Major Lazer
Hoxton Bar & Grill, London
08/09/2009

Tonight, Hoxton Bar & Grill is packed to the elbows while London is in the throes of a short-lived, filthy heat wave. “Major… Lazer” are the robotic first words to exit the speakers after two older men in matching suits reconfigure the sound system to a massive applause. The words repeat, getting faster and higher, and burst into the first track. A younger and brighter bleach blond MC hops up on stage, accompanied by two dancers scantily clothed in matching tight white skirts and tops reminiscent of Rihanna’s ‘Disturbia’ video, and moves to match.
 
This peculiar outfit compliments the caffeinated genre jumps between songs, the DJ, dancers and MC. Bass, techno, rap, horns and remixes are tossed together to form this dance evoking and idiosyncratically East London blend. Their appeal grips balding and underage music fans alike, turning the floor into an unabashed rap-dance orgy. Drinks fly across the shaking floor, conjuring memories of a chaotic Notting Hill Carnival as the MC jumps onto the metal ceiling bar with a grip that outweighs the room’s extreme humidity.
 
The primal up-tempo beats entangle with simple and catchy ethnic inspired melodies, played out with all the cool, sincere ease that a suited musician can suggest while directly causing this frenzied, sweaty fun. Tonight is not this popular because the performers are wearing the right clothes or playing the right music, but because it makes everyone move indiscriminately.
 
Vicky McNaught-Davis