- London is such a crowded hub for electronic music that it really takes something striking to catch your eye. Party series Clock Strikes 13 is the brainchild of Ajay Jayaram, a seasoned club promoter whose previous and current exploits include The End, Cable and The Hydra. He's someone who's used to dealing with big name bookings and numbers that run into the thousands, so some people may have been surprised when the first details of CS13 began to surface. 23 parties—most of them label showcases—would run twice weekly across a three-month period, with the likes of Príncipe, 1080p, Sued and Liberation Technologies all onboard. It felt like one of the freshest run of events to hit the capital in years.
The series began on October 2nd, and this coming weekend, on December 19th, it will draw to a close. On the whole, it's done well. Some nights have been too quiet, and most probably could have done with an extra 50 people, but given the niche appeal of the labels and acts involved that was almost to be expected. The two parties I've been to—Ninja Tune's St John At Hackney takeover in October and last Friday's Viewlexx party at Corsica Studios—have both felt busy, and the music was excellent pretty much across the board. (Dean Blunt's tongue-firmly-in-cheek performance at St John was one of the best things I've seen all year.) For the Viewlexx bash, I-F, Intergalactic Gary and Legowelt were joined by World Unknown's Joe Hart and special guest Ron Morelli.
Hart went first in the main room. His mixing was a little on the rough side, but every new cut of dark, synthy house quickly assuaged any raised eyebrows. The dance floor filled out towards the end of his set, at which point he dropped the instrumental version of Groove Committee's "I Want You To Know," a piano-led jam that felt wonderfully out of place. I-F followed, instantly switching lanes to driving electro and techno.
I was after something less banging, so I split for room two where Intergalactic Gary was settling in. The energy was looser in here all night, forged through Gary's expertly crafted blend of dark Italo, off-kilter techno and '80s synth wave. I couldn't tell you a single track he played (I was hoping to hear this one, which he claims never leaves his bag), but I left the party happy at having seen such a brilliant DJ for the first time. If Clock Strikes 13 was conceived with any objectives in mind, I feel like that would have been one of them.