- Corsica Studios is a three room venue in Elephant & Castle, a section of South London which is "a bit dodgy," according to the locals. Recently, its proprietors opened up shop for an entire weekend, expanding their recurring Trouble Vision party to include a Girls Music (headed by Toddla T and Raf Daddy) label showcase. Visiting from New York, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to soak in sets from some of the city's rising DJ talents, as well as catch charismatic sound clash godfather David Rodigan in the flesh.
Photo credit: Vickie Parker
Walking up a desolate street, we were greeted by a massive queue full of well dressed, in-the-know hipsters ranging in age from their late teens into their thirties. Inside, a seriously cold, warehouse-like vibe was being given off. Black swaths of fabric replaced walls in parts of the largest room, and the entire ceiling of one of the smaller side rooms was covered in the material. Mosca had set up camp on the decks, and was playing a fun set mainly comprised of grime and bassline tracks, with Gyptian's "Hold Yuh" going over particularly well with the crowd.
In the main room, Pipes was playing old school drum & bass, as well as the nostalgia-drenched Shy FX, Kano, and Donae'o tune "Raver." The anticipation for Rodigan was building, and everyone was cramming into the not-so-huge space. Finally, the 59 year-old DJ took to the decks, wearing a King Stitt t-shirt and looking like he'd come out of the same factory which bred Gilbert & George and Dan Deacon. "I love this music like you love this music, and right now we're going to Kingston, Jamaica," he proclaimed with his trademark giddiness.
First up: some Junior Gong, "Uptown Top Ranking," and exclusive dubs of "Hotstepper" and "Boombastic". As an elder statesman of the reggae, dancehall and sound clash worlds, Rodigan took the opportunity to try and teach the younger members of the crowd about the derivations of the tunes they love today. Adopting a Jamaican patois-esque accent, he explained that King Tubby was making tracks "when there was no internet and no iPhones," connecting the dots by continuing, "If you love King Tubby, if you love drum & bass, if you love dubstep, put one hands in the air!"
Photo credit: Vickie Parker
A silent disco had been set up in a third room that we accessed via a creepy alleyway; it resembled a place where junkies might cook rats for dinner in flaming trash cans. We entered and were immediately given headphones. All kinds of silliness was ensuing on the dance floor, as a DJ wearing a giant alligator head played cheesy tracks like Hanson's "Mmm Bop," Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song. Only self-aware British event organizers would allow for both forward-thinking leftfield dance tunes and such unpretentious pop appreciation, all under one roof.