I had a fantastic time in London last weekend.
When my pal Mark visited Glasgow in May for The Queen’s Park Weekender he asked if I’d like to join him on his Soulsaver boat party in July – maybe even to play some records. Since I hadn’t visited him down south for a while I gratefully accepted and put it in the calendar.
Thursday
I left on Thursday morning having bought a cheaper train ticket using Avanti Superfare. That night, after a stroll through a buzzing Chinatown I met Rob, Kirsty, Johnnie and Kate for dinner at Machiya. We had a great little meal. My highlights were the Nasu Dengaku (miso-glazed aubergine), Broccoli Itame, Pork Katsudon Donburi and the lovely low-alc Hitachino Ginger Lager.
After dinner we went to the ICA (Institute for Contemporary Arts) to check 10 Years of Wisdom Teeth which featured live acts from Surgeon’s Girl, Tristan Arp and Facta & K-LONE. Surgeon’s Girl’s infectious on-stage energy and heady analogue sounds were hitting the spot and it was a shame she was on first and we only caught the last five or so minutes of her short set. And in general we reckoned the music might have flowed a little better if the sequence of acts were reversed. Still, nice venue, nice gig and I also enjoyed their Sunshine Kölsch lager. Afterwards, we walked together for a bit, then when Jonnie and Kate caught the tube at Leicester Square I powered on home. I love walking around cities.
Friday
With a free schedule, my plan was a blissful day of walking, soaking up summer vibes and popping into various record and clothes shops. I’d head southeast from my hotel’s location at Russell Square to Spittalfields then make a beeline north to Stoke Newington via Hoxton and Dalston.
I started by heading along Clerkenwell Rd. I took a turn at Old Street onto Goswell Rd pass by The Barbican Centre. The surrounding residential area really is a concrete jungle to get lost in. It’s kinda otherwordly! I enjoyed that detour and am now keen to go to a gig there.
Next, I headed to The Breakfast Club, Spitalfields. I enjoyed some turkish eggs and a nice americano while reading about an unfolding global IT collapse.. From there it was on to some shops in and around the Spitalfields Market – Goodhood, YMC and the like. It’s cool around there!
Fuelled up and ready to go, I started walking through Shoreditch. Clair had recommended I eat at Smoking Goat and although it was bad timing to pass by as I was full, I peered in the window, saw it looked cool inside and that with dishes like Masaman Smoked Short Rib on the menu, I should come back next time. I kept walking up Kingsland Road, stopping in at Sneakersnstuff then to grab a coffee at Moko Made, a lovely little Japanese café.
By now I had reached one of my planned stops – Love Vinyl in Dalston. I’ve been before and it’s a crate-digger’s dream. This time round I dug out and listened to a whole bunch of different reggae, house and disco. I also really enjoyed the sounds in the shop as they play-tested a new second-hand collection. Jean-Luc Ponty’s Computer Incantations for World Peace sounded particularly nice through their Bozak AR-4 and Void speakers rig as the afternoon sun shone through the windows. In the end I picked up some vintage New Jersey house from Larry Rauson and Cassio, a Janet Davis UK Lover’s Rock 12″ and Unique’s What I got is what you need (which had been on my wants list for aeons – likely since I realised it’s the sample source for 808 State’s Ancodia).
I stopped in for a lovely spot of lunch at Bread and Butter farmhouse cafe before another walk taking me to Next Door records. Tom recently told me about this place, mentioning that the good folks at Signal Sounds will be presenting something there soon, so I thought I’d pay a visit. I enjoyed browsing their second-hand records and cooling down with their home-made lemonade but before long I had to escape the strangely banging-for-4pm in-store DJ set (I’m old).
Since I was near Kate’s Stoke Newington flat, this was an another good opportunity to meet Johnnie and Kate and they recommended The Axe. We had a cool, covered outdoor table to enjoy a great chat and their impressive selection of beers on draft (including Edinburgh’s Vault City).
Saturday
I started the day at the Sandwich Street Kitchen, whose meditteranean breakfast is banging. From there, it was time for a walk to Soho where I visited Maharishi before a spot more record shopping at Phonica, where I picked up a lovely new Terre Thaemlitz 12″. From there I headed to King’s Cross and Coal Drops Yard.
It was a lively Saturday afternoon round there. Folks were watching The Wizard of Oz on a big screen while kids were playing in a nearby fountain. The shops and market stalls were buzzing. There were lots of cool food stalls which I would have loved to try but they were mobbed and I was short of time. So after grabbing some stall merch for Clair I headed into Spiritland for a coffee, sandwich and to hear some stellar music played on a beautiful soundsystem. Phillis Hyman’s Living inside your love really hit the spot.
My final fling was Mark’s Soulsaver boat party, leaving from Blackfriar’s Pier. It was great fun! The boat was pretty ballin’. I playing a short warm-up set, mostly on the boogie tip but sneaking in the just-acquired Janet Davis reggae tune first. The other DJs, Guy and Mark, had loads more heavy artillery than me so after the first hour they took over and I enjoyed the view of the Thames and London landmarks from out on deck.
It was a real shame that our mutual friend Andy, who was also due to travel down from Glasgow and DJ, couldn’t make it due to the sudden death of his sister. We missed Andy and our thoughts were definitely with him.
When we reached dry land around 11pm there was the option of an after-party but I’d been keeping it pretty sensible throughout the trip and enjoying decent sleeps so I continued in the same vein before my trip home in the morning. I was pretty proud of managing to control my natural FOMO!