2023 Honourable Mentions
As we open the door to a new year, here's a small selection of nights and venues we enjoyed in 2023.
Ugh, another yearly round-up. We’re sick to death of cliché New Year’s content and top 10 lists. Are we going to admit that this piece is exactly that? Absolutely not. We’d rather you thought of it as… a way of shedding some light on parties that never made it to the blogosphere. FEEDBACK is our way of documenting and reminiscing our most memorable moments. Overall, these times are rare. Only surfacing when DJs, venues and (most importantly) a story come together to create a content-worthy whole. This means we have been to plenty of nights that put the stars in our eyes but didn’t make it to print. So, naturally, we’re kicking off 2024 and showing our appreciation for last year with this final handful of recollections. At the end of the post, we’re committing to some resolutions and creative ambitions for the coming year- you might even be able to help us achieve these.
After hearing numerous reports that Multisex was one of the best parties friends had ever been to, attending their May 2023 party was a no-brainer. This marathon event is a place where people of all genders and sexualities come together within a space that usually doesn’t cater to such a demographic. Situated at Watergate, a club famed for its tech house and minimal (and tourists), we were intrigued to see the venue supervised by the Multisex team. This party is one of the places we felt most at home last summer, with the pairing of great music and unfettered crowd lending itself to a homely and euphoric experience. Despite its reputation for being somewhat of a tourist trap, Watergate is actually a really cool venue with great sound, two excellent rooms and a sophisticated use of synthetic and natural light. Crimson filters on the windows overlooking the banks of the River Spree make the city look post-apocalyptic in the daytime- the last party left on Earth. At this 24hr+ event, all the dance music is based in the venue’s main room. The upstairs bar and seating are reserved primarily for relaxing to soporific downtempo and ambient. They don’t announce the lineup before the night so you’ve got to have faith in the promotors.
We arrived early as we had heard the door policy was strict, one of the only downsides to a night as coveted as this one. Additionally, we were prepared with backup plans and enough time to head elsewhere if we didn’t get in. Funnily enough, we were grateful to be there near the start as we got to witness the party growing. It was a perfect journey through Deep House and other soulful genres. If you want a little preview of our foray, we would recommend checking out Suze Ijó’s sensual set from the night in question here. It was a rare treat for us as we typically go to more upbeat house nights.
As the sun rose over the River Spree, we were soon treated to that faithful sound we love by the two who do it best- Dyed Soundorom and Shonky. It was a masterclass in Groove and they had the whole dancefloor in the palms of their hands. This mix was also recorded and you can listen to it here. The only gut-wrenching part of this night was going home, stepping away from such a great lineup.
Love On The Rocks, Panorama Bar
This was the first time we went to a Friday event at the infamous Panorama Bar. We had tried and failed in the past to get through those legendary doors on at least three occasions. On this fateful night, however, we and several of our friends made it inside. The lineup was excellent so we knew we were in for a goodun.
Like Multisex, we arrived early for this event, around 10-11pm instead of the typical 1-2am start of most nights. You will notice a pattern emerging here. We are a couple of keen beans that like to make the most of a good night out. Moreso, the crippling fear of rejection is a motivating factor in wanting to get the tough bit (getting through the club’s door) out of the way as quickly as possible. Our keenness paid off and we got to see a nice opener from Love On The Rocks founder Paramida. Things really got going when O.Bee and Tomas Station took control. These two play such an eclectic range of tracks. Hailing from Istanbul and Bogota via New York, their education in music has a far more dramatic scope compared to most. Please do go and see them if you get the chance, but in the meantime check out this recent chat they had with Fabric.
The final standout was Grandmaster tINI, she’s a proper party starter who knows a killer tune. These bangers were balanced by moody rollers and acid-tinged minimal, a pleasant surprise that solidified her position as one of the greats in our book.
Closer x Heideglühen, Heideglühen
A low-profile gem hidden on the edge of Berlin, Heideglühen is probably our favourite club of last summer. With little presence online the venue is very mysterious, putting off a lot of tourists. We attended parties there a couple of times, but a collaboration with the heroic Ukranian club Closer was hands down the best. We had heard wonderful stories from overseas about Closer prior to the event and felt really lucky to experience a small piece of the venue from the safety of German soil.
The party started early in the morning and we arrived a bit dishevelled from the previous night's escapades. Timur Basha was warming up the dancefloor with some beautiful stripped-back sounds. The elegant tracks he played created quite an emotional atmosphere. Partly because this was one of our last nights out in Germany before coming back to the UK, but also because of the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine. Those melancholy minimal tunes soundtracked our internal thoughts about the victims of the conflict. Although this set and those of other Closer residents who played were definite highlights, the standout set of the day was from Risky Bookings’, Tau Car. Disco basslines, groovy drum patterns and infectious melodies enveloped the party with summertime joy. We have only just discovered the wealth of French DJs pushing some great and distinctive groovy sounds at the moment and no one does it better than her.
Transmissions From Hackney (specifically Crate’s Terrace)
We were hesitant about this day festival back in our home city. Historically we have found these types of events too good to be true and often not worth the accompanying price tag. Transmissions From Hackney seemed different though, put on by some smaller promotors genuinely trying to put together a really good lineup in one of London's musical hubs. Honestly, we can't comment on anything past midnight as our memories are a bit cloudy… but we can recount a brilliant day spent canalside at Crate’s Terrace.
For a small outside venue, the system was punching. From what we can remember it was Funktion One, and you can't go wrong there. As you would expect we got down there early to catch the majority of Eversine’s opening set which was around 3-4 hours long. He brought an eclectic bag of tunes, ranging from dreamy breaks to melancholy House plus heaps of acidic sounds to glue it all together. After him was Willow, who (as always) brought her A-Game. Probably our favourite DJ of the year, she never misses. We would however like to particularly spotlight Vera who closed the stage. Her set was super classy, filled with vintage techno and unreleased gems. She’s a master of her craft and one of our biggest regrets of 2023 was missing the last part of her set.
Get Pickled Halloween x Spaced x Butter Side Up, The Pickle Factory
The Get Pickled x Spaced parties get a lot of love from people in London. We had a few people recommend them to us last year. By chance, some friends also fancied going to this Halloween link-up with Butter Side Up, so we finally got the chance to check it out. Frankly, the Pickle Factory hosts one of the best vibes in London. Pair this with an excellent array of residents and some wicked guests and you have, indubitably, a recipe for success.
Although everyone who played at this event was on brilliant form, including Tho & Loren, Hamish & Toby and also Legram VG, the most memorable had to be Jorg Kuning, representing our favourite northern crew Bakk Hiea. He has had an incredible year and there was definitely an eager audience at the party in attendance to see him. As always the live set went off, showcasing a couple of new tunes since we saw him last. This included his era-defining version of Kylie’s- Love at First Sight, which is our favourite anthem of 2023.
After the event, we went to the official ‘unofficial’ after-party. For a loft party on an industrial estate, the setup was really slick, with security, a bar, Funktion One system and a very decent turntable setup. The gathering itself, however, was like an unhinged house party crossed with a squat rave. A side of London we had never seen before. What made it even more brilliantly absurd was that everyone was dressed up for Halloween making things seem extra mental. Last summer we judged our home city for being too corporate and polished and although this crazy night out made us go sober for a month, the party restored our faith in the UK capital. It's apparent the good stuff is here, we just need to know where to find it.
A footnote on resolutions
This brings us to our first resolution nicely, which is to start going to more events- especially ones we haven't been to before! Although we have found some gems, there were still countless mediocre nights out we went to last year and (as money is tight) we’d prefer to cherry-pick our excursions. There are still a few clubs/parties on our hitlist like Venue M.O.T and SUB:SYSTEM, but we always prioritise the nights that are recommended to us by word of mouth from people with a similar taste to our own. Our inbox is always open to recommendations so please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us!
Another resolution is to go to more queer and women-led events. We have found ourselves neglecting this consideration since moving back to London, a city that we must regretfully admit isn’t as progressive as others. It was so insanely refreshing to notice that many of the line-ups we saw over the summer included people of all genders with little sense that tokenism was at play. On the contrary, we had been spoiled. It has left us walking away from recent parties with the looming awareness that there had been no female DJs at all on given nights- a stark re-awakening to the issues of gender bias that still permeate the dance music industry.
Our final resolution is to use less social media. Although it's a great way of finding out about new music, media and events it can be a huge distraction. James has even gone as far as deleting his Instagram. Stay tuned for some words on this later in the year as it’ll either be inspirational or a depressing tale of social suicide.