Air n Electricity Event Highlights UK Talent
On Wednesday, 21/07/21, Air n Electricity hosted an event in collaboration with Big Love Ltd at The Fiddler’s Elbow in Camden, London. We sent our editor to see what the aNe boys had planned, and to experience the long list of acts first-hand.
Barely a 5-minute walk out of Chalk Farm underground station, The Fiddler’s sits on the corner atop a hill. Conveniently opposite a half-decent kebab shop named the Chalk Farm Grill, the venue surprised with its high-quality sound system, and circular floor plan which allows for easier navigation around the building when reaching capacity. On arrival, one was greeted by aNe co-founder Drew Harley, who would issue a wristband upon payment.
Upon entry, a DJ dressed in all white mixed together a wide range of music forms. It was DJ Bostock, founder of Big Love Ltd, who was keeping the crowd entertained while the venue filled up. Hosted by South London DJ and presenter K-Star, the first act brought to the stage was Tapiwa. The emcee of South African heritage sported green corduroy pants, and got the crowd moving right away. Finishing with his hype track All I Do Is Dumb Shit, K-Star then brought on the next act - Lexi!, a fashion model venturing into music. Lexi! performed a set before bringing up Lukas Ehlers to the stage to perform their collaborative track Summer Days together.
The third performer to take the spotlight was Giv3n, the ever-tall masked maniac who commands stage presence like no other. Giv3n broke the ice as far as mosh pits go, doing well to address the audience, even standing in amongst the crowd and bringing the ‘sweaty energy’ that was needed. Following Giv3n was JP from 640, who - though dressed modestly - brought a crowd of his own with him to support, who he shouted out while on stage. Fifth up was Khos, who seemed to be wearing an inappropriate outfit given the intense and humid heat in the venue, but looked fly as hell either way. Dressed in Helmut Lang and Doc Marten shoes, Khos encouraged the crowd to vibe with his vocals; a welcome break from the constant moshes and incessant sweating from the acts that came prior. The break was also necessary to recharge before what happened next.
Mad Rai, sporting his signature black and red dreadlocks, took the stage and started things off with a recent single of his titled Tar. He then went on to perform many of his best bangers including Slaves Rage! (see the below video) and Super Eagle Punk from the Price 4 Hell album. Throughout the entire set, it felt as though everybody in attendance was raging alongside Mad Rai, feeding off the energy coming from the stage. After non-stop pushing to the front and moshing to Mad Rai’s rage rap, whoever was tough enough to carry on without taking a fresh air and water break was then entertained by Nick Frayzier, who brought much of the same energy.
Leviakkan followed, bringing his usual swagger and ‘don’t give a fuck’ type of attitude - spending his entire set stood amongst the crowd, taking his shirt off, dropping the mic and casually picking it back up to carry on spitting. The counterculture toughness of the previous few acts was alleviated by Keko, who was joined by Kharis to round out the performances with a more palatable, but no less high-energy, trap sound that everyone got involved with and enjoyed.
Highlight of the night: Mad Rai’s intense set. As SOuthside said earlier this year, Mad Rai is not for the faint-hearted.
Lowlight of the night: The night ending. The only way to get enough of aNe events is for them to last forever… no hyperbole.
The next Air n Electricity event is in collaboration with Clubhouse Collective, and is to be held on the 13th of August at the Amersham Arms, a 2 minute walk from New Cross underground station in South East London.