- Over the past year, Cottam has been progressing well and truly under the radar. A cloud of mystique surrounded his first three vinyl releases, which crept onto record shop shelves last year completely unlabeled and unmarketed. Their blend of hard-hitting slo-mo house and dance floor friendly grooves quickly got ears pricking up in the house community though, and the Scarlet Pimpernel of Preston quickly gained a huge cult following. All three made it onto Phonica's top 50 chart of 2009, and appearances this year at Warm's 11th Birthday bash and Mulletover cemented his place as one of the most exciting talents emerging on the house scene.
Nomad, a recent addition to Old Street's clubbing circuit, was to be the setting for the Preston native's first venture back behind the decks after a short autumn respite. The upper level is as impressive a dance floor space as I've seen lately. The low beamed roof gives a real house party feel—perfect for creating a close vibe out on the floor, with nooks and crannies aplenty. After some excellent warm up sets from the Get Down Good residents, Cottam took his place behind the decks, signature cap shadowing his eyes, and laid down a huge opener in the form of Inner West Soul's edit of ELO's "Evil Woman." The crowd lapped it up; as the piano loop dropped, you could feel the early buzz of anticipation in the air.
Unfortunately the momentum didn't quite pick up from there. A few teething problems with the decks stopped play for an awkward few minutes shortly after, and while some able off-the-cuff scratching saved the room from complete silence, the crowd had lost their stride. Having already seen Cottam play twice, I was looking forward to the exciting energy that has become synonymous with his sets. Unfortunately it just wasn't there on this night. An apparent problem with the soundsystem meant that the sound levels were frustratingly quiet, further contributing to the lack of any real vibe in the room.
Having said that, even an off-form Cottam can still work a crowd, and there were flashes of what I hoped could have been. The B-side of his newly released EP, a thumping rework of Plantlife's "Luv 4 The World," proved impossible not to dance to and gave a short burst of life to a seemingly reluctant crowd. As the night went on the tunes got deeper and a cluster of loyal dancers remained while the room thinned out. KiNK & Neville Watson's Chicago anthem "Metropole" gave a late burst of dynamism to the remaining bodies that jacked in time to the tune's melodic bleeps and synths. The set closed, tellingly though, with Massive Attack's "Unfinished Sympathy." I'd urge anyone present on the night to take heed of the message in the song and not be too quick to judge; Cottam's business in London is very much unfinished. Hopefully a return to the capital in the near future will also mark a return to form.