BLOC PRESENTS: L.I.E.S
31st March | Autumn Street Studios
Lauded for his punk attitude and a string of leftfield releases, New York-based L.I.E.S curator Ron Morelli maintains a no-nonsense approach to the label’s gritty, DIY philosophy. Despite remaining a self-professed devotee to the underground, the L.I.E.S catalogue commands attention. The phoenix-like Bloc London played host to a showcase of some of the label’s most influential producers; Svengalisghost, Steve Summers, Delroy Edwards and Morelli himself. Crack went along to the stripped back East London warehouse to measure what true substance lay beyond the L.I.E.S style.
Crack arrived in time for Svengalisghost, an image of the label’s anarchic ethos, cutting a formidable silhouette through the billows of smoke with his face cloaked in a hood. With productions not for the faint of heart, we expected no less from his live set, and he stormed through experimental techno including High Heel Sleaze, before swerving head-on into acid – and this is all pre-1am. This Svengali of techno left the crowd hypnotised, exiting stage-right to a swoop of high-fives and hollers before Crack had a chance to pause for breath.
If Svengali-is-ghost, then Steve Summers is shapeshifter. He of the multi-personas has emerged as possibly Crack’s pick of the L.I.E.S bunch. Summers set off slow, building the vibes of the room once again in the insatiable afterburn of Svengalisghost’s set, weaving in at least one of his productions we recognised as his Confused House work, alongside the soon to be released New Surroundings, a highlight of the night.
Another of Morelli’s notable discoveries and a L.I.E.S producer in his own right, Delroy Edwards switched up the live format we’d become accustomed to and delivered a vinyl set both convention-defying and accessible, dropping vocals from MK’s Burning before building up to his signature ghetto funk style at an unrelenting BPM, complete with sleazy vocals. The sounds fell kindly to a crowd who had already proved receptive to the more experimental side of things, and this set the scene nicely for the feature length presentation from Ron Morelli.
Having had our vibe massaged to a fever pitch by the excellent three sets preceding it, all that was left to do was dance, hard. And dance we did, to not a single record that we actually recognised, such is the reach of Morelli’s record collection. Devoted to testing the limits of house, techno and experimental music, L.I.E.S continue their established foothold on the title of possibly the most exciting label of recent years.
The Bloc guys have stripped back the formula to provide reliable weekly events in a refreshingly intimate atmosphere, with the August Street Studios providing a no-gimmicks setting that held the night’s talent in a remarkably cosy room for bookings of such calibre. Bloc have fully begun to redeem themselves, and on the basis of this party, they’re already a fair way along the road to recovery.
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Words: Anna Tehabsim
Photo: ‘Artbeats
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