It was the first sunny day of spring. In East London's Victoria
Park, families with young children enjoyed ice cream and
duck feeding whilst joggers darted round the pushchairs and
sweated in the unusual warmth. Yet just a few miles away,
on this chilled-out Saturday afternoon, thousands of sweaty
ravers packed into a dark warehouse to go crazy to the
loudest sets of some of the best names in the dance music
business.
This was the scene at the London Electronic Arts Festival, held
in Wapping's jaw-droppingly cavernous Tobacco Docks for a
2-day celebration of electronic music and all that it stands for.
With day one's conference over and done with, it was time for
a full-on all-day party, curated by famous party boss DJ Rob
Da Bank. Stepping into the venue, we lost all sense of time
and space; an assault of strobes and thunderous bass meant
it could easily have been 5am. Rob himself played a funky set
in room 3, alongside disco legend DJ Harvey who played a
selection of soulful classics fit for the summery atmosphere of
the day.
The low-ceilinged car park that formed Room 2, hosted by
Pan Pot, featured a floor-shaking set by German superduo
Modeselektor, whilst the enormous Room 1 hosted a deep
yet bouncing set by Tale Of Us, fresh off the success of their
recent BBC Essential Mix. But the highlight of the night (or
should we say day?) was Sasha, who was truly on form despite
the limited 90 minute set slot. It was a set packed full of fresh
selections, including his new track 'Vapourspace', Maribou
State's fresh new record 'Rituals' and Will Saul's hot new remix
of Odesza's 'All We Need'. But all hands were thrown in the air
with the climactic Carl Craig remix of Caribou's 'Your Love Will
Set You Free', which is quickly becoming a certified dancefloor
hit. Up last to take over the controls was Chris Liebing – at
9:45pm, it was hardly early morning, but his classic German
brand of techno brought things to a close with style.
23
Issue 73 / 2015
HOUSE/ TECHNO
guestlist.net
event review
LeAF CLub
An all-day party in a huge warehouse marked the second day of the London Electronic Arts Festival
