Simon Dawson reports on last Thursday’s Heads Up party at the Horse & Groom, featuring MK, Luca C and Anna Wall behind the decks…
“Thursdays are the new Fridays” I used to be told. In fact, it’s progressed – now I’m reliably informed that Wednesdays are the new Thursdays, but frankly that’s one step too far in terms of day replacement theory. I’m happy sticking to the original proposition, especially when the venue in question is visible from the office window and the line-ups are of this calibre.
Maybe it’s just my own warped sense of reasoning that allows me to justify drinking and dancing on school night and then being all bleary eyed back at my desk at 10am the next day, or maybe I just have no self-control (more likely). Either way, I’m not the only one who seems to think like this as the 400+ people on the guestlist for last Thursday’s ‘Heads Up’ party proved. Four hundred people on the guestlist for a Thursday night party in a pub?? Why? Two letters rather than two words can explain this: MK
MK Live @ Defected Head's Up Party by Defected Records
MK; Marc Kinchen; US house music pioneer, producer and remixer. Those who paid attention when we recently released his House Masters compilation will know the importance and relevance of this man to the scene, so to have the opportunity to see and hear the man in the comfort of a cosy East London boozer was one not to be missed.
By 7:30 there was already a healthy crowd jostling for places at the bar whilst Anna Wall warmed up proceedings. Deep, a smattering of vocals and a lot of bounce soundtracked those escaping the ever increasing snow storm that was falling outside.
View the full photo gallery from the night
Hot Natured’s Luca C arrived to take over from Anna, bringing with him Kenny Glasgow from Art Department as both moral support and deep house kudos. Luca’s set trod a similar path to Anna’s – deep house was order of the day, while raising temperatures with a remix of Azari & III’s ‘Manic’ (just which remix it was I spectacularly failed to either identify or question him about) as well as his forthcoming remix of Noir & Haze’s ‘Around’.
By 10:30 the pub was full, more than full – completely rammed, but it was still (just about) possible to find a tiny corner of the pub in which to throw some shapes. From the off MK dropped dubs, cut up vocals, the funkiest of basslines, 4th Measure Men classics, Pet Shop Boys remixes, Cajmere’s ‘Brighter Days’, ‘Entrance Song’ by Eats Eveything, his new remix of Storm Queen’s ‘Look Right Through’ and Hot Creations ‘Forward Motion’
The night ended with one of the tracks that made him famous, Nightcrawlers’ ‘Push the Feeling On’, and a still packed pub jumping and singing along to the superbly unintelligible lyrics; another classic Heads Up party at the Horse & Groom that was undoubtedly worth the pain the following day.
Until the next time...
Words: Simon Dawson
Look Right Through (Remixes Part 2) is out 29th February
