Crack

A stench of rotting protein was the only thing detracting from the uncontrollable shivering sensation rolling down from beanie to waffle-soled Vans. I knew I should have worn my sheepskin, but who was to know whether the East-London ‘got it from my dad’s wardrobe’ chic would be as palatable. As it was, standing in front of me was indeed a beanie-wearing, waffle-soled, sheepskin clad yout.

And so it was, we had entered the corridor-come-weekday meat market (in the trader, not Tiger-Tiger sense of the word), our only indication of the event, an A4 sheet, with a biro-initialled ‘N.T.C’ outside the entrance.

Nominal £8 fee paid, we were dwarfed by the behemoth of ‘Peckham’s oldest venue’- a true sense of grandeur indeed. Straight to the bar then, shortly followed by an exploration of the three spaces NTC had to offer. Minimal decor was the order of the day in a venue that usually plays host to South London’s art-student community. It definitely suited the stripped-down vibe of the event. The second of the two largest areas (who would later play host to the year’s breakthrough producers/djs) lay an intimate room behind a stage curtain. The show behind didn’t disappoint.

First up on this night of exploration and discovery was Birmingham based, Seams. Fresh off the back of a summer in Berlin taking audio clips and inspiration where he found it, his compositions have developed into something atmospheric and beat-laden all the same. A sound that is developing into a balancing act between Pantha Du Prince and crate-digger kings RJD2 and DJ Shadow, his set had this small setting transfixed on his simple set-up of Macbook, Launchpad, Akai and Korg controllers. Seams brilliant Tourist EP was brought to life and for 40 minutes, while heads nodded and bodies moved to the inertly rhythmic music – an obvious appreciation of a rising producer.

As the crowds shuffled in from the cold, another discovery, Porcelain Raft, treated us to an atmospheric electronic exploration of what’s possible with a guitar and some effects pedals. Fairly unknown to the majority of revellers, the short set built into a crescendo of noise and light and a whole load of listeners have a new musical path to explore.

There’s a reason music rags and websites were touting No Pain In Pop’s, Nail The Cross as the most forward thinking line-up of the year. This was characterised by the next discovery, a two-man act by the name of Walls. Again their plethora of beat machines, synths and effects (and not a Mac in sight!), had the crowd in a frenzy of appreciation and dance.

As the night went on, so the calibre of acts ramped up. From the shadows of the DJ booth, side of stage, hooded and all in black, Actress played a genre-bending set, the eclectic nature of which we haven’t heard played out in a while. From 90’s jungle to Kraftwerk, Actress showed he’s not going to be pigeonholed anytime soon.

Then on to the night’s headline act, Darkstar, who played the event last year at the start of their rise to fame. Slow to start and moody as ever, they failed to get the crowd moving until Videotape and Aidy’s Girl is a Computer ended their set. The set was tight and theirs is one of the most interesting live sounds to come out of London in the past year, but by this point there was an over-whelming sense an ever-more inebriated crowd wanted a wiggle.

Luckily for the revellers the night carried on as one would expect. The beanies came off, the waffle-soled vans got dirtier and then the tunes kept coming. Sets from Jam City and one of this year’s biggest rising producers, Mosca, got the crowd moving. The latter epitomised the forward-thinking nature of the party. Having attended the event as a mere mortal a year ago, Mosca’s 1.30am set-time not only shows how much his reputation as a tight-percussive producer and DJ has grown in the past 12 months, but also that No Pain In Pop know what they’re doing when they put on an event.

A festival it may not be, but a night that has the ability to live up to the plaudits and hype, it certainly is.



Words: Thomas Wiltshire

http://www.myspace.com/seams
http://www.myspace.com/porcelainraft
http://www.myspace.com/walls_band
http://www.myspace.com/deejaymosca

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