- Situated between two railway arches in Elephant & Castle, Corsica Studios blends itself into a dark stretch facing a soon-to-be demolished estate, and sparse surroundings replicate themselves inside. The layout is minimal with a small bar that, at times, threatens to be overwhelmed by the number of people present at the club each week. A thin terrace serves as the smoking area, which always contains a significant number of the total capacity. Corsica's finest attribute, however, is its sound system, and the home of Boiler Room never disappoints when it comes transmitting the (at times) deafening qualities of its performers.
London-based GetMe! Were the purveyors on this occasion, with the event acting as the label's 5th Birthday celebration. By the time recent signee Becoming Real took over in the main room, there were pockets of people, mostly situated around the bar, but the venue was still far from capacity. The mutated textures and abstract atmospherics that have come to define his live performances were nowhere to be seen. In their place were an intense array of dance floor-friendly tracks that seemed to will listeners onto the floor. By the time Addison Groove's "This Is It" surfaced, the room was well and truly grooving.
A breath of fresh air beckoned, but navigating the concentrated terrace proved almost as suffocating as the dance floor. Back in the main room, smoke filled the air and strobe lights flickered as Manchester based collective Stay+ set the scene for the night's most intriguing event. Upbeat, trance-tinged sounds were accompanied by an array of colourful visuals. The crescendo moment arrived when a live stream of the crowd was relayed back into the projector, and a mesh of watcher and performer adorned the screen. Warmly received by the crowd and fully complementing the music and atmosphere, it was a highlight fitting a birthday celebration.
Funkystepz then took to the booth for a DJ set, and, by this time, it was a battle to get anywhere around the venue—finding a ledge to lean upon was a hard-earned relief. Favourites littered the set: "Fuller" was expertly mixed in, but M-Beat's "Incredible" drew the biggest cheer. Deadboy arrived next, a little late, but received the crowd's forgiveness by opening with Danny Weed's "Creeper." Numbers were dropping now, which was a shame as Deadboy's set was perhaps the most accomplished of the lot, spanning rolling house with shades of garage and 2-step, a shift in mood no less intense than Funkystepz brashness. Ossie then closed the birthday with the crowd significantly thinned out, playing a selection of his own music and house favourites.