Written by: Sam Wolloch
With a talented lineup behind him, Green Velvet and company took the crowd at the famous Brooklyn Mirage on a tantalizing trip of funk-infused tech house tracks. While I always get up to boogie down with a house music legend like Green Velvet, now more than ever I’m looking to listen to newer artists for the evolution of house. Arriving early to the familiar smell of gourmet grub at the front of New York City’s premier open-air summer club, I wanted to hear more from two of the supporting artists that caught my ear when I got curious earlier in the week: New York-born, Amsterdam-based artist Layton Giordani (soundcloud.com/laytongiordani) and United Kingdom producer Latmun (soundcloud.com/latmun).
After a fun and festive opening set, consistent with clever kicks and deep house cuts from Russian-born and New York-based house producer Eskuche, the crowd started to file in and fill up for Layton Giordani. Featuring a collaboration I could recount with Adam Beyer, Green Velvet, and Danny Tenaglia, the Drumcode artist Giordani’s exhilarating techno tracks set the tone for the rest of the wild night. Space Date and Live Again stand out as their smooth sounds captured my attention, as well as a sweet sample from Aaliyah’s Try Again, which highlighted a set packed with tracks from Giordani’s LP ‘Where It Begins.’
Latmun picked right up where Layton Giordani left off, keeping the energy high with his groovy beats and funky flow. It has been a torrid few years for Joe Bradley, who by the name of Latmun, has recent releases with Green Velvet’s own label Relief Records and Ibiza outfit Elrow Music. An especially memorable crafty klezmer riff near the start of his set reminded me of the jazzy Jewish jams I would enjoy with my grandparents. Latmun continued to pepper his music with more big brass blasts of saxophone and trombone to maintain a classy funky flare. Of course Latmun spiced up his remix of Green Velvet’s Flash for the NYC crowd, but he really fired the house heads into a frenzy with a creative cut from the 90s dancehall classic Rhythm is a Dancer.
With the dance floor packed and the temps reaching a humid triple digits, I enjoyed the remainder of Latmun’s music inside the air-conditioned Kings Hall with a good number of other cool customers getting ready for Skream. While I knew I was not going to be spoiled with another old school UK dubstep set like he played with Rusko at EDCLV, I eagerly awaited to hear his bright blend of techno, house, and disco. Skream did not disappoint, delivering diverse music with his distinct look of a cigarette dangling from his lips. Signature sounds from Skream’s set include a slamming Indian suitar sample and a 5 minute keyboard cut that really got the beat back in my feet.
Finally at 3:00am, with the familiar backbeat of a trippy tech remix of Dead or Alive’s You Spin Me Round, Skream passed control of the Pioneers to Green Velvet, who took us home with his trademark La La Land performance. Although I never caught the singer’s name, Green Velvet featured some powerful live vocals during his 90 magnificent minutes of house music. And as the clock struck 4:30, with the sun just starting to peek over the Brooklyn buildings to the east, The Mirage wrapped up another summer spectacle with a trip to La La Land.
La La Land has three stops left in its 2019 tour and support will vary by location so check out the links below: August 16th: Echostage // Washington, DC – https://bit.ly/2YifJRl
August 17th: Factory 93 // Los Angeles – https://bit.ly/2YkYMFP
October 5th: SWG3 // Glasgow, United Kingdom – https://bit.ly/2JWSMtG
