- I can't recall an event loaded with more narratives than this. Two weeks on from fabric's closure, more than 20 of the best artists from what was arguably London's last great musical movement had been billed to play a fundraiser for photographer Shaun Bloodworth, beloved documentarian of this generation. Bloodworth had fallen ill and the night would support his medical fees. But then, a few hours before the event, tragic news filtered through that Bloodworth had passed away while waiting for a liver transplant. His family urged the party to continue and it became a celebration of his life. His works were projected around XOYO, images that have been etched into the retinas of anyone with even a passing interest in dubstep, UK funky and UK bass. It was a touching reminder of just how much ground the man covered.
The lineup at XOYO, which featured everyone from Objekt and Pangaea to Benga and Rustie, harked back to around 2010, when dubstep had begun to take new forms, but before the majority of early adopters had turned their backs on it entirely. Nights focused on these splinter years can be hard to execute. There's a fair distance nowadays between, say, Katy B and Pearson Sound, so how would it work? Would it be a throwback? Or would it further highlight how much each strain has mutated and evolved? Either way, for those of us who spent the late '00s chasing down poor quality rips of Untold's "Anaconda" and Rustie's "Zig-Zag," this was kind of a big deal.
The night ran without a hitch. XOYO's recent revamp was never more apparent or appreciated: the maypole-style lighting in the upstairs room was used to brilliant effect, and the basement floor's crushingly loud system breathed new life into old favourites, of which there were more than I can list. Every set brought songs I hadn't heard played out in years. Roska gassed through funky anthems like Donae'o's "Party Hard," Crazy Cousinz's "Do You Mind" and Fuzzy Logic's "In The Morning" within the first ten minutes of his set. Illum Sphere played Larry Heard's "The Sun Can't Compare" at +8; Toddla T played M.I.A.'s "Galang" at -8. It was that kind of night.
The breathless pace of the music was reflected in the rapid turnover of acts. Because XOYO only has two rooms, there were a lot of back-to-backs, which provided some of the night's most inspired moments. Benga and Artwork rolled back the years and returned to their Croydon roots, Josey Rebelle and Loefah swung for the rafters with slabs of massive, old jungle, and Pariah, Tessela and Objekt did a classy job dicing up cuts off Radiohead's Kid A with stone-cold classics like Objekt's "Cactus." The night was proof that, though it's taken us Brits a while to depart from the rote tradition of stacking lineups, there's something to be said for that approach. When you've only got 45 minutes to play with instead of six hours, you're forced to bring a different kind of energy.
Rave For Shaun was first and foremost a celebration of Bloodworth's life and legacy, but it was also a homage to the period of music he captured so expertly. On what could have been a sombre evening, Thursday was instead a reminder of the chummy spirit that made those formative years so great. I didn't stop smiling the entire time I was in the club. That might have made for a poor portrait, but it made for a fantastic party.
Photo credit /
Avi Del Mono
