Moshi Moshi Birthday Party – matter, London, 18/10/08

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No denying there’s a DOUBLE buzz in the air tonight. Of course, everyone’s here to toast 10 years of the noughties’ equivalent of Fierce Panda, Moshi Moshi; forever home to your new favourite band and the super savvy launch pad for mainstream bound acts such as Bloc Party, Lykke Li and tonight’s honorary headliners Hot Chip. But as if that weren’t enough, there’s the not insignificant matter of, um, Matter; the brazenly functional O2 based superclub, designed from the ground up by those clever sorts at Fabric and blessed, purportedly, with the killingest sound system in the world. Though a couple of die-hards TLOBF bumps into at the bar bemoan the distinctly “un-Moshi” setting and its distinctly “un-Indie” bar tax (an astronomical £4 for a measly bottle of lager) there’s no denying it’s a bold setting for a Birthday party and makes for an electrifying atmosphere as London’s indie cognoscenti file in for their first peek at the hyped, paint tin fresh venue.

Utterly fabulous though it may be, it’s a shitter to get to and problems on the tube scupper early sets from 8-bit enhanced psy-punks The Mae Shi and bittersweet songsmiths The Wave Pictures. Not all bad news though, at least there’s no chance of getting an earful off Kate Nash and a trip to Matter’s top bar affords a cracking view of tap-tastic tweesters gone indie-dance Tilly and The Wall – the entire stage visible from a steel gantry spanning the width of Matter’s vast main room. To the uninitiated, Tilly and the Wall’s clippety-clop frontline might smack of novelty value, but there’s some nifty songwriting afoot for sure. And though they’re a little lightweight for this time of night, recent mini-hit ‘Beat Control’ certainly gets the party going, nicely teeing up the raved-up Greco-Roman DJs that follow.

Over in Room 2, James Yuill’s frankly improbable blend of Nick Drake inspired acoustica and Justice-esque beats sounds far better on record than it does on paper and live, it really makes sense. Though he sings like a bored robot grinding out New Order and boasts all the charisma of a traffic warden, his one man show is engaging enough by dint of his picking, plucking and bashing out of freaky Daft Punky lead lines on every available instrument. Furthermore his chrurning SO NOW drums are totally at home in the clubby setting and with the crowd football chanting his name he slings his trusty acoustic behind his back and sets about coaxing some fierce peak-time electro from his laptop – to something approaching pandemonium.

The room promptly empties as he finishes up with literally everyone in the club squeezing into the main room to catch Hot Chip. A summer of classy high end festival sets has swelled the ‘Chips already sizeable fanbase and their transition from bedroom electronica curios to stadium slaying beat monsters looks complete. Stridently confident, they ramp up the homespun house of “Boy From School” and “Ready for the Floor” and bashing away at bongos, clattering snares and the like they assume the form of a classic groovemachine combo to rival !!! or even prime time Talking Heads. They play with a drive and conviction that utterly belies the sophisticated songcraft and though the recent addition of a live drummer occasionally overpowers Alexis Taylor’s understated vocals they’re a perfect example of how graft, good taste and staying power can bridge to great things. Not a little unlike their Godparents Moshi Moshi, you might say.

Words: Jim Brackpool | Photos: Rachel Bevis