Reviews - Events
the last border community at the end
venue: the end, LONDON UK
what we think: emotionally mind blowing
by liz cirelli
I’m sure I’m not alone in my deep depression, brought on by the news that The End – this most legendary of clubs, will be closing its doors next January. I sit and sob uncontrollably into my hands as I recall with such fondness each & every amazing night I have shared with my friends in that dark – and very loud – main room. The last Border Community certainly deserves to claim its place in my little list.
As can be imagined of any Border night, the boundaries of genre stereotypes were blown to smithereens. Avus opened with a selection of cutting edge deep techno grooves and the club began to rapidly fill with Border fans, eager to loose themselves in the wonderful music blasting from the speakers. Holden began to get ready to take his place behind the decks and the crowd near the DJ booth began to stir with excitement. Even I found myself staring at him from the other side of the DJ box…a look of complete admiration on my face.
Holden has no fears about pushing musical boundaries during his sets. Serving up anything from progressive house to old-school tunes I hadn’t heard in years – no matter what he did, the crowd loved it. Cutting tunes in and out wherever he pleased, using gadgets and gizmos to sample snippets of tracks here & there, his entire set was utterly delightful. I wish every DJ had the guts to play such a wide variety of music in one set.
Next, Nathan Fake stepped up with his live set. If Holden pushes musical boundaries, then Fake simply blasts the living daylights out of them. Opening on an experimental, almost Aphex Twin-ish vibe, his music isn’t exactly what one would describe as ‘club’ music. Replacing musical lines with raw, industrial sounds, he had the club wrapped around his little finger. Everywhere I looked I saw faces gleaming with adoration…and rightly so. He drops Stops and the crowd erupts into cheers. Truly inspirational.
We quickly pop over to the second room to catch some of Fourtet’s set. Personally I am a great fan of this DJ. He plays fantastic party techno…no, not the cheap and nasty kind, but the tunes you used to love that have since been forgotten – Stefan Goldmann’s Sleepy Hollow for instance, or Danilo Vigorito’s Heka Dark Side.
Heading back to the main room, we are just in time to catch Ellen Allien coming on to the decks. Undeniably one of the most successful female DJs in the industry, I was very keen to hear her playing live. Bouncey, minimal techno sets us off, steering us away from the experimental sounds of Nathan Fake. A couple of people in the crowd ask me who is now DJing and when I explain who she is they turn to each other, smile and throw their hands up in the air. She ends the night on a wonderful and truly German techno note (or perhaps more accurately, percussion hit)…to a still-full and hungry-for-more dance floor. The crowd erupts into cheers and all I can see are people smiling from ear to ear.
One thing is for certain: the people at Border Community have set a legacy – James Holden should be proud of himself!
