- On paper, the second season of London party series Clock Strikes 13 looked remarkable. The lineups were thought-provoking and forward-facing, drawn from a wide-ranging pool of talent at the more esoteric end of the electronic music spectrum. Think labels like Príncipe and NAAFI or artists like Dopplereffekt and Demdike Stare. But it appears that a lot of the programming fell on deaf ears: two events were cancelled, while a handful of others were poorly attended.
I arrived at Corsica Studios around midnight on Saturday, November 26th for the final night of the series, a joint showcase from two record labels and parties with diverse music policies: Different Circles, run by Mumdance and Logos, and Samuel and Hayley Kerridge's Contort. Italian artist WSR was beginning a noisy performance in room one, mashing together live cello and shoegaze techno. In room two, drum & bass stalwart Randall was playing high-energy breakbeats. The space was half full with older, up-for-it ravers. At some point, my friend cocked her head in my direction. "It's like we've stumbled back into 1998."
In a style reminiscent of this year's RA podcast, Raime threw down UK garage twisted with jungle and dancehall. Tasteful classics like Menta's "Sounds Of Da Future" rattled around room one, whipping punters into a frenzy. It was my favourite set of the night. Next, New Zealand's FIS gave a chilling live performance, manipulating field recordings and pounding bass notes that evoked imagery of harsh natural environments.
On a night of fierce performances, SØS Gunver Ryberg took top prize. Building from a throbbing drone, the Danish artist sequenced hypnotic live techno that fell around the 130-to-150 BPM mark. Kerridge delivered punchy techno peppered with acid house, none of which I could identify. Logos, who DJ'ed a total of three times across the night, played twice with Boomkat's Conor Thomas back-to-back, dropping cuts like Phuture classic "Acid Tracks."
Mumdance was last to arrive to his own party. He'd driven down from Sheffield, where he'd had another booking, entering the booth around 5:30 AM to steer the night home. He unleashed an assault of instrumental grime and mutated techno in his singular style, but sadly the room was only half full. If Clock Strikes 13 returns in 2017, here's hoping it can make a bigger splash.