Tonight is the jewel in the crown of EGG’s Halloween program – a party that sees Non Plus boss Boddika play with Italian pair Clockwork and Hot Flush’s techno boys Dense & Pika. It’s been a great year for EGG, what with turning ten in some style with a series of standout events, but as well as that they have had their new Flipside soundsystem installed and already Danny Tenaglia has been vocal about how much he enjoyed playing on it.
Tonight the legendary club was beautifully decorated specially for the occasion with dark and ghoulish extras bringing something of a dead of night cemetery vibe to the raw club space. The clubbers too, all fresh faced and eager music lovers (no surprise given the quality of the underground line-up) were all dressed in fancy gear from skeleton outfits to zombie get-up, all complete with make-up, wigs and props. It made for quite the sight on the dancefloor.
By the time we arrived it was the roguish live pair Dense & Pika who were playing, dropping heavy techno tool after heavy techno tool, all the while doing so with great flair in the booth. There were plenty of hands in the air moments and after their set the pair were quick to tweet how much they too enjoyed the punchy, crystal clear sound system.
Next up on the terrace was Boddika, who has defined the experimental vanguard in recent times with his own releases and those he has championed on his label. Flitting between weird bass, party-starting tech and stripped back d&b his output is some of the most exciting out there right now and his set was much the same. As well as dropping plenty of physical jack tracks he weaved in big hitters like ‘Mercy VIP’ that draw insane reactions from the tightly packed dancefloor, before dipping his toe into some housier fare and classics including the likes of Photek’s ‘Mine to Give’. It was an unmistakable master class made even better by the clarity of the soundsytem and the enthusiasm of the crowd.
Closing down the Terrace until some time past six were Italian duo Clockwork, who offered a similarly excellent journey to their BOATS album from earlier in the year – from supple and subliminal minimal rhythms to heavyweight bass via vocal moments of house elegance it was a truly great trip. EGG has been at the forefront of London clubbing for a decade now, but there’s an energy and freshness about the places which suggests it’s never been a better destination than it is right now. Looking ahead to events with the likes of Derrick May and Cassy, and that’s unlikely to change soon.
- Stephen Flynn
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