- The so-called experimental club sound has been spreading rapidly across London's dance floors in the past couple of years. This irreverent approach to dance music, which smashes together hip-hop, pop and a number of club styles, can be heard at excellent parties like Tropical Waste, Bala Club and Wild Combination. Arguably the forerunners of the sound are London label Night Slugs and its US-based sister operation, Fade To Mind. The transatlantic crew joined forces for a label showcase at Phonox on Thursday, demonstrating how relevant and vital they still are to this scene.
The night was nominally a release party for Ezra Rubin's new album as Kingdom, Tears In The Club, though it ended up as more of a celebration of the sound this group has cultivated so successfully. Unlike at emerging parties like Wild Combination, where distortion and tinny mp3s are common, Night Slugs and Fade To Mind usually play music with high production values. Tracks are rendered in HD, with gleaming melodies and futuristic rhythms sharp enough to cut. L-Vis 1990 summed it up perfectly when he called one of his productions "Ballad 4D."
Girl Unit was warming up to an almost empty room when I arrived at Phonox, which was unsurprising given that it was a weekday. Still, he set the tone perfectly, playing a sensuous mix of dancehall, R&B and hip-hop. He snuck in the instrumental version of Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" and closed, under swimming pink lights, with Future's woozy trap hit "Mask Off." By the time he was done, the club was full and ready to go. Kingdom followed, fusing mainstream trap, bass music and club edits of his own tracks, including "Tears In The Club" and an explosive take on "Down 4 Whatever." The energy and breathless pace of his performance were difficult to resist. Barely two minutes would pass without a new vocal line, jagged transition or dizzying tempo change to keep dancers on their toes. Bok Bok continued in a similar vein, impressively slicing hip-hop over an ever-shifting web of complex rhythms and dramatic basslines. All three DJs seemed to share a strand of sonic DNA.
The final DJ of the night offered something different. Fade To Mind associate Total Freedom is known for his confrontational sets, but I didn't expect such a sonic assault. It was one of the most adventurous selections I've heard in a long time, veering manically from hip-hop to jungle to dancehall, via Rihanna, Young Thug and Goldie. Everything was held together by horror movie effects and brutal tempo shifts. He laughed, danced and sang along while he played, sending snakes of blonde hair tumbling from his baseball cap.