- There's something rather incongruous about dancing in the middle of an office-lined street in southern Shoreditch as the autumn chill begins to creep in; but then that always was what made FOUND's first ever street party such an appealing idea in the first place.
FOUND fast established itself as one of London's most exciting nights following its inception a year ago, joining the dots between the glut of post-dubstep producers and their influences. This street party represented a marked leap of faith for them: a space previously unused for such debauched purposes, and a beefy line-up that required nothing but an outright success to recoup the costs. Thankfully for them, the strength of US legends Todd Edwards and MK coupled with Huxley and Paul Woolford was enough to sell out this party comfortably in advance.
Photo credit: Sophia Whitfield
I arrived as Woolford was hitting his stride, playing a funk-fuelled, disco-rhythmed selection of house that's more akin to the style of his Munk remixes for Cr2 some years back than the atmospheric techno he's better known for these days. Our dance floor for the afternoon was the long, narrow, closed-off Earl Street, the DJs playing out of a Red Bull van backed by a high wall of scaffolding and soundproofing.
The Funktion-One soundsystem was perfectly adequate, but it was clear that everyone wanted it a lot louder. The party was quite far from any residential properties, but noise regulations unfortunately didn't permit much more of a thump. The crowd also seemed to be made up less of the underground connoisseur I'd expect from FOUND and more the neo-Shoreditch set, heavy of make-up and terrace / Magaluf style chanting—but they gave the DJs the reactions they deserved over the course of the afternoon.
Photo credit: Sophia Whitfield
Reviewing a Todd Edwards set was once somewhat of a moot point in journalistic terms, given its predictable (yet thoroughly enjoyable) nature. His inimitable combination of cut-up vocals, skippy percussion and undulating, chunky bass created a blueprint that UK garage based itself on, which in turn spawned 2-step, grime and dubstep—a truly immense contribution to dance music. Now he's come full circle, being influenced by producers who hold him in huge esteem and moulding his signature sound onto different rhythms, beat structures and sub-genres to great effect.
At FOUND, along with the usual lashings of his solid gold garage formula, he cut into moments of UK bass pressure (was that some Boddika I heard?) and French house via his collaboration with Surkin. Smiles abounded—none more so than from Edwards—despite the volume frustratingly rising and dipping throughout the course of his set.
Photo credit: Sophia Whitfield
Without MK, there might be no Todd Edwards as we know him. Edwards has publicly acknowledged on many occasions how MK's cut-up vocals were the inspiration for his own style. MK's set on this day was surprisingly diverse, kicking off with Four Tet's broken-beat take on Ultraista's "Small Talk" before moving into familiar staples like his Jodeci "Freakin' Me" dub and his rework of Lana Del Ray's "Blue Jeans." We were given previews of his new material with Lee Foss, and his subtle re-take of Amirali's haunting "Just an Illusion," plus the obligatory play of "Burning" (twice, in fact).
FOUND was undoubtedly a success, a battle against the odds that just about worked. A louder, hotter version in a less cramped space would definitely be preferable, but they should be commended for giving it a try, getting an excellent lineup together and ultimately pulling it off. Todd Edwards was beaming after about how it was his best gig in the UK for some time—praise we're guessing doesn't come lightly.