- As usual, This Is Not Happening at Dalston Superstore on February 12th was a painfully packed night with the lack of a door fee luring in cable-knit jumper and fur clad punters to see a funk-tinged disco set from Le Loup, moving between groove-filled tech numbers to soulful house.
With support from the night's residents Jus' Fab, Harry James and Will Martin, the 21 year-old French DJ and producer filled the sweaty basement room at the Superstore. Loup first started DJing at 16 after purchasing turntables. Soon lured into the glamorous world of producing, the Parisian has recently released his first EP on Gadi Mizrahi and Zev Eisenberg's New York label Wolf + Lamb, home to names like Jamie Jones, Lee Curtiss and Nicolas Jaar.
Loup cites influences from jazz legends like Nina Simone to more current dance music producers like Moodyman, but his focus is on fusing house elements with deep and soulful funk in the same manner as Soul Clap or Trus'me. His Dalston Superstore set on the Valentine's weekend was, as expected, an appropriately intimate and romantic venue for such amorous tunes.
Wolf + Lamb gems were in abundance such as Zev's "Forget the World" and Gadi Mizrahi & Jamie Jones' delectable edit from their Black Label, "Nasty Things." Alongside tracks like Mark E's "RnB Drunkie" and more smooth disco, we also heard Inxec and Matt Tolfrey's "Hollywood," with the rammed dance floor seeing moustaches and posing Dalstonites aplenty.
The smoking area spilling out on Kingsland High Street was a shamble of sweaters and oversized leather jackets, but everyone seemed to be unironically enjoying themselves. Le Loup's sultry tunes clearly worked their charm.