space is. It’s situated on the 2nd floor of Netil House next to the Overground rail line and you can see the trains fly by the windows whilst inside.

I’ve been following Anjunadeep for a few years now, my introduction to electronic music was via the trance community and Anjunadeep’s more low key and relaxed vibe immediately caught my attention. And it was thanks to TikTok that I came across Reflections, the offshoot’s offshoot. So, on a cold and dark night two weeks ago, a mate and I decided to head on over to check it out.

Stepping back inside was once again a pleasure, the Loft is an intricately intimate space where you’re never more than a few feet from the artists at the front. And what a lineup we had: Northling, Cephas Azariah, and Jessie Marcella were taking to the stage tonight.

Unfortunately, the crowd never seemed to realise this. The throng of people in the room were muttering away as Northling took the stage without introduction. Luckily enough my friend and I were close enough to the front to hear them albeit with difficulty with the cacophony of noise behind us almost drowning them out. It was a real shame as I was most excited to see Northling live as I had fallen in love with their music in the days preceding. I could only just make out Hallowed Ground at the end of their set.

Cephas Azariah’s performance was similar and I was really struggling to make out his stunning sound over the racket behind us. With a much softer ambiance than the preceding Northling’s, an audible war was waged in the space between the ignorant onlookers and the artist just trying to perform. Halfway through his set he remarked that “it’s a bit noisy in here” and finally people started to quieten down. One thing I absolutely adored about Azariah’s set however was the open piano he was playing on. I couldn’t take my eyes away from it.

And lastly, we had an impressive performance from Jessie Marcella. With the crowd behaving itself a little more with some even having left (thank god), we were treated to an audiovisual spectacle with Marcella and her friend Gwenno Morgan both on keys backlit by a screen danced upon with a gorgeous lightshow. Marcella’s full range was out in full force, from ambient to jungle to even whipping out a clarinet, the showcase definitely ended on a high.

I’m excited to see what Reflections do next, I have no doubt that I will attend one of their shows again. Whilst the crowd wasn’t entirely their fault, I do wonder whether giving the artists a proper introduction with a host would have helped calm the unruly mob.

Soulwax at Roundhouse

Onto Friday and my most anticipated gig of the week.

Ever since seeing them DJ at Lost Village under their 2manydjs moniker, I became obsessed with the Belgian duo. With a career spanning decades and their last performance as Soulwax 6 years prior, it was a show I wasn’t going to miss.

The Roundhouse is an epic space with its huge circular room bordered with an expansive mezzanine. My last visit here was for Max Cooper back in 2022 and the space perfectly suited his out of this world audiovisual performance. Soulwax’s setup this time was an intriguing one, three drum racks were sat at the back, raised from the floor. And two large synths sat at the front, facing the crowd with an array of other instruments to the sides of them a little further back.

I was floored by the drum racks, who on earth would ever need two let alone three?

Well, to say the least, they stole the show.

Soulwax’s signature sound thundered through the room and brought the place to life. The drums felt alive and each drummer’s performance complimented the others. And the frontmen Dewaele brothers took a synth each, working them flawlessly into the rhythmic sounds of the drums. A true marvel.

However, I want to take this moment to talk about gig etiquette. There are many unspoken rules at gigs like give way to those carrying drinks into the crowds, don’t take photos with the flash on, and move forward if it’s busy and there’s space in front of you. With Soulwax’s career starting in the 90s, naturally a large proportion of the crowd were towards their middle ages and I happened to meet one of the worst types of gig attendee I’ve ever met.

Middle aged men.

Now I’m not saying “all men”, but I have to say that there were many more than 0 that didn’t follow any of the rules stated above. One man needed reminding several times that he was taking photos with the flash on, some men stood in my way when trying to walk through the crowd with pints and refused to move, we had groups of men just standing there taking up room and not moving for others, and we had men barging through the crowd without even say sorry or thank you. There was a general entitled vibe emanating from the crowd that night that I wasn’t the greatest fan of.

At the end of the day, we could only laugh and remark that it will probably be me one day.

Jungle at KOKO

Jungle are without a doubt one of the most exciting acts today. With many of their songs rocketing to the top of the charts on release day, it came as no surprise to me when their Saturday show at KOKO sold out within the hour. It came as even less of a surprise when their show was extended to Friday and then Thursday with both also selling out. Luckily a few mates and I managed to get a set of tickets for Saturday and so we ventured forth to my favourite theatre to witness the British duo in action.

Our jaws dropped entering the familiar hall, we had never seen it so busy before. The place was filled wall to wall with people lit by the iconic orange Jungle logo above the decks. After drunkenly running into an ex-girlfriend’s best friend (whoops) we made our usual camp to the front left of the stage to witness the show.

Whilst being mostly known for their live shows, Jungle did a fantastic job behind the decks. A beautiful, very house-y set had the whole crowd moving together. Joyous is the word that comes to mind in that room that night. Even if it was a bit tight for space. I could have danced to their music all night long.

Sadly their set came to an end and we danced on with the follow up DJ. After about an hour I remember turning around and seeing the entire place had really cleared out since they finished. Maybe a fifth of the people there had remained after Jungle’s set and I was shocked to see it drop off so quickly. Turning to a friend of mine I remarked that maybe they’re not “typical clubbers” (AKA clubbing tourists) so maybe they were here for Jungle and not a night out.

Folamour at HERE at Outernet

And lastly, we have a gig I’ve been waiting a very, very long time for. Following the O2 Academy Brixton incident earlier last year, the venue was promptly shut and Folamour’s original April gig there was pushed back not once, but twice to a Thursday in February of 2024. With Brixton Academy still being shut, it was moved to HERE at Outernet, a brand new venue in Tottenham Court Road.

New venues are always exciting, so I was eager to check out what it was like on the inside.

Tottenham Court Road’s recent Outernet renovation has had London in a stranglehold. The large, colourful screens in all the various nooks and crannies of the new development are a wonder to go see in person, if a little gimmicky. This of course draws huge crowds from every corner of the city who marvel at the brilliant displays. The development didn’t hold back once and even HERE’s queue is surrounded by gigantic colourful screens dazzling you as you wait.

Inside the club itself, it’s highly modernised and sleek looking. The main room is tall and spacious with a mezzanine level at the back and sides. Behind the DJ booth is what must be the most high definition screen I’ve ever seen in a club, stretching from wall to wall and at least 5 metres tall. The cloakroom ticketing system is all done electronically: you enter your phone number into a tablet and it quickly takes a picture of your very surprised face and that somehow makes up your ticket. I suppose that reduces the risk of losing a ticket but I doubt their system will enjoy my ugly mug on there.

As bar situations go, you’re deceived early on with numerous bars dotted at the back of the room yet you still find yourself waiting close to 15 minutes each time for a drink. I couldn’t help but notice that they seemed understaffed that evening. The toilets are another spectacular display of technology with a plethora of automated taps, soap dispensers, and hand dryers at your disposal. A far cry from the usual grungy holes I’ve had to relieve myself in in clubs over the years.

However, we weren’t there to compare clubs, we were there to finally witness Folamour in action. I can only describe his set as fun. A disco house bonanza that had the room moving like I’ve never seen it before. He wove his stand out tunes masterfully into the set. Jaw dropping visuals on the mega-screen behind him took you on a wild ride through mystical worlds and fantastic landscapes.

We made camp near the sound booth at the back for the evening and even so far back I was impressed by the whole display. It looked heaving towards the front of the room, with people desperately trying to make their way into and out of the crowd. I was glad that the middle aged gig attendee was in short supply tonight.

It is a shame that the gig found itself taking place on a Thursday as I could have spent an age there dancing away to Folamour’s tunes. However, the night came to a close at a respectable 11pm and I found myself leaving, wondering whether I’d be able to get to see that screen again any time soon.