Kitsune Maison @ Hearn Street. 31/10/09

Halloween is a mess. The Americans get into the spirit of the holiday, whereas here in the UK we use it as a perfect chance to get trashed and wear what we want. Cue a night of hilarity, excess and some great entertainment.

This year I decided to make a more concerted effort, as All Hallows Eve fell in my first month in London and I was itching for a big night out. Kitsune Maison’s final tour date was the place to be on Halloween, and it was our final destination. The venue? Hearn Street, Shoreditch. A car park.

It’s a bizarre scenario, with hordes of people waiting outside what is a real DIY venue. Stepping inside, there are portaloos lining the walls, and a small makeshift bar keeping everyone inebriated. Bare-bones works.

Arriving in a cop-out zombie costume, I navigated the prickly guest list guard before entering just as Delphic began their set. The Manchester three-piece were already manipulated their sound, ramping up the bass response and dragging out the instrumental aspects. Indie became dance music. Songs like “Counterpoint” had the crowd erupting into sing-alongs, whilst “This Momentary” was drawn out into a 10 minute rave. It’s smart, organic music, and the songs have lent themselves nicely to live performances.

The metallic roof and concrete walls give off the perfect vibe, and it gets steamy pretty damn quickly. The PA system is simply massive, and after spending a few minutes too long next to the speakers, my ears were suffering. Delphic were not going to be ignored. Previewing songs from their debut album Acolyte, they were the last ‘band’ of the night, before we headed into electro territory. They left the stage, retreating into a wall of smoke, rapidly becoming a trademark effect.

French producer Yuksek kept us enthralled for his 90 minute set. Electro is a strange beast; crowd interaction is at a minimum, and the majority of the performance was spent with my back to the stage. It wasn’t for lack of appreciation, however. “Tonight” utilised some incredible vocoder work, and he played through the majority of his epic debut album Away From The Sea. Sadly, there were no remixes to speak of, but his own material had the crowd dancing for the entire set.

Kitsune make a strong claim to being 2009’s Ed Banger; in Yuksek, they have found an electro-head who is willing to experiment. In Delphic, they have one of the most exciting British bands of 2009. At the very least, the Hearn Street rave will go down as one of the best nights out in 2009. And who knows? Maybe this is where it will all begin.

Photos courtesy of Will Hines