As Octagon Man and Depth Charge, DJ/producer J. Saul Kane has been one of the more consistent and innovative forces on the U.K. dance scene since the late ‘80s. By drawing influences from dub, electro and hip-hop, Depth Charge together with contemporaries Renegade Soundwave are responsible for the development of the sound which was later to be termed trip-hop. His early records such as Legend of the golden Snake, and Bounty Killers are considered dance classics.
Having said all of that, I was quite surprised that this gig received a tiny amount of promotion. For that matter I wonder if there was any promotion at all. It seemed that very few people knew anything about it. I found out about this gig by accident, while browsing the ITM promotional email. But the moment I saw it I knew where I would be on the 19th of April.
Finally it was Saturday and I ventured out to Revolver. Having never been there before (yes I admit that), I was surprised by the venue. Too many people have said that it is incredibly small. Well in my head that results in one 10×10 metre room. So I was a bit relieved when I was in Revolver. The place wasn’t too packed which of course was a bonus.
Unfortunately I am unfamiliar with the local residents of Revolver so I can’t really write who played what. All I can say is that the DJ before Depth Charge played a very dubby set which the crowd seemed to like. Eventually it was time for Depth Charge to step on the decks. Immediately the pace increased. He played some nice breaks with a lot of electro flavour to it. Unfortunately Revolver’s sound system wasn’t capable to support the bass lines that I expected from Depth Charge. Heavy bass lines that make your intestines vibrate. He showcased his scratching skills early on, so I was a bit surprised at the mediocre mixing he displayed many times throughout the night. But as said many times before it’s not the mixing that counts. He continued to play electro/breaks for the first half of the night, throwing in the occasional hip-hop tune in the mix (and of course where would Depth Charge be without the movie samples from B Grade movies???). He then played few techno tunes (namely UR – Transition), a few old funk records, and then… to my shock and horror he played Nirvana – Smells like teen spirit. Nothing wrong with the song, but it just didn’t make any sense whatsoever to mix something like that in his set. The crowd was quite responsive to it though (so it could have been just me that wasn’t happy with it). The last half an hour he played dark drum and bass. The fast furious beats made the crowd go wild, and certainly made a big change for me.
Overall this was a good party. Nothing too big. A perfect nite to kick back and enjoy the music. And the music selection was quite fantastic. I kept thinking all night that this was one of the most eclectic sets I had heard in a while. Perhaps a better promotion would have done more justice towards Depth Charge.
