Deviation lands at XOYO

Prior to last Friday it’d been a good year since I was last at XOYO. In 2010, when it first opened, the initial excitement was of a club with the line-ups and support that could have proved a replacement for The End. However something just wasn’t right about the lay-out and the sweat-dripping ceiling combined with line-ups deviating from my tastes meant that I only ended up going about five times. But the potential for the night held last Friday was so great I’d have probably gone had it been held in the Great Hall. Probably. Deviation is a night that sorely underrated DJ, Benji B, started five years ago to break up the monotony of working for five straight days. Held on a Wednesday, its crowd had to be loyal and serious about their music; getting the likes of Dam Funk, Jackmaster, Mala, Theo Parrish and Joy O to grace the Commercial Street arches on a Wednesday night is no mean feat. But Benji B is no amateur; starting his career at KISS FM before moving to Radio 1Xtra to host his own show a decade ago, the London DJ has been a great promoter of all things experimental yet soulful in electronic music. From introducing the UK to Flying Lotus to exposing the world to the UK’s underground scene, Benji B has never been part of any real clique, rather preferring to do things his way.

This year Deviation has moved from its midweek enclave to prime-time Friday night at one of London’s biggest clubs, XOYO. Last Friday was the second of the new residency for the club night, boasting a line-up that was indicative of the serious talents that have been booked for the club night over the next few months. Employing none less than Actress and Jamie XX to bring the party, I was convinced that I’d find my missing love for the club that night.

As we entered, Actress was preparing to take to the decks. Expecting a deep and twisted set of spaced-out techno, we were ready to fly. Unfortunately the difference between the music Actress makes and what he DJs is quite stark and after taking an unexpected R&B hit, we headed for a smoke. It’s not that the guy can’t DJ, or even that I disliked the music he played – far from it – it just felt out of place coming from a guy that makes some of the freshest sounding electronic music in the UK today.

Following Actress was Jamie XX who had been given a substantial set in comparison to his precursor. Just like Actress, Jamie XX is a producer first and DJ second, and this is perhaps what let the night down. As ever Jamie’s selection was faultless, yet he still hasn’t managed to iron out the clashing mixes that have put a dampener on many of his sets for me (although admittedly he seemed to nail more of the mixes as his set progressed). As the night ticked closer to and past 3am (the criminally early closing time for the club) people started to trickle out, yet at around half past Benji B returned to the decks to play one almighty finale. Some call it lazy DJ-ing, but really it was genuinely the most fun I’ve had in a club in months; tunes from Kendrick Lamar, Joy O and TNGHT were just a few of the ‘best of 2012’ finale that we were treated to. And the icing on the cake? As the lights came on and people started filing out, a request from the booth was shouted down to the floor, “Techno or Disco?”. A unanimous swell of “Disco” emanated from the crowd before ‘Stand On The Word’ by The Joubert Singers swept across the dancefloor to close Deviation for another month. So while XOYO still failed to win me round, the quality of the music and of the crowd meant that I’ll be spending more Friday evenings sweating and dancing in that club just off the Old Street roundabout.