“Is Julio Bashmore a woman?” was just one of the weightier questions thrown round the smoking area of Plan B in Brixton on Saturday night at the Louche & Jaunt (L&J) takeover. Any serious debate was left at the door of the rave den with the burly security guards - this was a night for dancing rather than intellectual musing.
Spread over two floors, the L&J knees up was the first of four RBMA collaborations planned for 2012 - and saw the crew step out of the darkness of London’s warehouse scene and into one of the capital’s premiere after-dark destinations. It may have been in a more conventional location, but the evening had all the unhinged qualities of a more illicit nocturnal hoedown.
Ben Price for Red Bull LtdDownstairs was the first port of call - where DeadBit, Mr Luna and Tom Coterall turned the bass heat up from the get-go. Future garage stormer Disclosure’s Blue You lit the party touch paper in the guts of Plan B, which sent ripples through the rest of the building.
Upstairs in the main room, the Louche residents laid down a set of rolling house thumpers before Midland took centre stage with a tight bag of mind-melting UK garage and more minimal moments (including Pleasure craft’s Tarantula and Octo Octa’s I‘m Trying). Despite the roadblock his tech-funk provoked, it was nothing compared to the chaos caused by the Bristolian headliner.
Since a brace of killer singles on DirtyBird, Night Slugs and FutureBoogie (including Battle for Middle You and Father Father) won hearts and feet, Julio Bashmore's fate as 'hot property' has arguably been sealed. The stampede caused by his arrival behind the decks was indicative of the weight of expectation on his shoulders in the wake of his Radio 1 Essential Mix and brace of firey releases.
The ginger-haired player did not disappoint. Bashmore may be diminutive in stature but the quality of the electronic house he pushed was anything but shy and retiring. Blasting off with the Dimitri from Paris re-edit of Prince’s I Wanna Be Your Lover, he teased every last drop of dancefloor sweat out of the rerub before plunging the dancers into a hot party cauldron of the finest 4/4 and rib-shaking bass. The Behling & Simpson rewiring of Faith Evan’s Love Like This Before saw a mass singalong from the moshing fan boys at the front all the way back to the sweat soaked at the back. He set the party temperature to boiling before bringing the building down to earth his own tripped out Well Wishers underneath a flurry of crushing strobes.
Afterwards RBMA graduate and Rinse FM player, Braiden kept the vibe fresh in the basement with a set of UK funky indebted garage killers while Shonky ensured the house heads remained moving. But as we wended our way out with a freezing morning coming up, it was Bashmore who had caused most jaws to drop. On this form, 2012 is his for the taking…
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