- An unknown entity has been causing quite a stir among disco heads of late, the result of a mysterious pairing reportedly consecrated in (where else?) a dusty record shop. From that chance meeting, Tiger and Woods have gone on to produce a widely celebrated collection of edits, and become the basis of many an afterparty conversation, with numerous theories being offered up as to their true identities.
It was never going to be long until the pair would be lured to these cold shores for an eagerly anticipated UK debut and it came as no surprise that Warm, a night that truly has its finger on the pulse of the disco scene, was the first to import them. Upon entering Plastic People on the night, escaping the cold streets of London, I found the instantly warming sound of the Tom Tom Club classic "Genius of Love" seeping into my ears, making my face break into a passionate smile.
As the crowd's numbers gently started to swell, the sounds made a smooth transition from hypnotic grooves from the likes of The Revenge into warm, deep house cuts, and my feet needed minimal encouragement to take up residence on the dance floor. Running Back boss Gerd Janson played a finely crafted set that enticed a somewhat stubborn crowd into taking to the floor. Mark E's "R&B Drunkie" was the tipping point. As Janet Jackson's vocals pleaded "can we slow it down," the numerous silhouettes of people getting down became a permanent fixture from then on.
Janson had effortlessly set the table for Tiger and Woods to take the helm, but, to be honest, the pair's set didn't quite live up to the enormous hype around their production. Although sparse, their finest moments were found when dropping "Love in Cambogia" off the Out of Bounds EP where the rich and deep electro boogie bassline of Melba Moore's classic "Love's Coming at You" is put to fine use. The shortness of their set could almost have been forgiven when they played their edit of Evelyn King's "Love Come Down," another record that holds a rich, deep sound. It seemed the obvious moment to kick things into high gear, but their set was unfortunately over way too soon.
With their appearance ending somewhat prematurely and the dance floor teased into a climax that hadn't quite been achieved, it was left to Janson to step up and finish what he had started. Without any fuss and with all the technical skill that he had demonstrated at the beginning of the party, he rounded things off with yet another sublime selection of music that gave the night a deserved ending. As the final few tracks were played out, he sealed the deal by dropping Price Language's remix of LCD Soundsystem's "45:33," with the soulful vocals of James Murphy melting minds and hearts alike. All in all, this night was very much a tale of two halves, but it can be with no doubt who left the disciples of Warm glowing inside when taking to the streets of London that cold Saturday morning.