Via Knocksteady
“If i was a DJ, which I’m not.” – Thom Yorke, January 2007
Thom Yorke released an iTunes celebrity playlist four years ago. It included techno, folktronica, dubstep, hip hop and Baltimore club.
Last night, at the “mother fuckin’ Low End Theory,” as Gaslamp Killer refers to it, Thom Yorke rocked the decks with an eclectic set, very reminiscent of the variety demonstrated by the track selection in that four year old playlist.
After bribing my way in, I ran into a friend who told me that Thom was not going to show up anymore. Immediately, her words brought down my spirits. I could not thoroughly enjoy DJ Nobody or Gaslamp Killer’s sets, feeling resentful the whole time. On top of which, I had just used all my cash to finagle my way through a line that wrapped around the corner and thus had no money for a Club Soda.
Then a moment came when a techno bassline dropped after a period of silence from the speakers and out from behind the turntables popped up a little man from Oxfordshire. Any bitter taste in my mouth was gone as Thom Yorke was sweating away, manipulating the tracks to his liking (and occasionally pulling them back to the top) with Flying Lotus grooving along to his side. You can tell the Low End faithful weren’t ready for the Yorke’s opening techno onslaught, but towards the end of the set, which spanned the whole of house and techno including synthpop, garage and afrofunk, it was hard for anyone not to be enthralled by what they were witnessing .
After Thom’s set, Gaslamp Killer asked, “Did that really just happen?” – I still don’t know.
Oh, by the way, Nigel was in the crowd too.
View pictures here.
The Intro:
A brief clip:
Here’s a selection of tracks:
