My unpublished review for RA:
I reckon there are only a handful of DJs that even come close to exploiting the full potential of the fabric room 1 sound system – i.e. the Ricardos and Zips of this world. After Saturday I can add to this handful three more in the fresh-faced shape of RPR Sound, who, from our arrival at 3am to our departure 7 hours later, showed that they have horizons broad enough to carve out a niche alongside their forebears.
They certainly had a lot to make up for: a search bordering on molestation at the door (bouncer with hands down my jeans:‘what’s that?’ uh…); the sad realisation that the music in room 3 wasn’t even that good, despite Tama Sumo being behind the decks – she must have brought a special set of ‘fabric-ready’ records, the effect of which was that at times room 3 sounded almost as repetitive as room 1; and the even sadder re-realisation that no matter how good the music is in room 3, it will be flattened beyond recognition by the beaten up sound system, viz. Kelli Hand’s tremendous Project 5 EP somehow managing to be a chore to listen to. It’s an ongoing disappointment to me that proper house DJs rarely get booked in room 1, because ever since I heard ‘Baby Wants To Ride’ in there I know that this is a serious opportunity going begging.
Of course a lot of boring music also gets played in room 1, and RPR Sound at first seemed only happy to oblige – yes it sounded nice, but it didn’t do anything for over 10 minutes at a time. But from 6am or so the basslines became more exploratory, the drums groovier and the layers of detail on top (as clear as ever) more and more outré – even ‘Duso’ got an airing. By the time 9am rolled around they had entered Baby Ford territory, the kind of music that never sounds as good again once you’ve heard it in here. At this time of night, too, the dancefloor becomes less of a cattle market, the sweetspot in the centre more readily accessible for those who like to listen and move.
Allowing that there are three of them, it’s still an endorsement of their collective stamina that the mixing remained as tight at the end as it had been earlier on – call it unexciting, but with music like this you don’t want to be distracted by the DJ. One has to admire their evident dedication to a style that many have little time for, which is groovy minimal house that requires patience and attention to detail. This kind of experience borders on the avant garde – it’s clear that Pedro for one is more austere with every release – and it’s certainly not for everyone, but get in the right mood in the right place like on Saturday and the hours fly by.
