- In the days following the tragic attacks in Paris, many of which struck the heart of the city's liveliest neighbourhoods, local promoters and club owners issued a collective statement asserting that they would open as usual across the weekend of November 20th. As they saw it, inviting Parisians to return to the dance floor was an act of defiance against those who carried out the atrocities.
But when I entered La Java around 1AM for Release The Groove, it was impossible to ignore how empty the club was. The idiots are winning, I thought, with a hint of disappointment. Homegrown disco veteran and Goldrush chief Pierre Wax was warming up superbly, delivering a steady stream of soulful Italo edits and hard-hitting disco to the sparse but delighted crowd. He walked the line between classy and cheesy with aplomb, throwing down Ann Margret's epic slow-burner "Everybody Needs Somebody Sometimes," which was met with roars of appreciation. As his set drew to a close around 2:30 AM, I looked around and realized with pride how wrong I'd been about the tenacity of local punters: the room was packed as Sadar Bahar took to the decks.
Responsible for the Soul In The Hole compilation and parties, the Chicago DJ is a world-class selector and a true underground hero. His set was filled with obscure and cheerful grooves, relying heavily on disco and funk rhythms but also leaning on boogie and gospel at times. From James Mason's "The Dance Of Life" to Gil Scott-Heron's "The Bottle," he presented the full spectrum of Afro-American dance music. His mixing technique may be unsettling at times (Bahar is more interested in melody than precise beatmatching, and will sometimes switch to the next record by ear, without an attempt at a proper transition), but there's no resisting his blissful vintage cuts played in his own infectious style.
Throughout his set, people were laughing and cheering, unapologetically jerking and twisting—an appreciative audience if I've ever seen one. The whole night felt cathartic, and I left the club sweaty, exhausted and relieved: life goes on in Paris despite the horror. The so-called "capital of perversion" is still up and dancing.