Crack

The following weekend runs to a much more conventional time structure. Crack mooches to Victoria Park for LED (London Electronic Dance festival).

Debuting this year on an ever-saturated festival circuit is no easy effort. After a house music focused Friday line-up, Crack rocks up on the Saturday. For their debut year, LED have kept it simple with two stages; the large outdoor Main Stage and the Annie Mac Presents tent. The advantage of keeping the structure to the bare minimum is that clashes don’t really pose too much of a headache, as the five-minute walk between stages is hardly the logistical nightmare of the year.

Crack takes on the zef-rap brilliance of Die Antwoord, whose stock is set to rise and rise with the imminent release of their debut record and, following this, the bassline boisterousness of Boy Better Know and Shy FX set us fully in swing for the lady herself. While opinion is viciously divided over Annie Mac as a DJ, there is no doubting her worth to the Radio 1 cause and the diverse range of dance music she champions on her show. While no one is suggesting Miss Mac is breaking any radical ground with her set, she certainly delivers the kind of party tunes that make her a likeable selector.

And then Aphex Twin. A million miles removed from those he preceded on stage, his booking is unique, refreshing and every bit as mental as you’d hope. Having Aphex Twin follow Annie Mac is like watching The Human Centipede after Finding Nemo. It’s also a tad bizarre. Depending on your position, this is either the refreshing or negative thing about LED. There is no real musical cohesion, but the calibre of act on the bill is high.

Aphex Twin is undoubtedly the highlight of the weekend. Luring the crowd into a false sense of security, the set builds from off-kilter beats and builds, to a last half hour that comprises of an aural assault akin to being stuck inside a jet engine. It’s manic glitch music that has everyone lurching around trying to find a 4/4 beat. The whole set rises and rises from a state of comfort to the truly unsettled sound that has become Aphex’s trademark. Alternative, unique and a festival exclusive, Richard D James’ appearance at LED is a huge coup for the festival and a positive sign of intention on their debut.
After the intensity of Aphex, Leftfield’s long awaited headline appearance is somewhat of an anti-climax, not because they are anything less then decent, but because the sound system needed to satisfy the sardine-like crowd isn’t up to it – a particularly common teething problem, especially at a first time festival. Their gig later this year at Brixton Academy later this year is essential.

Sunday sees Crack mooch over to Notting Hill for the usual afternoon fare of chicken, colour, smells and an absolute shit load of people. After previous Notting Hills floating aimlessly around the carnival with no real endgame or purpose, Crack decides this year to make a plan and stick with it, as Notting Hill is an intensely uncomfortable experience if the whole day is spent crowd surfing. A feature since 1980, The Good Times stage is a bonafide institution at the carnival with Norman Jay MBE running the stage with his brand of sunshine tinged party music. This is Notting Hill in devastating form. Two streets rammed full of people dancing in the sunshine to every good time genre you can muster. From swing to salsa, from breaks to boogie, Crack literally stays in the same spot for five hours. It’s a blissful day in an idyllic little part of London that comes alive like no other every August Bank Holiday. Red Stripes are guzzled and the two-hour lost walk around Notting Hill is another random highlight on a really sunny day.

The finale to the Sunday sees Crack head to a deserted south London set of archways for Eastern Electrics. Having garnered a reputation for the most underground of underground parties in the capital, tonight’s line up is a heavyweight selection that satisfies from the off. Three arched caverns of a similar size play host to Mulletover and Kompakt Records coming together, a Dirtybird Records takeover and Resident Advisor.
The industrial brickwork setting for the event is a brilliant hark back to the warehouse parties of yesteryear. The aesthetic is perfect and a blinding alternative to the chic neon plasticity of every bollocks nightclub you’ve been to in the last year. The night rolls on in the makeshift space with standout sets from Scuba, whose tech-step crossover reinforces the fact his debut album Triangulation, and killer RA Podcast was no fluke. Joy Orbison impresses for the umpteenth time this year and Kompakt don Michael Mayer keeps the techno strings rolling late into the night.

But it’s the Dirtybird duo of Justin Martin and Claude Von Stroke who take the plaudits for their jackin’ house, twisted beats and general wonky sound that plays out brilliantly to a packed third archway. Justin Martin especially has laid down some serious credentials this year with a killer Essential Mix and a sound that doesn’t rely too heavily on colossal breakdowns and wild sounds. It’s house and funk bastardised with a cheeky sense of humour. It’s a great set and a watershed on these shores for someone whose stock will grow and grow while he continues to release on Dirtybird, which can now be considered one of the biggest dance imprints on the planet.
It was a sterling end to the summer and a resounding round of applause for London’s continued party credentials.



http://www.easternelectrics.com/
http://www.ledfestival.net/

- - - - - - - - - - -