'HARVEY'S SENSATIONAL DISCOTHEQUE'

DJ Harvey has done it all. The pioneer of the re-edit starred at his own, inclusive underground club nights ‘Moist’ and was one of the first resident DJs at ‘Ministry of Sound’ (MOS) in the 90s; alongside icons such as Larry Levan and Tony Humphries. He spent a decade in NYC, but now he’s back on the international scene and has played everywhere over the last few years. His parties at ‘Pikes Ibiza’, have generated a large amount of praise from Harvey disciples, who have left the legendary Freddie Mercury hotel suite, in absolute awe and admiration of the enchanting, special party environment. Harvey returned to London on the 19^th May, to host a discotheque at the new cultural hub for music – Printworks. Dance music's very own wonder woman – Peggy Gou, and fan favourite – Skream joined Harvey in the press halls (main room); as well as other special guests Hot Chip Megamix, Jaye Ward and Haai. There was also a stellar line up in the charge bay (room 2), which involved seasoned diggers Man Power and Love Fingers. 

It was evident that the DJs occupying the press halls throughout the day had done a superb job in building the energy inside the venue. Printworks was buzzing by the time Peggy Gou was given the power to play her records at 5pm. The South Korean DJ and producer had her eyes opened to house and techno music when a friend presented her with Roman Flügel’s masterpiece 'Fatty Folders'. Around 5 years ago she began her DJ career in east London, with a Thursday night residency at an event called ‘Cluck’. Since then, years of experience, coupled with her desire to succeed; has resulted in her being added to huge line ups such as this one. Her set started with strong intentions, to cause havoc for 2 hours in the darkened disco warehouse. Groovy house music of all kinds from 'Up North' to the mind boggling 'Laugh Gas' were accompanied by the astonishing lighting display spiralling all around, that the press halls are so well-known for. The crowd could have no complaints about her predominantly acid set. Each selection was weird but wonderful. Entering the last half an hour, Peggy played her very own 'Itgehene'. The title of this translates roughly to ‘It Makes You Forget’, and Peggy has described how it is all about forgetting everything that’s going on in your life and just enjoying the moment through music. The message she presents in the record is also reflected in her DJ sets, as she switches off and lets the music control her. Peggy was effortlessly grooving whilst making selections behind the decks. This attitude was contagious. There was an infection of effortless groove on the dancefloor. Before she finished up, she gifted the crowd with her new, soon to be released acid remix of 'At Night'. This is a real floor-filler and has had the music ID group lovers raving about its release date. These two productions show that Peggy is a skilled producer as well as a top DJ. Her skills coupled with her inner drive to be the best she can be, means that she will only improve. Exciting times lie ahead for her fans. 

After Peggy’s set, Love Fingers was in control of the vibes from 7-9pm, in the charge bay (room 2). Hollywood-based Andrew Hogge plays records under the name ‘Love Fingers’, which was also the name of his influential, popular blog that had a focus of ‘no descriptions just music’. He is a genuine music lover who constantly digs far and wide for special undiscovered treasures, and puts his knowledge and exceptional taste into practice in his DJ sets. His set was a nice pick up from where Peggy had left off in the main room, as he ranged through what can only be described as punk, acid funk, house music such as 'Black Label Honey'. He had room 2 packed out and I am sure there will be a lot to come from him soon. After a nice dose of Love Fingers, I returned to the main room where Skream was picking up the pace. Oliver Jones (Skream) has had a whirlwind of a career but now seems to finally have found his feet. He started DJing aged 11 in Croydon, and quickly became an influential exponent of dubstep, playing on pirate radios such as Flight and Rinse FM. However, his turbulent ascendance in the world of dubstep took him to a point where he stopped enjoying what he was doing. He fell into a trap of playing records he didn’t like; at events he didn’t want to be at. He pioneered a genre which he is proud of and gave so much influence but needed a change to boost his motivation as a DJ. His evolution began around 2010, as he started producing and collaborating with huge house hits; like his own ‘Rollercoaster’. He also started to explore different genres through DJing. Nowadays we can expect absolutely anything in a Skream DJ set. 


In what I saw of his 2-hour slot, he journeyed through a variety of house, whilst also squeezing in some disco and classic hits. Playing a bit of everything seems to be exactly what gets his gears going, as he was absolutely loving it up on stage – exactly what the crowd wants to see. His unpredictable style allowed for an exciting atmosphere. He played some feel-good house hits such as 'Discopolis' and 'Mental Geller' before smashing out some more hard-hitting house music in the shape of a Floorplan remix of 'Feel The Same'. The set ended in some style, as Denis Sulta’s disco turned, pounding house re-edit of Thelma Houston’s 'DKY' and a re-edit of all time classic 'Aint No Mountain High Enough' were unleashed. Skream no longer plays under any boundaries, which has really added to his pedigree as a DJ. He set the scene for Harvey to do what he does best for the last two hours – absolutely kill it. 


From 9-11pm, Harvey was at the helm of the discotheque he curated. Although he reins as the king of disco, he doesn’t necessarily play oh-so-fashionable disco, it comes in the form of rare groove and power funk. It’s special going to a Harvey night because you don’t know what you want but he somehow does, and gives you want you want, in the form of some unbelievable records. We are so used to hearing electronic dance music every week when we go clubbing, so it is refreshing to hear his ‘organic’ sounds. He is a master of the 8-hour set and usually builds and builds his sets to a perfect climax. However, as he only had 2-hours he unleashed hugely energetic dance music from the start. The lights spiralled around, creating a purple disco illusion, as Harvey started his set with Californian cosmic disco such as 'We Are Steady Rockin'. Pounding funk such as 'Still Going' blared out as Harvey flashed in and out of sight in the discotheque; thanks to lights flashing amongst the fog created by the smoke machines. He merged his Californian cosmic disco sound from records such as 'Its Over Now' with Giorgio Moroder-esque future electro boogie in the form of 'Orca'. The real highlight of the event came towards the end of his set when he played the wonderful orchestral disco number – 'Could It Be Magic'. As Harvey spun this record, the disco ball shone in all it’s glory, reflecting multiple colours everywhere. Disco magic was in the air. Harvey himself was beaming and people were dancing with tears in their eyes. All the other artists who had been involved were up on stage in awe of Harvey. Perhaps this is what Pikes feels like? A lovely time was had by all. Big thanks to Harvey and his team for smashing it yet again.