[Review] BassLaced @ Cable 19/08/11
Accompanied by the infamous Grand, I was hyped about this night as it is a rare treat to witness the musical fitness of DMZ & Horsepower in the same line up in an accessible high profile club such as Cable with the reputation that Basslaced has for party sessions.
This was the third of Basslaced’s summer sessions at Cable, and was streamed live by UKF.
I arrived with Benny and the Horsepower gang to witness a wild jump up set by the likes of Gemini in the main room, which was already getting pretty busy at 11, and paving the way for the mad antics of the night.
The second room and bar area hosted UK Funky„ House, Grime and I also heard a bit of old skool UKG, and was a lively and sociable alternative to the rowdy sweaty main room.
Dream who is signed to Heavy Artillery, has already been pointed out to me by Rossi B, and his big bass heavy Dubstep beats are club bangers from start to end – he is a young talent with an obvious flare for this genre.
Benny Ill’s set lived up to his usual exemplary selection and production levels – Benny played a unique collection of his own and his colleagues’ dubs including specials by Mala, Coki, Horsepower, Quest and many more. Sophie Horsepower said to me “You watch the dance floor will empty slightly when Benny gets up then it’ll get rammed again” – she was right. One of the key originators of the Dubstep genre Benny Ill (Horsepower) is famed for not only pioneering the ‘Dub’ side of Dubstep, but for remixing greats such as Lee Scratch Perry (check the latest Horsepower album on Tempa – Sonic Bounty). It was interesting to hear Coki’s new track “Celestial Dub” dropped on the Cable system – it had a huge impact – Benny played a version Trixx on trumpet, with exec production by Benny; he is currently finishing a new version of this track featuring myself on saxophone. Benny Ill is most definitely under-rated & under-stated, largely due to his aversion to the limelight, but his stature as a DJ /Producer is clearly evident whenever he takes control.
Coki was the headliner of the night, and deservedly so. The crowd was clearly more than ready for his set, and they were in no way disappointed! He opened his set with a jungle-flavoured remix of Officer by Chimpo done on the fly without the parts. He played a hard selection of his own dubs including: Emergency ft Vybz Kartel, Throttle, Marduk, and a really interesting 4/4 remix of Katy B’s “Easy Please Me” done on a reggae flex. He also played a remix he’s been supporting of ‘Power’ by a young producer called Mr Bonez, and finished his set with an acetate of Stinkahbell’s “Grimey “, a bashment style dance floor banger currently doing the circuits in various DJ bags including my own. His following was evident, and the power of his dark dubby bass lines, off-key harmonic pads & chords, dirty dancehall vocal samples, cold break-downs and driving steppaz drum patterns drove the crowd to a frenzy that had them hanging off the rails and dancing on the speakers.
Closely followed by TC who jumped straight in with hard and dark Dubstep morphing to a lively jump up D&B set that the crowd were more than ready for. Toast & Inja hosted skillfully for the live UKF stream – holding the sets together like superglue and rousing the rabble with glee!
This was a lively, busy club night in South London with the crème de la crème of the Dubstep scene dropping high class sets to a hyped and sexy crowd who were more than up for it – there was definitely a strong party vibe at this event, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone who wanted to hear some real Dubstep in a fun environment where entertainment was clearly the priority.
Much respect goes out to the promoters and organisers linked to this event.
Words by DJ Raggs
