- For fans of deep techno, Friday's lineup at Oval Space was an all-star cast. Two respected Japanese selectors, DJ Nobu and Wata Igarashi, joined Northern Electronics boss Abdulla Rashim, who was billed for a rare live set. It was Nobu's first appearance of his 2017 residency. I was excited to see all three artists, but unsure about whether Oval Space would deliver. In my experience, the venue has often failed to match its world-class lineups with decent sound.
That said, the team promised to beef up the soundsystem this year by enhancing their d&b V-Series rig. At first these changes appeared to have paid off. When I arrived at 1 AM, Igarashi was deep into his varied warm-up set, favouring detuned melodies and tricky syncopated rhythms. I could hear every detail clearly, as he folded in taut acid lines and even a trance-y bassline. During one memorable moment, a tangle of dubby drums gave way to a crystalline synth motif that rose like a phoenix. When he finished at 2 AM, the dance floor burst into applause. Nobu, who had been watching from the side, stepped over to give his compatriot a hug.
Dressed all in black with cropped blonde hair, Rashim cut an austere figure as he made the final preparations for his one-hour live set. He opened with spectral ambience, soft sounds nicely complemented by a flush of blue light. The first half of the performance was a slow burner, with the Swede subtly adding percussive layers and modifying a single frayed melody. This was where the flaws in the soundsystem became apparent—the music urged dancers to sink deep into the groove, but the volume just wasn't high enough to induce hypnosis. I was constantly distracted by the conversations of dancers around me, a tell-tale sign that the sound needs tweaking.
Oval Space's large dance floor had only been half full up to this point, but more people appeared as Nobu began his headline slot around 3 AM. He was on stunning form, weaving through a selection of leftfield techno tracks, equally comfortable detonating big crescendos or delivering mesmerising grooves. Cleverly, he played to the system's strengths, concentrating on intricate percussion and prismatic melodies to make up for the lack of bass weight. I stayed long after I was too tired to dance, thinking to myself that the Japanese maestro deserves every scrap of respect he gets.
Photo credit /
Enrico Policardo