KOKO London hosts Lee Burridge’s house fest

Lee Burridge teamed up with Tim Green and Roxie Li to produce a spectacular showing at Camden’s KOKO, brilliantly showcasing house music in its most energetic and rapturous form.

This night was always destined to thrill, as the eye-catching line-up promised a performance that would light up the venue’s theatre-esque space. In fact, the latter’s striking interior acted as the trio’s arena in which they laid siege to a monumental 6-hour event that succinctly and effortlessly provided high-octane energy to a vibrant crowd. The frenetically eager audience was layered and spread across multiple floors within the venue, creating a dynamic and circular flow within the space that allowed the performers and ravers to feed off each other. One must greatly praise KOKO for the effort they put into creating a novel venue and raving experience, as the lavish and curved amphitheater aesthetic innovatively and undeniably complements the modern electronic sound.

Thus, the first mix was led by a burgeoning Roxie Li, who started her set with some melodically oriented house, focusing on achieving multi-layered harmony that swayed from more melancholic sounds to lighter and uplifting phases. Her set design clearly fit into the aesthetic mold of Burridge’s renowned All Day I Dream label, as she explored an emotional presentation and reception of house. There was a recurring naturalistic theme that characterized her mix, with droning leads weaving across tribal chants and ethereal build-ups. This was complemented by rolling and progressive percussion that provided the groovy backbone to a well-crafted and narratively expansive yet consistent set. As time passed, she progressively accelerated and adapted the tempo to an ever-growing crowd, delving into afro-house syncopations to rhythmically shift the tone of the evening. Overall, she expertly kept the people bouncing with subtle melodic and rhythmic alterations that provided a resoundingly zestful beginning to the night.

Now, it was time for Lee Burridge to grace the decks with his particularly energetic and animated demeanor. He immediately induced a starker and bass-heavier drive to the evening, elevating the room’s temperature with harder-hitting percussion and more vigorous melodic leads. One tangibly felt the agitation and excitement grow in the crowd, with Lee slowly conducting the audience into a house frenzy. He masterfully sampled Dr. Alban’s ‘It’s My Life’ in constructing a mesmerizing passage that flowed from minimal to disco house, laced with sparkling and playful leads that warped into distorted and enchanting backdrops. This was followed by a section of beautifully arpeggiated synths that danced atop thumping drums, raising the roof once again and keeping the energy high. Just like Roxie, Lee dedicated a section of his mix to the signature off-beat rhythms of afro-house, albeit slightly longer and in a more evolved fashion. He cleverly swung from African chants to nostalgic piano progressions, enticing the crowd with crisp and well-timed transitions that allowed no pauses in dancing. It truly felt like a carnival celebration of house, a deafeningly loud and sweaty party filled with ecstatic movement and joy.

For the final leg of the evening, Tim Green took over the reins and further cranked the loudness up a notch. He relied even more on piercing and deeper bass to maintain the frantic party atmosphere, diving into progressive house that crossed into techno bass patterns. This sound was perfectly suited to the end of the night, as it lifted the crowd once more and pushed them towards a superb finale. All in all, Green’s mix focused more on repetition with slight differences, embodying a large and imposing tidal wave of energy that kept you in a trance-like state of furor until the very end.

As you exited the event, you were left with the impression that you had experienced a festival worth of quality in one night. This event was well worth your time and left you with a sweet taste in your mouth while wishing that could just have one last bite.