‘No Rest For The Wicked’ Absolutely live drum and bass Launch Party : Dead Silence Syndicate and Step 13
Shoreditch has always had a half-decent mix of musical entertainment going on, and most nights of the week you can take your pick from a variety of vibes courtesy of vinyl-fuelled parties and live acts of varying quality. It is rare indeed, however, to come across such a cornucopia of aural experiences within one night in one unassuming little venue.
If there are any coherent themes running through the opening night of No Rest For The Wicked at the cosily down-to-earth On The Rocks, the first would probably be drum, and the second would probably be bass. D’n’b seems to have retreated to the further-flung corners of the map of clubland in recent years, due in part to the resurgence of live bands. No Rest for The Wicked, very probably the only live drum ‘n’ bass night in the UK at the moment, puts the genre right back centre stage by harnessing its pounding rhythms to the raw energy of live performance from a bunch of musicians who know how to mix things up, break things down and get underneath an audience’s skin.
First up is Wan Dan the human beatbox, who warms up the crowd with a startling set of scratches, breaks and beats created using nothing more than his mouth and a mic. Who needs decks anyway?
With the near-capacity crowd now well up for it, Step 13 take the stage. With a tight-as-fuck drummer and bassist who have the whole joint vibrating and guys on guitar, keyboard and synths laying all manner of crazy noises over the top, this band blend jump-up d’n’b into funk house into reggae into the Batman theme tune without missing a breakbeat. What differentiates Step 13 from most other bands around is the way they manipulate the mood of the crowd like the very best DJs. They grab your attention and lift you up with their epic opener, space you out with laid-back grooves, then get everyone jumping around with infectious raggamuffin exuberance, before bringing the place to a breathless, sweaty climax with full-on, hard-hitting mash-up music. But what really makes them stand apart is their vocalists – Vicki’s beautiful, pitch-perfect voice brings haunting melodies and pop sensibilities to the sonic stew, and Ishu spreads the love as the band’s frontman, exuding pure charisma and serving up one-nation lyrical genius, beaming all the while like a Cheshire cat.
After all that, all anybody want to do is HAVE IT, and the final act, Dead Silence, oblige. For Dead Silence, read blistering, eardrum-perforating drum ‘n’ bass thrashed on real live instruments by a band who make Red Snapper sound like Craig David by comparison. Bass-heavy, brooding, bombastic and raw as botulism.
This could just be the start of something really special. Here’s hoping they get to turn the place out on a weekend some time soon.
The next NRFTW will take place at On the Rocks on March 8th with Dust 21 and Blackout (featuring Lennie Laws). Check out http://www.nrftw.com for more info.
Written by Ben Thrush
