I started a new job last week and it was a job I set as a target to
get before Friday 23rd April. This was because last Friday a
dubstep night took place that I have been eagerly awaiting and one I set my sights on as a celebration of getting said new job - which thankfully I got just in time. South London promoters
Deadly Rhythm teamed up with UK bloggers
Better Never Than Late to hold a
night at The Legion in Shoreditch presenting
Elijah & Skilliam,
Spyro
and of course the first London gig for
Kito.
I had been looking forward to this gig for months ever since I saw it
listed on
MySpace. Despite being ill all week and then being faced
with a couple of setbacks and travel issues that night, I powered through and we eventually arrived fashionably late to
the gig. By the time we were through the door I well and truly felt
like a ten year old on Christmas Day!
Upon arrival
Elijah & Skilliam were on the decks spinning out some
severely rudeboy beats: blending up fresh tracks, modern
classics and old skool garage-inspired bass music. That's why I love
dupstep - it is such a broad spectrum.
There was once a track I thought of as the best garage track ever made, a track by
Dem 2 that I heard on
Kiss 100 when I was about thirteen years old. It
took me until 2010 to do my research and identify the tune. Under
the alias
US Alliance, Dem 2 called the track 'Da Grunge Mix' of
'All I
Know' and when I found it on YouTube I was ecstatic (after all that time). I also found it
on an Elijah & Skilliam mix set that I downloaded and so whilst they were mixing it up at The Legion I had to ask them
to play it, however they didn't have it on them. This is
the track, and the vibe that has long inspired the music that
descended from it to date:
'Destiny' has got nothing on that right? What a majestic tune!
So I head nodded and had a little bounce to their set while getting my
drink on and as the night progressed I got more and more excited.
Spyro was up next, however, for me, it was hard to distinguish his set
from the set before, as he took over with a similar ragga-stylee grime-oriented
selection of tunes. The crowd was loving it, this is just my view -- this branch of the dubstep tree isn't my particular favourite. Or
maybe I was just impatient, the mixing was immaculate of course.
I am the shittest photographer, especially when I am drunk (as you can tell) and I tried to capture the moments of the night but every photo I took was just completely shite. My mate and I
were both thoroughly enjoying ourselves though (she'd been on it since 1pm).
At this
point some goon in a suit swiped my beer off the table and walked off
- so I swiftly reclaimed it. What a f*nny!
I have heard people speak of
Kito as an
amazing DJ and I have been lapping up the sets of
hers that I have downloaded, but seeing her spin live was something
else. The Australian-now-London-based producer and DJ truly inspired me when I first heard her innovative sound. Her tracks introduced me to a flavour of electro and drum and bass inspired breakbeat music that I had never heard before. By the time she was on the ones and twos I was on that
dancefloor ready to be taken away.

From the first tune it was clear that some people in the audience
were taken back by her beats -- that they were hearing something new, fresh and incredibly unique; gradually absorbing it and moving with it. By the second
half of the set those people who just came for a 'dubstep' night were stepping
up and dancing with the real heads. I myself was raving from the
start, unable to resist moving and jumping to the increasingly awesome
set blended seamlessly track after track. Every piece of music she played was stunning, with immense drops, epic bass lines, beautiful musical progressions, futuristic sound designs and elaborate rhythms. It was no surprise that a lot of the tunes sounded as if they were her own productions; the signature of her funky beat patterns, mutating synths and lush vocals was all over the set.
I was very happy when she dropped her new track
'This City', currently one of my favourite tunes:
By the end of the night I was sweating out a little bit. I like getting carried away! Kito's set was absolutely rinsing and I am certain when I say that she is one of the best DJs on the planet (and a very modest one too). Her skills and choice of tunes (yet alone her productions) mark Kito as a genuine pioneer, holding the future of 'dubstep' in her hands.
There is something very exhilarating about seeing an artist play or perform their own material. The first time I saw
Paradox live was a night I'll never forget.
I left The Legion on Saturday morning a very happy boy! My mate and I missioned it home in our drunken states and dealt with the hangover on Saturday. The night was such a memorable celebration. The only disappointment was that Kito didn't play 'Cold'...
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