For Basement Jaxx, this is less a gig than an all-out celebration. And as the blinding yellow lights turn away from the stage to bathe the hot and heaving crowd in fake sunshine, the pop melody and pounding beats of Red Alert turn a night in Brixton into a hedonistic carnival in Rio.
This is where it all started for DJs Felix Bunton and Simon Ratcliffe, house music aficionados not content to stay within the boundaries of the genre, instead drawing on the multicultural atmosphere of south London to stir things up a bit. Latin rhythms, hip-hop and garage beats fused with massive amounts of up-for-it attitude have endeared them as naughty new-skool kids to the dance fraternity and pop fans alike.
There's no hint of an imposing superstar-DJ approach to Basement Jaxx as Bunton and Ratcliffe get behind their decks. They remain slight figures in front of a huge screen that projects videos to accompany the music. You get the feeling they're just two mates having a laugh and entertaining their friends.
But they do it in style. Romeo, a girly anthem to speaking your mind and putting a stiletto down, introduces the huge plumes and scanty outfits of dancers who make intermittent appearances tonight. They keep their heads straight, their lower bodies gyrating in time to the heavy bass as the first of a succession of female singers struts in between them, brushing past the feathers, competing for attention and singing with a voice thick with impatience. Meanwhile, a Bollywood pastiche plays on the screen, the scenes of tight, structured dancing juxtaposing nicely with the wriggling moves of the crowd.
Bunton and Ratcliffe have a friendly Svengali approach to the MCs and singers who grace their songs. Each person does their thing then makes way for the next, their talents enhanced by the tunes behind them that remain resolutely Basement Jaxx. It's the Prince way of doing things, an influence Bunton and Ratcliffe have taken further on their new album Rooty, which, with its horn stamps and vocal effects, is the album Prince could make if he left the ivory tower of Paisley Park and took a trip to Camberwell.
Jus 1 Kiss, a feelgood song that steers clear of Ibiza-style blandness, is one such homage - it's also Pied Piper meets Parade with some Kool and the Gang thrown in, subtle harmonies soothing the non-stop beat. The Spanish connection comes to life with Rendez Vu, an acoustic guitarist unable to tear his eyes from the flamenco dancers that swirl around on the stage next to him. This summer anthem creates for these homecoming heroes a feeling of pride as big as the beats that churn on.
