Yet again the line-up for Chow Down caught my eye amongst a growing sea of nights focussing on grime in Manchester. Spooky, a well trusted selector; Anz, an up and coming female producer and DJ in the scene; Capo Lee, one of the most exciting young MCs this year; and the residents Finn, Fallow, and Craig AD doing what they do best spinning tracks back to back with Manchester’s Marcx.
Finn was on from the start, himself having a very productive couple of months releasing new single ‘Finn Theme II/ Full Stop’ on the Local Action label and supporting Skepta on the Manchester leg of his Konnichiwa tour. Having arrived after work I only managed to catch the end of Finn’s set but on hearing his mix as I entered he had me skanking down the stairs into the basement setting of Soup Kitchen excited for the sets that were about to follow.
Anz was next, knowing only her gully remix of Skream’s ‘Rutten’ and her tune ‘The Whistler’ taken from the grime compilation ‘Indecent LP’, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from an Anz DJ set. What was to follow was a well-balanced mixture of trap, UK funky, and icy grime instrumentals filled with bass from start to finish. One particular highlight from Anz’s set was the run out of ‘Just Eat’ taken from Jammz’ latest mixtape ‘Underdog Season’ and produced by Anz herself. All in all, a hard hitting set finished off with some high energy bassline which raised the levels as more and more people spilled into the venue leading up to Spooky gracing the decks.
Spooky began his set with a remix of ‘All of the Lights’ by Kanye West, followed by a grime remix of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Sexual Healing’. Apart from this there were no notable surprises from the set, mostly containing well spun grime bangers such as ‘Feed ‘em to the Lions’, ‘Next Hype’, and Danny Weed’s ‘Creeper’ alongside some garage classics. Despite this it was a well put together mix that was well received by those inside Soup Kitchen and included both a wheel up for Flava D’s ‘In the Dance’ and a Spooky dubplate of Spyro’s ‘Side by Side’.
The second part of Spooky’s set though, spinning tracks for mic man Capo Lee, was where the night reached its peak with both Spooky and Capo absolutely shelling down the dance. Capo Lee started his set by treating us to a new and unreleased tune, shouting out Footsie on production. It was a brave move to begin a set with an unheard tune but it paid off and sounded hard with the Manchester crew lapping it up. Shortly after, arguably Capo’s most well-known tune, ‘Liff’ got three wheel ups by Spooky with everyone inside going as nuts the third time round as the first, including a circle pit which engulfed most of the venue. Capo’s tune ‘Mud’ which features D Double E also got a huge reception from the Chow Down punters with Capo showing an incredibly precise flow and clear vocals on the mic. This was especially apparent when at the end of the set Spooky started to spin some drum and bass and jungle tracks, while Capo was still spitting flawlessly well timed bars despite the change from 140 bpm to around 160/170bpm. This was one of the most enjoyable performances I have witnessed for a while, and Capo Lee echoed that sentiment tweeting that it was one of his favourite raves he’s played.
Fallow, Craig AD, and Marcx followed with a back to back set playing an excellent mix to continue the vibe inside, but leaving the venue all that I had running through my head from the night was what I had witnessed from Capo Lee. His live performances elevate his beastly tracks and with a flow as deadly as Capo’s I can see him shelling down raves more frequently outside of London at increasingly bigger venues. I cannot wait for more releases from this exciting MC and as always will be looking out for the next Chow Down rave. Big up the Chow Down dons yet again.