Live Review: Madlib, J Rocc, Egon

There was one name that linked all the sets at The Metro on Friday night. The late great hip hop producer J Dilla was a constant presence throughout this consummate display of DJ talent. A labelmate of Madlib and J Rocc's at Stones Throw, Dilla's songs kept cropping up as the three US DJs paid constant tribute to the influential artist.

As well as a homage to Dilla, Egon took the packed crowd on a musical journey through the ages. From the hazy psychedelia of Spain to Paul Ngozi & The Ngozi Family Band from Zambia, Egon boiled up a rich musical stew. And he was careful to explain as he went, giving the crowd the opportunity to not only dance but seek out some of the sounds they were hearing later.

The founder of the incredibly influential turntable crew Beat Junkies, J Rocc demonstrated the inevitable march of technology on the DJ world as he worked off both his computer and turntables, throwing big pop tracks like Jackson Five's I Want You Back, Beastie Boys' Intergalactic and Arrested Development's People Everyday in amongst more obscure crate-digger's treasures. Following on from Egon's musical “soul journey”, J Rocc morphed his early hip hop-heavy set into a darker, clubbier, dubstep sequence because as he himself behind the decks said, “You can't listen to Dr Dre forever, that's all I'm sayin'.”

It was well after midnight by the time headliner Madlib finally ventured out onto the stage. The relaxed, party atmosphere that Egon and J Rocc cultivated lost some of its momentum with a new DJ stepping up, but Madlib's manipulation of samples and playful way of crashing two different vocal tracks into each other, or running light, airy vocals against dark, thundering bass lines ensured the shuffling on The Metro dancefloor didn't slow down for too long.

This gig was a rare treat for turntable fans. Though there wasn't a lot of flashy scratching or fancy trickery, the sets were a thrill to follow as they slowly developed and morphed into new sounds. Some DJs act as a jukebox, these DJs push at the very art they've worked hard to perfect.