Music / Reviews
Review: Room 237, Old Coroner’s Court
Some of you might recall Room 237 as the eerie hotel quarters from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, where Jack and Danny undergo supernatural experiences, both witnessing an apparent ghost. The Room 237 familiar to fans of Bristol’s leftfield dance music scene, however, belongs to an independent music events company, recently booking Surgeon, Autechre, Akkord and Objekt as well as Bristol-based Marco Bernardi.
No such mysticism engulfed the Old Coroner’s Court on Saturday night, although the dark atmosphere crucial to the night’s brand was a nod to their titular inspiration. Black Amiga and Trigger Warning took to Rooms One and Two respectively between 23.00 and 01.00, although they will have to remain mysteries for another night due to a long and protracted queue.
Queue finally behind me, the bar in front of me, Room 237 in the distance, it’s 01.08 and Caught London Sleeping are throwing down some quick electro cuts and drum and bass interludes in Room Two, a constant for the rest of the night. I nod my head for five minutes while I wait for my beer before escorting myself into Room One for Aleksi Perala’s set.
Plodding, bleepy techno keeps the crowd’s bodies moving for his hour whilst a phenomenal light display occupies the punters’ eyes. DJ October adopts the decks afterwards – he ups the tempo, and techno remains the genre of choice but for a brief ten minutes of madness towards the end of his set, the gabber interlude a frenetic highlight.
Up next is the revered Randomer. His track Bring has clocked almost a million views on Youtube and is currently awaiting a second re-press, and he quickly demonstrates how he has earned the respect of fans across the country. The hot room, thick with atmospheric smoke and the perspiration of hundreds of dancers, bids him farewell for the night as Scottish techno duo Clouds take control of the decks.
They waste no time in assaulting the flagging crowd with raw and thumping techno as they bring us to the close. Unreleased tracks fuse with older classics, Polygon Window’s (Aphex Twin) Quoth another discernible and surprising highlight. The jungle and hardcore is coming at us for prolonged periods now, and I take my tiring legs as my cue to head home.
Loud and energetic, Room 237 packs a dark and intense punch – don your dancing shoes to visit at your peril…
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