- Fresh from co-hosting Ben UFO's remarkable all-night back-to-back with Morphosis at Corsica Studios, the Black Atlantic crew were at it again bringing Detroit upstart Jay Daniel to Peckham's Bussey Building. He was accompanied by two more local selectors, Nick Craddock and Photomachine, on a night when the venue could have been more aptly named "The Busy Building," such was the throng assembled.
The promoters scored a coup in assimilating what was originally a separate event with Sho Nuff in the second room into their party. Berlin's Lakuti was the main attraction here, and her seamless set of diva house and disco went some way to accounting for the enormous heat in the room. With a carnival-like vibe, it was a very different party from the hipster brigade on the first floor. I stopped and had a boogie to The Emotions' "I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love" before heading back downstairs to catch the end of Photomachine's set. He provided a tougher vibe despite an early billing, typified by the inclusion of Dungeon Meat's "Fuck Off Track."
As the night drew in and the smoking area crew remembered there was music playing inside, Nick Craddock stepped up to warm the floor for Jay Daniel. Starting with some polyrhythmic house, he edged towards more pounding music, and he finished out his set with some serious Detroit techno in Octave One's "Siege." The set was ultra-tight, and an hour was the perfect length of time for Craddock to create a buzz of anticipation.
Enter Jay Daniel. Throughout an extended set, he bobbed around the decks amiably, exuding confidence. The vibe was more pool party than Peckham basement, however, as Daniel opted to showcase the breadth of his musical taste rather than play fast or hard. He flitted between genres impulsively, dropping soul classics like Lonnie Liston-Smith's "Expansions" alongside contemporary hip-hop in Madlib's "Robes." The set had a roving but slightly disjointed feel, and it was only during more muscular 4/4 material like Moodymann's "Shades Of Jae" that the room was really moving. It was an enjoyable evening despite Daniel not quite living up to his considerable hype, or the quality of the acts surrounding him.