Club review: Unleash @ The Coronet with Derrick May, 09/06/12

Arriving at the Elephant and Castle venue at midnight, we found the atmosphere at its peak. The happiness and energy that was soaring through the venue was crazy, with more of a festival atmosphere than the regular ten a penny club night effect.

A warm build up was provided by resident Deep Lo, slowly creating a tempo and always keeping the audience entertained. By 1am the crowd was ready to go, and Noze came to forefront. As expected we got some classics from the Get Physical man, but it slightly lacked in imagination and innovation. Although the selection provided some hands in the air moments, it wasn't as inventive as we would have liked.

Arguably the most in demand artist around stepped up at 2am to a rip roaring reception from the crowd. It was certainly clear who they'd come to see! Solumon is the man right now. Having some crowd pleasing favourites like Noir and Haze in his bag did him no harm as the bass thumped through the speakers. He also dropped the unreleased Betoko - 'Raining again' which has been a huge hit for anyone lucky enough to have that track. The sheer fact that the space is so big so Solumon chose his tracks accordingly. He most definitely had a relationship going with the dance-floor.

The crowd, it had to be said, were all on fine form - chanting to the music, standing on each other shoulders, the lot. It was a carnival atmosphere to say the least. I could also count numerous reactions to the drops on Solumon's beats. It was uncanny how the crowd just vibed off his every track.

In the meantime Rob James and Richie Ahmed played a back to back set with a whole new crowd of their own, I thought this room wouldn't have got the recognition it deserved, but how I was wrong. It was clear to see that their fresh disco and house edits had a following of their own which is a testament to the Hot Natured pair. A specific track that caught my attention was Darius Syrossian's remix of DJ W!LD 'I'm Not Human' - a track I've heard a lot recently, and the duo placed it into their selection perfectly.

The main man Derrick May came on just after 4, keeping with Solumon's tempo to start with, which certainly was a surprise. Making sure the transition between the two was smooth Derrick gradually got into 5th gear, grinding out all the tracks we have become accustomed to over the years. The old fashioned Detroit techno pushed the crowd further into a euphoric state, with hands in the air moments becoming very frequent. As I left at around 6.30 the dance floor was still full - the highlight track for me had to Carl Craig's remix of Tom Trago 'Use Me Again'.

All in all this was a great showcase of house and techno talent. I hope the guys behind Unleash can re-charge and make another memorable night. This was a sure fire winner on every level.

Words: Tasha Remington

Read more club reviews

See the top five most popular upcoming techno nights in London:

Tickets are no longer available for this event