- Jay Shepheard's Retrofit imprint has reached its 5th release since being established a year ago. To celebrate, two of Dalston Superstore's resident promoters, Do It and Scandal, recently hosted Retrofit's artists and DJs. "Superstore," as it's known locally, is based in the ground floor and basement of a typical high street building, lending it a house-party-meets-bar feel. It has proved ideal for acid house and disco revivalist events like Legendary Children and Feel My Bicep. Retrofit's distinctly modern take on house music might have jarred with Superstore's faded New York glamour but in actual fact the combination made for a great party.
Taking over the upstairs of Superstore were Namedrop of DJ History fame, Faze Action's Simon Lee and Retrofit's very own Marysia. The concession to a more vintage sound on the ground floor worked a treat, with selections like Metro Area's seminal "Miura" and a range of acid house classics keeping the venue's fashionable Friday night crowd happy. Superstore has attracted a stylish mixed audience since it opened, and the hipster contingent were fully evident in their natural Dalston habitat, sporting the obligatory selection of carefully preened facial hair and James Dean-inspired denim.
Downstairs was a different affair, with label-mates Jay Shepheard and Matthew Burton keeping it tech house and uptempo. Retrofit's trademark melodic releases like "Add Arp" featured alongside house classics like Lil' Louis' "Club Lonely." The basement was busy from start to finish, and a large contingent had evidently come in search of the party to hear Shepheard and Burton perform, and proving that that house music in all its incarnations will always work in sweaty basements.