Deep Beats & Dancing With Dauwd & Co.
Published
Last Friday I headed up north to the well renowned XOYO club in old street to see Dauwd a recent addition to Kompakt records. He was followed by Delano Smith and Matthew Dear who ended the night. I was slightly sceptical at first as to whether the sound quality would live up to the numerous venues which hold the majority of house and techno nights as in Corsica Studios, Basing House and Dance Tunnel. However once I was in I was instantly surprised as the sound quality was clear and crisp throughout the night.
Room one was dimly lit, lasers only just pushing through the incredibly smoke filled room. It was pumping and everyone was getting stuck in having a good stomp to Dauwd's beats. For the most part the set was filled with 4/4 beats infused with some deep heavy bass lines, some tribal beats, highlighted with the odd vocal lines which were distinct over the scrunchy minimal sounding house.
It was these vocals that made Dauwd really stand out; giving his set a perfect variety, making it much more memorable throughout. The set flowed without any fault and his second to none mixing skills concocted an eclectic mix of tunes including his own recent release Lydia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8xbxRexnbs. The minimalist track with angelic synths, deep house beats and the tinkling cascading glissando melodies seem set the crowd on fire.
Dauwd's energy behind the DJ booth was spot on and the atmosphere he was giving off was positive It is always so special when one sees a DJ actually enjoying his time behind the decks. The only downside to the set was that now and again he was using CDs and a bpm sync which was slightly disappointing as one would hope he would be mixing with vinyl. That being said, it didn't take away from the rhythm if the night and the quality of the music. The stand out tune from the set was most certainly the Howling - 'Signs' (Rødhåd Remix) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHjKY1fVbxI
The crowd by now were fully immersed in the build up of the crystal clear 4/4 beats and when the ghostly, warped voice of Ry X from the Howling crept in the atmosphere was chillingly beautiful.
The party goers danced on to the sunny Ibiza infused set of Delano Smith and, as the crowd thinned, one had more space to dance to the live set of Matthew Dea. He too did not disappoint at all carrying the fully energetic stragglers of the crowd all the way on to 4am. A night of uplifting house, deep techno, sublime vocals and a lot of dancing feet… all created a night to remember.
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Dauwd,
Delano Smith and
Matthew Dear. Words, pictures and videos by Poppy Jones
