Jaunt (jônt, jänt) n. A short trip or excursion, usually for pleasure; an outing
Plain and Simple’s roving reporter/man about town and clubbing addict Jammy brings you his eye view of the event he was partying at in the last week… We welcome him back and this time he spent his jaunts at Illusion Sound at Crucifix Lane and Them at Corsica Studios.
Hello and welcome to Jammy’s Jaunts! Your weekly clubbing review of London! This jaunt covered the very special ‘Illusion Sound Silent Steps Showcase’ featuring Ash Verschuur, Howski, Octave and Kyle Geiger at Crucifix Lane and ‘Them’ featuring A Made Up Sound/2562, Pariah, Shifted, Shadow Dancer, Mondkopf, Randomer, J.Tijn with residents Moto, Bagheera, Sduk and Cntrst.
So to start off this jaunt it was the next instalment of the popular Illusion Sound party. This time around, it was at Crucifix Lane. Warming up proceedings was the talented Ash Verschuur. I arrived late and missed his set, and I’m pretty sure he rocked the warm up. I arrived around 1am and Howski was already playing. I didn’t know much about him and from what I heard, he was really beginning the night off well. The crowd were slowly beginning to fill the main room and it was nice to see the usual London Techno collective on the dancefloor. Illusion Sound is still creating good movements in the Techno scene and their lineups have certainly turned many people’s faces. They have made people take notice and fair play to them as their team have certainly worked hard to bring the best Techno talent to London. Howski was really playing well and I was surprisingly impressed by how he was playing and by the end of his set he did a great job for Kyle Geiger to come on. Originally from America with releases on labels such as Drumcode, Soma, Perc Trax, and Droid as well as his own label: Cubera. Kyle brought his own style and Techno flair and in my opinion did a very good job. His Techno was different in a way I couldn’t really describe. It was high charged, groovy, relentless yet flowed without any limitations. I have never seen him play before and speaking to him after, he was very nice and humble with a great sense of humour. His 2 hour set from 2am-4am flew by and his energy behind the decks was excellent to see. Always vital to see a DJ enjoying himself and interacting with the crowd whilst sending them on that magical, musical journey.
Last up for Illusion Sound was Octave. He is owner of Silent Steps Records and from France. He has played for Illusion Sound before and this time around when he played he was very good. I was very impressed with the way he played and from start to finish he completely went for it! Tracks after track he smashed and by then the whole Illusion Sound crowd were having such a good time! In terms of quality of music and Techno being produced he stood out for me as the highlight of the evening. It was good to hear him play again as the last time I heard him, I wasn’t 100% convinced and I always seem to give DJ’s a second time to impress me and certainly this time around he really delivered it and made for great ending to a brilliant party! A wicked Friday jaunt!
Next up was the ‘Them’ party at Corsica Studios. Corsica have always had quality Techno lineups and a wide range of music events hosted there and this time around they pulled off a decent party. Set times in room 1: 23:00 – 00:20 SdUk and Cntrst, 00:20 – 01:20 Mondkopf, 01:20 – 02:40 Pariah, 02:40 – 04:10 A Made Up Sound, 04:10 – 05:40 Shifted, 05:40 – 06:30 Them. In room 2: 01:10 – 02:10 Shadow Dancer, 02:10 – 03:10 Randomer, 03:10 – 04:10 J.Tijn, 04:10 – End Moto and Bagheera. So arriving there around just after midnight, I headed to the main room where Mondkopf was playing. The main room was really busy and he was playing dub techno and the basslines he was producing were banging out through their Funktion 1 system! This was the first time I had seen him play and it was very interesting. His Boiler Room set is well worth a listen and he has his very own unique style.
Over in the other room I went to check out Randomer. Again another DJ that I haven’t seen play before. He was dropping loads of old school tracks and his groove was quality! Track after track he was dropping flowed so well and everyone in that room were loving it. In both rooms there was a good crowd and the amount of people was decent. Both rooms nicely packed without feeling clustered and bumped about. I was feeling the vibe and the excitement in that room and ended up staying there for J.Tijn’s set which was one of the many highlights of the night. From start to finish for an hour it was really rolling and everyone was properly getting his sound with a few old school tracks that I recognised being dropped in. It was a good night seeing new and fresh DJ’s that I have never seen play before, which has add to my extensive knowledge of DJ’s and how/what they play.
Last up in the main room after I caught Randomer and J.Tijn was the Avian boss: Shifted. He was the headliner for the event and he didn’t disappoint. I have seen him many times before and each time he has played he has completely destroyed it. He was only playing 1.5 hours which was a shame as he is known for his lengthy extended sets. His heavy pulsating stripped back muscular techno was just the thing for me and I was completely in my element when he played. It was tough and strong. At times it was hypnotic and full of bass but this didn’t matter as the music was exceptional and a good time was had. I thoroughly enjoyed his set and when he was finished, I felt that I ended the weekend on such a high note! What a great weekend jaunt! Same time, next weekend? 🙂
