- With Plastic People gone, Dance Tunnel is one of a handful of clubs left to carry the torch for underground dance music in London. Proof that Dance Tunnel is up to the challenge is FWD, once Plastic People's flagship bass night and the current Thursday staple at the Dalston basement. Since the move in summer 2013, the Rinse-run party has continued to showcase UK club music in all its mutant forms, adding a weekly hit of the miscellaneous to the venue's staunch house and techno programme. For the second FWD of 2015, and the first since Plastic People's closure, Four Tet and Pearson Sound joined forces for an all night back-to-back.
As seminal as those Plastic People parties were, FWD feels at home at Dance Tunnel. Inside, the club was packed, populated almost exclusively by energetic 18-to-20-year-olds. This, coupled with the DJs' early, fast-paced forays through UK bass, dub and golden-era dubstep, lent the atmosphere a raucous edge. If you frequent house and techno parties, it's easy to forget just how exciting this call-and-response style of DJing is. Around me, revellers rocked wildly from side to side, shoving their friends and bellowing every time a new bassline hit. Khan's "Dread," Loefah's remix of D1's "Crack Bong" and SX's "Woo Riddim" were three of many wall-rattling bangers.
From there, Four Tet and Pearson Sound branched off into UK funky, UK garage and bassline. And then all of a sudden the intensity dropped away completely. A mellow, almost ambient period followed, as the DJs cleansed the floor in preparation for the night's standout track: Floating Points' "Nuits Sonores." When the full weight of the kick hit, the floor erupted. Barnt's "Chappell" came next, chased with Lil Silva's "Venture," Darkstar's "Need You" and Champion's remix of Four Tet's "Kool FM." As lively as that sounds, there were definite lulls in energy—Four Tet, for example, lent too heavily on his bassline collection towards the end of the night. But let's forget the details for a moment: FWD was a thumping reminder that, despite recent events, London is still home to one of the most unique and thrilling club scenes in the world. And as for Dance Tunnel, my advice would be to go there as much as you can.