Promising a room plunged into darkness with just candlelight to guide us and a lineup including Berghain resident Marcel Fengler, Superstition had a lot to live up to. We entered to find Village Underground around a quarter full with the light of a hundred of so white candles flickering along the left hand side of the room. It was not until much later on that we realised that many of these candles were in fact really alight, because ones on the bar and near the front booths were extremely realistic fakes – probably wise at a techno party.
As we made our first steps on the dancefloor, Alex Smoke was just beginning to spin his characteristic brand of fairly groovy techno with muffled hi-hats. He stood far from the crowd and quite high up. The organisers had chosen to put each act in their own area of the stage. The live show by Smoke was accompanied by a visual show of distorted faces and cut-out cubes making for an impressive backdrop.
Another live act followed, in the shape of Clockwork and Avatism’s new collaboration project ‘CW/A’. Having produced some lovely melodic techno together over the years, with a recent release on Vakant Records, we were very much looking forward to what they had to offer. Starting at a noticeably much higher BPM than Alex Smoke, the pair got off to a flying start, with material that really engaged the crowd, but in a different way to which Smoke’s sweeping melodies had done moments earlier. Towards the middle of the set, their basslines became more creative and breaky, introducing more breakbeat as the set went on. A gutsy decision, and one that was a little lost on some, especially considering they were playing just before a Berghain resident. Fengler once again changed the mood as he arrived to take his place at the front of the stage, the closest to the crowd. He was practically at the same level, adding an extra level of intimacy and interaction. Starting at a similar BPM, but more ambient, Fengler weaved his way through classic Berghain main room-style techno via tracks like Kirk Degiorgio’s Dread and Alan Fitzpatrick’s track The Tetra, out on Drumcode at the beginning of this year. Fengler has a style that is slightly different to the other Berghain residents, allowing for more subdued, ambient moments, rather than an relentless masterclass of hard techno. This allowed the crowd to relax in and gain strength between the regular peaks and only served to draw them in further to Fengler’s offerings.
As we approached the final half hour, a slightly more housey feel seemed to become apparent with classics like Makam’s ‘Orchestra Drama Remix’ of Set It Off by Boris Werner; instantly recognisable from Sven Väth’s Boiler Room. As we came to the end, Fengler surprised us all with the Alan Fitzpatrick remix of Trus’me’s I Want You. One of the techno anthems of the summer, it injected a final dose of energy before bringing things full circle for the end.
Just as he’d started, Fengler looked to an ambient selection to offer some symmetry to his set, and a moment of reflection as the walls of candles continued to flicker around us. Minus the occasional flash of a strobe, the artificial light that is almost taken for granted at electronic music nights, was conspicuous in its absence; but not missed. It offered an interesting variation on a format that is becoming increasingly saturated in London. This level of care and imagination will stand Superstition in good stead, as they continue their collaboration with Village Underground later this month with a Rush Hour Records showcase.
