- Over the past three years Deviation has grown from a word-of-mouth Wednesday night monthly in the basement of Gramaphone to taking on one of London's last remaining superclubs, Cable. The night is the clubland embassy for musical voyager Benji B's wider activities as a DJ and radio presenter. A former protégé of Gilles Peterson, Benji has continued to explore the modern variants of hip-hop, house, jazz, dub and dancehall.
The lineup for this larger venue was biased towards the tougher end of that spectrum, with dubstep pioneer Mala, and Hessle label owners Ramadanman and Ben UFO dominating the bill. Benji B's first set in the spacious arch that forms the main room was also fittingly tough, and included an airing of this year's first standout track in the bass music continuum, "Sicko Cell," a track most readers will recognize (soon, if not already) from its Drake sampling hookline: "I'm the information, cocaine powder." The typical Deviation crowd with its b-boy attire and aura, interspersed amongst London's less savvy but more exuberant student populace, were quick to show their approval.
After Benji had concluded his set with a new UK Funky dubplate of Damien Marley's "Welcome to Jamrock," Floating Points appeared in the main room to rapturous applause. It's well known that Floating Points' DJ-ing style has been heavily influenced by Theo Parrish, even down to his choice of bespoke rotary mixer with analogue filters. It's interesting though that the larger room didn't react well to the more tuneful and varied records he selected, or to the uninterrupted riding of the EQs. A shame, then that Ben UFO was consigned to the bar area where he was stringing together all manner of dance floor goodness with expert flair, from Chez Damier's seminal KMS productions to the devastating Armand Van Helden mix of C.J. Bolland's "Sugar Is Sweeter."
By this time 400 latecomers had already been turned away at the door and the club was still packed with Ramadanman to come. The short single-hour set time didn't stop him from embarking on a measured and carefully structured set that felt at times like taking a series of long, deep breaths, specked with some well chosen high points and teases. A new version of Hardrive "Deep Inside" and Roska's "Squark" anthem both brought the roof down.
It's no mean feat to take on a venue like Cable and conquer so conclusively, but Benji B showed that the Deviation sound and atmosphere can translate well into all manner of surroundings, bringing with it the same feeling of community and good times it has fostered elsewhere.