DOUBLE TROUBLE VISION PT.1 w/ MARTYN, LOEFAH, HUXLEY, DARK SKY

Corsica Studios | January 25th

After a long night, as team Crack steps out into the unforgiving light of day, ears ringing and legs failing, it can be tricky to recall exactly what has just occurred. Almost instantly, eight hours of music and debauchery compacts down into a few stories and cherished memories. Luckily, we’ve recently discovered a useful trick to piece the chronology of it all back together: to do it backwards. 

So this is how we present Double Trouble Vision’s recent Friday session at Corsica Studios to you. Think of it as the Memento of gig reviews, or for those of you with more of a “hood” inclination, the Nas’s Rewind of reports.

We were sent packing from room one after some of the organisers had laid down some disco and funk grooves, a welcome wind down after a night of gritty bass music. Trouble Vision nights have become somewhat legendary of late with line-ups which are varied, but always plucked from the top end of artists. This weekend was a double-header (hence the name), but by this stage in the night (day? what?) it was pretty clear we weren’t going to make Saturday – unfortunate, as the second half boasted Theo Parrish, Marcellus Pittman and Bicep but tonight was by no means the short straw; we’d been graced by masteful sets from Loefah, Martyn, Happa, Dark Sky and Huxley over the past hours.

Most notable of them all had been Loefah. The London producer is perhaps best known as co-founder the DMZ label, which heralded a bunch of early dubstep greats. But tonight, Loefah’s set in room two showed an increasing move away from his roots. Not to say that Corsica Studio’s huge bass bins weren’t rumbling, but the rhythms were far more house and garage influenced than mixes of old. There were the modern standards (Au Seve, Ye Ye) but also more rare treats that showed serious dedication to this new groove. It was refreshing to see an artist moving with the times, retaining his sound but distancing himself from dubstep branding which these days can be increasingly embarrassing.

Before Loefah’s set we enjoyed a somewhat trippy intermission. Crack found an open fire exit in the smoking area that lead to a neighbouring bar and snuck in for a look. We found ourselves in a seedy latino dance venue, complete with school disco style lighting and Spanish speaking MC. After getting stuck into some Cuban motion with a bunch of surprisingly friendly hombres, we headed back to the party we were supposed to be at.

Our samba-based interlude was a necessary respite after the evening’s headliner, Martyn. The Dutch bass music legend came correct with a seamless, progressive mix of techno, house and more subtle rumblings of dub bass. The 3024 label mainstay and recent Brainfeeder affiliate had headed up a similar Double Trouble Vision bill about a year previous, and now returned to a hero’s welcome.

Another act in room two was also warmly anticipated, but for a very different reason. Eight years ago when Martyn was making a name for himself, this guy wasn’t even out of primary school. The much hyped, fifteen-year-old Happa stepped up and showed the prowess of a DJ and producer way beyond his years. Laying down some rugged, tech-house productions on a little Traktor controller, the kid had many of the assembled crowd feeling very old indeed.

So on to the beginning of the night, as it were. Entering the club, we found the gin and tonics to be substandard but the beats, courtesy of Dark Sky and DJ Caspa, the perfect warm up for what was to come. Huxley’s 90’s-esque house also deserves an honourable mention, but followed by such a wealth of fantastic music, the early hours just seem a distant memory.

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Words: Jack Lucas Dolan

Photo: Benjamin Eagle

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