At the end of February, Clash traveled to Fife for a quite spectacular dance event held at the Kinkell Byre in St Andrews. Here are words from our intrepid reporter on the scene at Destroy Disco…
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The birth of an aptly named new club night, Destroy Disco, graced the sodden fields of deep Scotland with a titanic boom.
Twenty-two acts set for four stages, ranging from the most infectious of cult DJs (Mylo, Erol Alkan), to the most auspicious of new talents. As their head honcho insists, “We are passionate about giving people the opportunity of getting a crack at the big stage, alongside guys who are at the top of their game”.
A huge converted barn was the venue of choice, and the thrown-together feel added to that tingling reminiscence of the dying concept of a rave and ‘90s Factory parties. No laminates for reviewers and photographers tonight. No doors were closed.
A dire initial turnout was treated to the brilliant moody leanings of Descartes, and their Interpol undertones. The Scottish quintet rattled through an engaging show and set a soundtrack for a wandering crowd to get their bearings, and their beer tokens. As quickly as the bar busied, so did the venue on a whole, as bus loads of excitable clubbers piled in, so very fashionably late.
Ibiza grade Rebecca Vasmant attracted a big crowd in the side room and delivered a seamless portion of glitchy electro, but the most intimate performances of the night were to be found in the cramped Area 1. Small enough to bridge that emotive link between DJ and crowd, as if their very song choices were being dictated by the beckoning contortions of a sweaty squad of dancers. Lo-Fi Allstars set the tempo for the 2008 electro starlet, IDC, to thrive on, before Middlesbrough-born headliner Kidda delivered a frenzy of soul breaks on a foundation of big beat. His set justified the hype surrounding his ‘Under The Sun’ hit, championed by Herve and co.
As the big names drew closer the smaller stages concluded their line-ups, forcing the main room to swell with a buzz of excitement. Erol Alkan took stage and the night was flipped on its back, repeatedly beaten and generally abused by the sheer dirt of his bullish electro mixes. The relentless deck wizardry culminated in a bass laden drop of Tiga’s ‘Mind Dimension’, and Erol saluted the crowd with a glisten of “Beat that Mylo!” in his eye.
The finale was set. Mylo stole the baton with pleasure and took a night of dubstep/electro tomfoolery to an eclectic level with his sterling ability to pick a perfect track list. The main stage began to fill up with the night’s performers, jiving round the decks like some sort of fashionista Band Aid, before an unlikely Madonna denouement of ‘Like A Prayer’ united everyone in an unsightly yet euphoric sing-along. With a series of more events promised and rumours of Annie Mac at the next Destroy Disco, Scotland should feel very, very lucky. Big thumbs up.
