Four Tet and Thom Yorke @ Plastic People

No plans were in place to attend this night last night. Hanging out with one of Radiohead’s biggest fans – and luckily being at the bar across the street when we heard the news that Thom Yorke was rumored to be doing a DJ set there – meant a quick leap over to the good vibes and dope sound system at Plastic People was unavoidable.

Four Tet was playing his usual mix of abstract electronic beats with subtle references to various other genres, various musical histories and random parts of the world. He certainly kept the crowd live and even got Thom Yorke grooving several times meanwhile building anticipation for the illustrious Radiohead frontman’s imminent turntable offerings.  Thom Yorke started out with a couple rough mixes and rather dull tracks but very quickly warmed up into tight form, jumpy dance tracks and the crowd connection you would expect from this musical master. He kept it live with a lot of lesser-known 2-step tracks and various other funky-electro pleasantries. A highlight track for me was the Boy 8-Bit remix of “Mad Again” by the South Rakkas crew.

Overall a great time and lucky find. If you have a chance to see Thom Yorke DJ you should engage, especially if you are anywhere in the UK and definitely if he is in a space as intimate and well set up as Plastic People. He plays to the London scene and knows his music. More than anything, it is just extremely exciting to catch the vibe of anticipation and excitement in the crowd.