Being a big grime head Chow Down is a night I’m always looking out for, booking the most gully of selectors alongside regulars Fallow, Finn, Grizzle, and Craig AD. Friday night was no exception with the self-proclaimed dubplate prince Riz La Teef shelling down the sweaty basement arena that is Soup Kitchen.
As I arrived at the venue, at around midnight, it was Finn and Grizzle who were laying down the vibes inside Soup Kitchen playing tunes that had me moving straight away, including a number of vocal garage tracks. There was barely anybody inside the venue at this point in the night which had me thinking that maybe most of the people Chow Down usually attracts to their nights were at Konoba Dub at Antwerp, knowing many heads going there myself. By 1am though the whole place was packed and rattling with energy, with a much harder musical tone penetrating the soundsystem including an airing of one of the most addictive grime tunes recently released, Capo Lee’s ‘Mud’ featuring D Double E.
Next it was the turn of Riz La Teef. I was highly anticipating tunes that I’ve never heard spun in a club before. Riz La Teef fully delivered on all fronts, especially in terms of his grime output on the night with personal highlights including a play of AJ Tracey’s ‘Str8’, and Boylan’s remix of Dizzee Rascal classic ‘I Luv U’ which I first heard on Rinse FM a few months ago with Novelist spitting over it. Before I knew it his set was over and Fallow was taking over on the decks. Despite how well put together Riz La’s set was, it felt as though he was just getting started and could’ve played for a much longer time. This could well have just been because of how immersed I was in the tunes he was playing though, unlike another lad who, according to Riz La Teef’s twitter page, had ‘hit it too hard and was nappin lying down on the speaker to my right for half of my set’. Maybe the dubs gassed this guy so much he needed a bit of a lie down.
More grime goodness was to follow once Riz La had left the decks though with tunes such as Golden Boy by Elf Kid being blasted through the speakers, mixed in with a few trap and bassline beats including a remix of the bassline classic ‘Heartbroken’ towards the end of the night.
The lads at Chow Down have yet again put on a night filled with unique tunes in a carefree environment, and has left me looking out for the next time Riz La Teef is playing a set in Manny.