Institute of Contemporary Arts

Nightclub

Date: 28 June 2008

Gabriel Green & Jahan Nazeer

Saturday night and all roads were leading to the ICA for the groundbreaking ‘Nightclub' art, music and performance extravaganza. Clubbers were arriving in their droves and the Mall soon reached breaking point with the eclectic crowd piling their way in, eager to get the party started. Jen Wu, mastermind behind all this mayhem, had picked a tremendous and wide ranging line up to takeover both lower galleries, bar and theatre so upon arrival you really were spoilt for choice...Head into the chaotic post-rave Nuke Em'All rooms where east London squat meets fluorescent techno and the daubed white paint on the walls kindly informs us that they ‘spent tonights budget on drugs'? Maybe step inside the Photobooth to have your snap taken, and then projected on a huge screen in the bar? Alternatively hit the theatre for some hardcore dance action and more all provided by techno pioneers ‘Lost'?

With a long night ahead we opted to grab a drink from the bar where people were already getting down to the sound of Cocadisco before the legendary Trevor Jackson took to the decks and continued to rock the bar with a sweet selection. Be it the discoballs lighting the corridor or the slides projected at foot level, everywhere I looked there were visual touches that created a vibrant atmosphere throughout the ICA. Keen to catch as many acts as possible we moved to the ‘Lost' theatre where Andrea Parker was warming it up nicely before the first live act on a pretty DJ heavy line-up.

As more people filtered through, Prinzhorn Dance School took to the stage. Having met in Brighton, Tobin Prinz and Suzi Horn soon started messing around on a cheap bass guitar and an old drum kit in a room in a disused chapel. Taking up their positions, they opened with raw, pounding drums and a simple bass guitar riff, their minimalist grooves taking charge of the dancefloor within minutes. Vocals were of the shouty variety with phrases repeated over and over, rhythmic and energetic. Sections of wailing electric guitar finished off the mix. Stomping through a well received set, PDS showed that sometimes less can be more with their stripped down sound.

Now seemed the perfect time to sample the debaunched madness of Nuke 'Em All . Alongside the painted slogans and projected neon porn, the hedonistic collective had created two human sized mouseholes that, once you had snuck through, took you into their second room. A dark and smoke filled rave complete with green lasers dancing across the wall and NEA DJs keeping the vibes intense. The mouseholes were kept busy as people curiously poked their heads through only to be drawn into the darkness before emerging hours later, blinking at the light and sweaty from dancing, to take a rest and have a cuppa with some of the NEA gang before heading back in for more. With another act up soon we managed to lure ourselves away in the nick of time to the theatre.

Gang Gang Dance were second up, in terms of live music and the main room was now jam packed with Nightclub ravers. Perfect timing for New York's Big Beat specialists. Hailing from Brooklyn, they have been given such labels as ‘neo-primitivist' or ‘neo-tribal'... I have to admit, I had no idea what to expect. Taking to the stage a little after midnight, the five-piece band took up their positions. Their set began with a kind of slow dnb-style beat, bass heavy, with more and more busyness drifting in and out in the form of synth parts or percussive fills. Lizzi Bougatsos' vocals were mesmeric, enchanting, other-worldly... As more drums were added, her voice soared and swooped, screeched and soothed, like some kind of primitive incantation. With the crowd already in the partying spirit, GGD's old school rave ethos sparked the dancefloor into action. Running through a fantastic set of non-stop energy and some real ‘lighter in the air' moments, GGD's performance was an absolute highlight on the night.

‘Nightclub' was in full swing by now as the fusion of the music, visuals and performances blended with the crowd to create a lovely melee and it was only 1:30am! All the while Cocadisco (Piers Martin and Rodaidh) had been keeping the bar bubbling and it was here that the next live act was due. Heartbreak , Ali Renault on keys and Sebastian Muravchik on vocals, stepped from behind the decks and got the  whole bar shaking with their powerpop electro anthems. Muravchik, with his rolled up suit sleeves, pencil thin moustache and hip thrusting/leg kicking/mic cord swinging dance moves turned the night up another notch. More people squeezed into the bar as others took to dancing on the sofas and Heartbreak continued to blast out songs which received progressively louder roars of joy from us all. Finishing their exhilerating set in style Heartbreak had gained many a new fan, myself included. Renowned DJ Benetti followed and carried on keeping the frenzy going with his italodisco set

At this point Steve Bicknell, the man behind ‘Lost' , began his set and soon showed how he's spent the last 16 years keeping people dancing all night. Word spread and the revellers flocked, post-Benetti, to the main room to catch this great DJ in action. As the clock turned half three I left the sizeable hardcore in the theatre and slipped into the night safe in the knowledge that this party would keep going till the sun rises over St.James Park. To bring together so many acts on one night is no mean feat and to actually make all these disparate elements work together is really something special so congratulations to Jen Wu and all the artists for such a uniquely brilliant ‘Nightclub'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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