Let's be honest, there's something of a North-of-the-river bias to Londonist (on the rare occasions South London gets mentioned, it tends to be something stupid happening in Croydon), so it's nice to tell you something nice about a neglected (by Londonist) part of London: Elephant and Castle.
The reason? Corsica Studios, a brilliant labyrinthian space beneath a railway arch in Elephant & Castle in which to experience art, music, performance and film, have just been granted a full licence (to serve alcohol, presumably, rather than to kill). Sounds like a good reason to celebrate, and celebrate they will this Friday by giving you An Electric Storm. This is the first of an irregular series of psych-electro-beat-sleaze-happenings and with a tagline of Many sounds have never been heard... you know that you're not getting a bog-standard run-of-the-mill club night.
For your delectation, there will be live music from Cobra Killer (pictured), MOTOR, Noblesse Oblige and DJ Cherrystones.
For the unitiated, Cobra Killer deliver 60s feel electronic rock with subversive lyrics and sharp breaksplaying. They've delighted the likes of Peaches, Underground Resistance and Sonic Youth. Thurston Moore was moved to say of them: "It was just phenomenal, like two of the most inspiring shows on a lot of different levels. I really loved it." They're playing just the one London show, and this is it. MOTOR join the dots between Nitzer Ebb, Front 242, Final Cut, Plastikman, acid house and minimal techno creating a glorious dancefloor killing sound, Noblesse Oblige have gained a notorious reputation for their wild and spectacular shows and are soon to release an album comprising an eclectic mix of disco punk, sixties’ French chanson, military beats, transgressive folklore and raw acoustic ballads with lyrical wit, controversial lyrics, humour and bad taste, and Cherrystones marries hip-hop aesthetic and beat-matching to the varied freak show of kraut-rock, psychedelic, folk, prog and punk rock.
Apart from the above, this being Corsica Studios, you also get screenings of rare and twisted cinematic gems, exotic and deadly cocktails and much, much more, so give it a go.
So, the details:
Friday 2nd June - An Electric Storm
Tickets are £7 advance (from www.wegottickets.com) or £9 on the door and it all takes place 8pm-3am at Corsica Studios, 5 Elephant Rd, Elephant & Castle, London SE17. Call 020 7703 4760 if you've got any more questions but, quite frankly, we think we've been comprehensive enough.
