- The faces behind London's Motek crew, Ben Coda and Matt Hardinge, have a refreshing policy with regard to their newly established club nights. From the onset, rather than attempting to attract all and sundry to their parties and subsequently packing as many people as thy can into the largest space possible, they sought out a unique venue. So, with that in mind, The CAMP has become their base. The Old Street-based club boasts a £20K sound system, but with a mere 250 person capacity it means that the atmosphere is always going to be intimate, as was the case at the most recent Motek party where Mark Henning headlined.
This intimacy certainly contributed to the event's atmosphere. With Henning due to hit the decks at 1.30 AM, DJ Yiannis Balkizas warmed things up with a well thought out deep house and techno set. Keeping the tempo at just the right level in anticipation of Henning's arrival meant that the assembled crowd were placed in just the right frame of mind once the headliner made his way to the decks. As he set-up his Mac laptop, the atmosphere began to charge, already buoyed by Yiannis' superlative selection. With his Korg controller and Ableton finally up and running, it only took Henning a few minutes to reach full swing, and the crowd were with him every step of the way, the atmosphere picking up to the point where symmetry between Henning and the dance floor emerged and remained for the duration of his performance.
The closing strains of Henning's final track were met with a warm round of applause before Coda and Hardinge made their way into the DJ booth for a back-to-back set to end the evening. Having played alongside one another for quite some time now, there was little need for discussion between the two. Hardinge opted for deep house, while Coda's selection of the more rolling side of techno made for a balanced, complementary combination of styles, both playing until the night's 4 AM close.