20/04/14: Easter is a time for new beginnings. So sayeth the lords of the new rave, Chapter 10. Impresario Dan Beaumont, fashion writer/DJ Charlie Porter and Morgan Clement hatched a golden egg in the perfect nest: an East End post-Chernobyl dystopic warehouse; distilling Berlin/Detroit into a grimy carburator producing some seriously ethereal sonic black sunshine.
“Well, ‘Chapter 10’ is ‘meaningless’,” Charlie grinned, “attach your own meaning.”
“It’s a ‘gay’ rave,” said Morgan, “but it’s not exclusively gay.”
As Dan so astutely put it, “We want to play music that has substance and means something to people.”
With that, our hosts took to the decks and opened the night. Corrugated tin walls heaved and sighed with the rhythm of a collective mindset of true music lovers. A ‘non-scene’ scene of a thousand like-minded souls lured by the same beat packed all the way up to the dripping overhead pipes. Bejeweled hostess A Man To Pet swanned around despite a wig malfunction.
“Hair too high for the sky,” fashion designer Andrew Culloo beamed, “Incredible! Not clubby just great music, cool people!”
DJ Portable aka Bodycode spun irresistable dance grooves of ‘Afro-electro-house’ peppered with soaring vocals and premiered ‘Continue’, his new summer release.
Homegirl Hannah Holland filled the air with her indefinable fusion of styles that were downright eclectic, surfing waves of trippy bass remixes to her distinguishable twist on Berlin/London house.
Berlin DJ Rodhad’s uber-dreamy, provocative dub/techno tracks sent us to dizzying heights bordering on whirling dervish trance. His new single ‘Red Rising’ and tracks by Zippo and Lewis Fautzi took the enchanted to Valhalla and back again.
The room swelled to bursting with aggressive pounding bass yet blanketed by such an incredible feeling of goodwill, as if by magic. When the music ended, the crowd reared back then rushed forward, foaming horses jettisoned towards the stage to grasp the hands of the almighty.
He was off to Amsterdam to spread the love at ‘Queen’s Day’ assuring us he’ll make a second coming to London soon.
We emerged Monday morn, reborn with new eyes to a pale blue dawn…
Autumn Street Studios, Unit 3, 39 Autumn Street, E3 2TT
Words by Tom Redkid
Photos by Joel Ryder
