Cobblestone Jazz in London

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  • In little more than a year, East London venue Oval Space has risen to become one of the capital's most exciting venues, showcasing everything from an Atoms For Peace gig to secretsundaze parties. Their new Oval Space Music concept launched last week, beginning a series of in-house, mid-week events focused on live artists. Canada's Cobblestone Jazz headlined their launch party, with some excellent support in tow. James Priestley's eclectic, downtempo warm-up set the stage for FaltyDL. A small but steadily growing crowd were gently coerced into appreciation as the New York bass merchant moved through a wide spectrum of grooves, from classic hip-hop to current house, and later into rave-era breakbeat sounds. It was the first time I'd seen him play, and he's definitely got some dance floor chops. Cobblestone Jazz aren't the much-hyped outfit they once were, which is probably to their advantage. Still releasing quality music on a sporadic basis, their live combo of jazzy keys, synth basslines and housey sampled grooves remains an interesting prospect. Danuel Tate's keys were occasionally a bit histrionic, but for the most part his fast and loose style added yet more rhythm to the grooves his colleagues whipped up. "Dump Truck" took us back to a bygone era (minimal house, I think we called it then?) in the encore, still as infectious as ever, with Tate freestyling wildly. By the end of the set, the intimate crowd were clearly up for more, having been teased into starting the weekend early.
RA