- Plastic People is an intimate space where personality and eccentricity flourish. It suits DJs who rely as much on their eclecticism and narrative instinct as on their beat-matching. This venue's flagship residencies—Theo Parrish and Floating Points—attest to the fact: with its enviable sound and cracking atmosphere, this tiny Shoreditch basement suits their wares perfectly. Sex Tags Mania boss DJ Sotofett—a man known as much for his jungle remixes as for his tendency to remove his shirt while DJing—seemed an equally good fit.
Just how weird would Sotofett go? I had no expectations, but arriving early to the sound of field recordings amid a rumble of deep static, the answer appeared to be "very." The first hour was a trip. As the venue gradually filled, people leaned against the walls, letting the heady sounds of saxophone, flute and white noise pass over them. It was out there, definitely, but also strangely inviting too. The atmosphere was akin to a church, with people standing about respectfully while Sotofett spun sounds beamed in from another galaxy.
Like clockwork, the vibe changed on the hour with the introduction of a kick drum. Sotofett played a mellow, syncopated house tune and mixed it into a grinding techno cut which seemed to asphyxiate the previous track. That kind of transition typified Sotofett's approach early on. Rather than align or blend tracks together, he presented almost aggressive contrasts of light and dark, organic and synthetic. It was challenging, but utterly captivating, too.
From then on it was an exercise in working the room. Crowd pleasers such as Gil Scott Heron's "The Bottle" and Nuyorican Soul's "The Nervous Track" made an appearance, and D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar" loosened even the most reluctant of limbs. Sotofett somehow managed to sneak these classics in alongside raw beat tracks without ever losing momentum.
The Norweigian was like a unruly magician behind the decks. There were no rules, no boundaries—he seemed able to play anything and make it work. This was epitomised by his closing track: Soul II Soul's seminal "Back to Life (Back to Reality)."