- If the saying goes you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, then the same goes for a sparsely filled Motek event before midnight. Only three gigs in, the London-based purveyors of progressive house and techno are rapidly building a small, but loyal following with their shindigs at The CAMP in Shoreditch. Save for an urgent need to invest in some industrial-sized fans to temper the club's sauna-like heat, the basement setting provides a deliciously no-frills location for the electronic fry-ups.
The DJs were in cherry ripe form recently. Amy Bain dropped a warm-up set that swung from rhythmic tech house to deeper grooves, and seemed to enjoy every tune as much as the ever growing crowd, as she paired pin-sharp mixing with enthusiastic fist-pumps. Canadian import Hakim Guelmi was in similarly good form, building atmosphere and excitement in equal doses as he dropped a humming set of melodic techno that included DJ T. and James Teej's "Sense."
Photo credit: High Chee's
More than a few producers would struggle to fill a two-hour live slot with quality compositions, but Max Cooper, who has over 50 productions to his name, did so with aplomb. The set wasn't only a excursion through Cooper's dreamscape brand of techno, but a buzzing jaunt that mixed up delicious melodic peaks with the occasional wobbling bass interlude and even a drilling drum pattern that sounded like it was inspired by Richie Hawtin's old Minus Orange EP—clearly, diversity isn't something the Brit struggles with. The favourites were there, too, of course: his remix of Hot Chip's "I Feel Better" elicited instant shrieks of approval from the attentive crowd, while his re-work of Sasha's classic "Xpander" made a fitting closing track as blissed-out grins spread throughout the club.
Motek founders Ben Coda and Matt Hardinge then rounded out the night with a superb one-hour closing set that kicked off at 3 AM. Proud progressive house exponents, the pair came out swinging with driving and upfront cuts, with King Unique's "20000000 Suns" typifying their stomping approach. The night was brought to a euphoric climax as Dopamine's re-rub of Orbital "Belfast" slipped into the appropriately titled "Feel Good" by Iboga Records duo Lish. For the clusters of loyal punters remaining on the dance floor, this was undoubtedly the prevailing sentiment of the night.