Filthy Dukes may well give away their ages (over 25) as they rinse with ease ‘80s power pop through acid house thumping bass lines… but so what? There hasn’t been this much fun to be had on the dancefloor since early Chemical Brothers and Basement Jaxx.
The London three-piece have a history of remixing (Late Of The Pier and The Rakes, among others) while successfully DJing and promoting the London club night Kill Em All. This new guise sees them come out from behind the decks and take centre stage with added live band. The resulting electro-pop is as fresh as it is retro.
The crowded venue is noticeably up for it, considering it’s a Tuesday night. They aren’t disappointed with this entertaining eight-song set. Second song, the soon to be released single ‘This Rhythm’, with its ‘80s big beat electronic drum kit and lead vocalist Tim Lawton’s smooth ambient singing, gets everyone dancing.
The penultimate, and quite epic, song ‘2600’ is explained by Lawton: “This is named after our favourite synth.” The ARP 2600 is a ‘70s synthesiser once favoured by musicians from 808 State and Aphex Twin to Herbie Hancock and Kool And The Gang. This, among other geeky equipment littering the stage, contributes to the ambitious Krautrock-esq sense of their music.
This sound is too big for the confines of a small club. The stop/start nature of three-minute pop songs with chatting in between, which is the chosen set up tonight, doesn’t suit this music. Much larger stages beckon and a seamless transition between songs to turn this into one long glorious set.
Filthy Dukes are music geeks in the best sense: they love music and it shows in their work. Their sound isn’t exactly new, but they do it so well it’s like discovering a new genre for the first time. Anyone under 25 would find it difficult to recreate this carefree vibe of a world before the credit crunch with the same conviction of this band.
