Review: LWE presents Phonica's 8th Birthday

Date: Saturday 1st October 

Words: Katie Grange

Being a huge fan of Phonica Records, to say I was a little excited about attending the 8th Birthday last night at Ewer Street Warehouse would be the understatement of the year.

Three rooms of melodic techno, deep house and funky garage and dubstep, encased in a titillating venue and curated by the finest record shop London has to offer – already I was sold. We arrived at the venue (a car park by day, pumping warehouse club by night), at around midnight and felt the immediate flutter of excitement as soon as we walked through the doors. The heavy black curtains opened to reveal an iridescent pink tunnel with various inviting arches housing the three dance floors and a couple of bars.

The venue was everything you want from a clubbing setting; stimulating, electrifying, and arousing, with plenty of space to dance, corners to get lost in, and rooms to explore. It reminded me of a certain warehouse party in the North, albeit much more fresh.

The first man on the turntables was Leftroom Records' Matt Tolfrey, giving an energetic and dynamic set full of popular hits such as ‘Noir & Haze – Around (Solomun Remix)’, which struck the right cord with the crowd. However as whole-hearted as it was, the set never really took off mostly due to being hindered by the quite frankly disgraceful sound system. The audio was murky and far too bassy, the vocals muffled, and the mids warped – so much so that it was hard to tell when a beat dropped or if a vocal was coming in. Adding to this the fact that we could still have a conversation stood next to the speaker, left myself and others extremely disappointed.

Next up was eclecticist and man-of-the-moment Joy Orbison, proving why he is such a hit with his original and assorted approach to dance music. His arch was by far the busiest of the night and he teased the crowd with rippling bass-lines, wavy synths, and seductive vocals. Although I didn’t catch him for long, I loved what I saw and would endeavour to see him again. Another man I managed to catch a glimpse of was the relatively mysterious Mathias Kaden; a German DJ/Producer who prides himself on his refusal to overexpose himself to the music scene, only adding to his enigma. For the brief time I saw him Mathias drew me in with his edgy rhythm and emotive percussions, and has left me with the desire to find out more about the man with the distinctive taste in house and techno.

Succeeding this was the duo that I had been most eager to see out of the all-star line-up; German titans Benoit & Sergio playing LIVE. Known for their varied musical influences across all genres, Benoit & Sergio started their live set in true majestic style, luring the crowd in with a simple snare, gradual beat and tempting hook. The set included all their meticulous and narrative productions, including ‘What I’ve Lost’, ‘Midnight People’, and of course ‘Everybody’, which understandably evoked a huge cheer from the crowd, proceeded by some fist-pumps and head-shakes.

The duo’s ability to take the club through the realm of electronic dance music and hook them in with the perfect groove, beat and melody, proves why they are such a hit on the scene at the moment and why, in my opinion, they will be here to stay.

Likewise, Boston-duo Soul Clap on New York label Wolf+Lamb were another crowd-puller, winning scenesters over with their hip-hop influenced house music and the ability to make commercial dance tracks and hip-hop remixes cool. Not usually to my taste on a night out (I prefer music that builds to a crescendo with flourishes of drops and vocals), I was surprised to hear Soul Clap playing a somewhat ‘harder’ set than when I’ve seen them before, taking advantage of heavier basslines and faster BPM’s. However their signature style was still unmistakably present through tracks such as ‘Azari & III – Manic (DJ Sneak remix)’ and a remix of ‘Adventures of Stevie V – Dirty Cash (Money Talks)’, which displayed their light-hearted approach to music they are so well-known for.

Finally, label-of-the-minute Visionquest (Lee Curtis, Shaun Reeves & Ryan Crosson) played a highly-anticipated deep house set to an eager crowd. Personally, I didn't get to see them for very long but from what I witnessed they did a sufficent job in entertaining the crowd with their emotional style and great rifts.

However the highlight of the night for me was the First Lady of dance music and the Captain of the Jackathon, Heidi. This lady certainly knows how to work a crowd, free from artistic snobbery she plays what clubbers want to hear, and as a result she has us lingering off her every beat. Her set was engaging and created a real atmosphere (something I felt some of the others lacked), and her refreshing enthusiasm radiates from every pore. Her beautiful blend of jacking beats, groovy melodies, and arse-shaking abilities finished off an incredible night, and affirmed my feelings that I will never tire of watching her.

Overall Phonica’s 8th Birthday was exactly what I had hoped for and expected; a dynamic and entertaining clubbing experience showcasing the big names in dance music today, and celebrating the history of an institution that has been so influential.

Little elements such as the tight visuals, lack of overcrowding, and obvious well-organisation had a great impact, and makes these nights so much more enjoyable for the punters that attend them.

However my biggest gripe was the quality of sound which was just not up to scratch; an integral component when putting on nights of this scale. Having said this, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and would hope that I wouldn’t have to wait a whole year for my next Phonica experience, or even my Ewer Street Warehouse experience.

A half-birthday party perhaps?! We’ll see!

Tickets are no longer available for this event