I never went to KOKO before the redevelopment in 2021. However, since they reopened the doors last year, it’s quickly become one of my favourite clubs in London. “Pretty cool venue, good spot for gigs” would be what most people told me of KOKO before I went for the first time. “Burned down a few years ago”.
Now I don’t know for sure what kind of music events it hosted before the fire, but since then it’s hosted a powerhouse roster of artists.
Breakbot, Anish Kumar, and 2manydjs have been group favourites for a while, so when they all appeared on KOKO’s lineup post redevelopment, we copped tickets and headed. It must have been their opening weekend, the toilets still smelled of fresh paint.
Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to catch Confidence Man and Crazy P there. Their latest season looks to be one of their biggest yet. I’ve fallen in love with the new art style they’re running with as well and often have to stop myself getting tickets to everything on.
And so Saturday gone, I found myself standing outside my beloved theatre another time, thrilled to catch Salute on stage (again). The tall building is impressive with its name shining brightly above the smoking area on top of the entrance.
Getting into the main room, you leave the entrance on the 1st floor, the old dress circle, with a fantastic view over the main floor. The theatre ornaments and details are all still intact and give the club this almost dramatic feel to it. There’s a sense of grandeur to the place that some would say clashes with the more underground nature of the house music pumping from the speakers. I disagree. KOKO feels unique with its spectacular and absolutely massive disco ball suspended from the ceiling getting me into the dancing mood. The old levels of the theatre give you a range of experiences that few other clubs offer. Getting a bit sick of being so tightly packed on the dancefloor? Head up to the dress circle. Fancy a quieter spot where you can have a more intimate chat? Head up to the gods all the way on the 4th floor. At every level you still get to see the DJ, it's a great experience.
Salute, as always, was fantastic, spinning track after track on a beautifully designed stage. Two screens positioned above him looked like TVs with both vintage and trippy clips playing and spot lights directly beneath them pointed down to encase Salute in a little box of light. He’s easily becoming one of my recent most cherised live acts and I’m in love with his ability to get people in the dancing mood.
For me, the best club experiences are not just the music but the place too. And that night, Salute and KOKO operated in delightful tandem. Feel good dancing tunes and the vast array of lighting from the club had many cutting shapes late into the night.
I think my favourite bit of the club is the aforementioned smoking area. Sat on top of the entrance, it gives fantastic views up Camden High Street. I often find myself standing up there, spying other late night revellers making their way around town.
KOKO is lucky enough to have a relatively late license (for London) with clubbers being ejected at 5am. On previous nights there, the place became relatively empty at around 4am with London clubbers (who arguably can’t hack a proper night out) calling it a night before closing. However tonight, I left at 4am feeling like I was leaving a party early. The crowd was alive and I was living it.
I'm looking forward to heading back there again soon.