Live Review: Mr Scruff, Ariane, Anno

20 November 2017 | 6:00 pm | Tanya Bonnie Rae

"Phenomenally diverse and high in energy, fusing disco, soul, house, Afrobeat, Latin beats, even techno and Arabic music."

Local support acts Ariane and Anno warmed up the crowd seeping in from 8pm until UK talent Mr Scruff took to the decks, playing back to back with the two before getting into his four hour set.

Ninja Tune jazz heavyweight Mr Scruff (Andy Carthy) launched into his DJ set with groove-riddled funk house and disco. James Brown's 1978 As Long As I Love You made a brief appearance shortly before Peruvian band Black Sugar's 1974 funk/soul track Checan. Throughout the night, Carthy's track selection was consistently exquisite, spanning several decades — it was a musical education. He melded Latin American music with soul and funk, mixing in and out of tracks with precision and ease.

Thomas Xu's Alottochewon made an appearance close to halfway through the set, keeping with Scruff's constantly evolving sound and track selection. His set was one that was phenomenally diverse and high in energy, fusing disco, soul, house, Afrobeat, Latin beats, even techno and Arabic music. He mixed in Disco Halal's Baladi (Mehmet Aslan Edit) complete with classical flute and the qanun (string instrument predominately played in the Middle East) and Afrobeat complete with trumpet and sax fanfares in Orange Tree Edits' Litmus Groove (Jimmy Rouge Edit).

The energy felt throughout Mr Scruff's set permeated through the dancefloor, filled with a crowd almost as unique, diverse and entertaining as his four-hour long set.

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