XOYO LOVES
Coronet, London | November 23
The people behind XOYO, not content with the huge success of their outpost in Dalston (The Nest), ferried their party corps from a roundabout in East London to another in Elephant & Castle for the first of two “XOYOLOVES”-branded events at The Coronet this November. The line up was big, discoid and Mixmag-friendly: Justin Robertson, Yuksek, Crazy P, Greg Wilson, Aeroplane, Lindstrom & Psychemagick. Any of these could fill a venue alone. Together, they packed-out The Coronet for a night slick and well-produced, if a bit uninspired, and uninspiring.
We arrived as Crazy P began. Vocalist Danielle Moore commanded the stage with the same cosmic-diva persona that’s served the band so well over the years, filling the gaps between songs with winky asides and salty humour. The band put in a solid performance, despite the considerable distraction presented by about 25 giant balloons released from the ceiling halfway through. (Imagine a large converted theatre, full of people passive-aggressively swatting large balloons at each other, for over an hour.)
Greg Wilson followed with a chugging selection of recognisable and more esoteric disco edits and originals, flawlessly mixing throughout. His Revox B77 reel-to-reel tape machine was on hand to satisfy the gear nerds (e.g. us), and Greg duly obliged with a few loops. Then came Vito of Aeroplane, who mostly churned-out the same chunky italo he’s been playing for years. All of it was effectively mixed, but frankly, boringly so, and sapped the crowd of their energy. Closing on Dimitri from Paris’s edit of Wanna Be Your Lover injected some fun back into proceedings, however, which was boosted by the arrival of Lindstrom. He started with some surprisingly thumping Nordic disco, and weaved through a few older tracks we’ll leave to the beards to ID. Then Psychemagick began their set with a huge, dark, tech-y italo number none of us recognised, and which prompted our exit.
Aside from the necessarily subjective grumbles about song-selection, the only real complaint was the sound. No one expects crystal-clarity in a venue of this size, but the muddiness of the system took the gloss off those ‘moments’ that could have made this night truly memorable. As it was, this was a good, well-run event that will raise XOYO’s impressive profile as it makes further plays for an ever greater slice of London’s nightlife.
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Words: Robert Bates
Photo: XOYO Loves
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