Camping in an Old Street basement
Don't judge a place by its handle
As acronyms go, the one belonging to the _City Arts & Music Project _is a bit awkward. The same goes for the name of its nightclub: CAMP Basement.
A small club just off Old Street roundabout and unlike a lot of its neighbouring establishments, there’s nothing pretentious about this place; in fact the whole feel of it can be summed up within the first two metres of walking off the pavement. The guy taking ticket money sits, with his tiny cash box, at a table which is uncomfortably reminiscent of those wobbly pieces of shit we all know and love from the Great Hall at exam time.
Downstairs, an abundance of MDF separates the cupboard-like toilets and fire escape from the rest of the room. The tiled floor reminds one of a 19th century hospital. But people who go to clubs for nice decor are dickheads anyway.
We walked in at about midnight to the monophonic fuzz of Mr Oizo’s ‘Flat Beat’, and the warm-up DJ continued by putting a firm pair of V’s up at DJ etiquette, playing some of the biggest tunes in UK bass music from the past couple of years. Then, as Lokiboi stepped up at about half past, releases from the likes of Julio Bashmore, Mosca, Burial and Joy O flowed.
You wouldn’t get this at most club nights, but here were a bunch of young lads playing their favourite music and just having fun, something which too often gets forgotten in the competition for unreleased tracks and kudos for finding music no one’s heard before. ASBO, the MC for the night, kept things lively and although I often have reservations about MCs, ASBO played it well, serving as a connection between the DJ and the dance floor without basking in self-importance.
However, the young group’s inexperience at hosting nights showed when RAMP label owner Tom Kerridge stepped up with a crate full of vinyl, something the laptop DJs hadn’t seen coming and for some reason caused significant confusion. It took about fifteen minutes before the correct cables were in the correct places and Tom could get things moving again.
He restarted the proceedings with the incredible ‘54-46 That’s My Number’ by Toots and the Maytals, the opening track to the film This is England; the irony of which I’m sure wasn’t missed by the tall, well-built skin-head. Eventually, he setlled down into more traditional booming house music.
Unfortunately for me, the set lacked variety and I eventually grew bored. Sometime after 3, Arkist took Tom Kerridge’s place behind the decks, rolling out the disco house which enlivened the dance floor once again until we decided the lure of fried chicken was too much and headed for the exit.
CAMP Basement is a strange place, I’ve never seen it particularly busy; almost to the point of being too empty, yet I find myself really growing to like it. It’s not trying to be anything other than a place for like-minded heads to go and enjoy some of the best music coming out of the UK underground dance music scene, and for that you’ve really got to respect it.
