Sometimes my heart and mind sync up musically and beautiful things happen. This happened a month ago when I was listening to Skream’s new track “Rollercoaster” for the hundredth time and had that magical thought, ‘I miss Skream, when is he coming back to the US??’. Next thing I know I am on Songkick looking it up, and lo and behold I found he was playing a mere couple weeks later in NYC to kickoff BEMF at Output, one of my favorite NYC clubs. Not only that, he was bringing Route 94, Curses, Oneman and MK to help him get the party started.
I couldn’t believe my luck…I purchased a bus ticket to and from NYC right away. Knowing I would only be there for 8 1/2 hours, coming from work, then going straight back to work, most likely without any sleep…or if I was lucky 1-2 hours worth of disco nap. I knew it was worth it and couldn’t wait. I tried to convince a bunch of friends to go, but when most turned out to be busy I thought, fuck it, I will go by myself. In no way did this scare me, I love what I call ‘dancing with the dj’…I mean Skream is a fucking babe, we all know this, and when your favorite producers are killing it like he does each and every time he’s behind the decks, there is no room for anything else but the lights, music, and sweat. I personally get absolutely lost in the music on the dancefloor and it is my favorite thing, exercise a gym membership can’t buy and the best release of anything stressful and toxic crowding your mind and soul.
After a disco nap on my way into the city, I met up with one of my best friends to catch up and pre-game. She couldn’t make the party so I brought it to her by playing a bunch of their music while we were at her place. Then I made my way to Brooklyn. I couldn’t walk fast enough as I got closer to Output, I got inside quickly bypassed the coat check for the dance floor and danced my way to the front. As expected, what then commenced was epic…but next level epic. I found myself in a sea of lights and people dancing non-stop for 4 hours while the walls of the club and everyone in it dripped in sweat. Looking around I would catch people smiling, so stoked that they were there and experiencing the incredible music brought forth over the course of the night. Skream has an incredible grasp of music and the history of music, mixing bangers of today like Disclosure’s “F For You” along with essentials songs of yesterday including my personal favorite, CHIC’s “I Want Your Love”. He also played an outright dirty, grungy version of Hrdvsion’s remix of “Call Me Maybe” that had the crowd flipping out.
As I moved to the side of the crowd for more dancing space and a bit of air, I found myself dancing next to James Blake…perhaps the most beautiful boy in the world. I have always loved James Blake for his music, interviews, and of course always found him gorgeous, but the man absolutely radiates from inside out. He wasn’t in VIP with the likes of Rudimental, he was just dancing on the dance floor with everyone else, and I simply could not understand how it was physically possible for a man with so much talent to also be so incredible attractive and down to earth. There were so many people there that just loved music and were in their element. Skream played an encore that closed down the nightclub at 4:30AM which included “I Wanna Be Your Lover” by Prince, and Skream’s new track “Rollercoaster” out soon on iTunes. I couldn’t think of a better way to end the night. I danced until the bitter end, hailed a cab, and caught my bus back to Philly. Here I am, an hour and a half of sleep, still fucking buzzing.
If you ever get a chance to see Route 94, Curses, Oneman, MK, or Skream live, be the first in line to buy tickets. You will thank me later.
xx Cher
