The Month Ahead: November Bass Music in London

Image: James Dexter

Mince pies are adorning supermarket shelves and the shops seem to be playing ‘Last Christmas’ on repeat. While many don’t appreciate this premature festive paraphernalia, I’m here to remind you that November is about more than dodging in-store soundsystems and rolling your eyes at adverts for Christmas specials on the telly. It’s about BASS.  

We'l start off with a midweek wallet easer, Heavy Signal dropping a plethora of genres in the mix for absolutely nada at the Silver Bullet on Thursday 7th November. Got that charitable feeling but still want to have a good old rave? Then head to Camden’s InSpiral Lounge on November 16th for a night of the freshest basslines from the Purple crew, with 5 sets of searingly spectacular underground beats, alongside up-and-coming VJ Kara Rose. Entry’s free and on-the-night donations go to Mind; if you’re still not convinced, take a listen to Autom’s set from the last Purple showcase below: 

Autom b2b Raku - Purple IV / Inspiral Lounge / August 2013 by Autom on Mixcloud

Fire will have a certain swagger to it on Friday 15th November when Pack London brings the UKG pressure. Donaeo headlines, with Oxide and Neutrino, DJ Q and Marcus Nasty all dropping dj sets in support - all the details here. One night later and clothing brand THTC celebrates fourteen years of their fine threads with a party at Brixton Jamm, and they've invited Lazy Habits and Natty to both play live alongside a DJ set from DJ Format for a cross genre fusion of beats, breaks and bubbling bass. That one will definitely be, if you excuse the pun, dope.

On the housier tip Audiojack are bringing their hard-hitting deep house grooves all the way from Leeds on November 16th, with Warehouse LDN the venue to see these guys grace the decks. After a mild dabble with afro soul and hip hop, the pair have - thankfully – re-immersed themselves in the world of house. 

If you like your superclubs, Ministry of Sound’s got a belter of a night on November 23rd, with the capslock-friendly M.A.N.D.Y. headlining their Spacestation extravaganza, with Jaymo & Andy George and Jonathan Joseph, amongst others, tagging along for the ride. Egg’s another super club hosting a blinding bassfest, with Berlin’s Andre Crom ripping up the speakers with his OFF label vibes, following stellar sets from Ron Costa, who track ‘Crackhouz’ has been on repeat since I laid my ears on it (above).

Golden Ticket

This month’s golden ticket goes to James Dexter, a bonafide member of London’s deep house underground that has been tantalisingly close to the so-called ‘big time’ for a while now. Saturday 9th November sees him en route to Star Anise in Southwwark for DZ-1 where he'll headline alongside Jamie Funk.

The young producer has been pushing his sound to eager ears through labels such as Static Audio and Solid Ground Recordings, but its Lost my Dog Records where Dexter’s really found his feet, with his guest mix on January’s Lost My Dogcast one of my firm iPod favourites (above). Don’t miss the chance to hear his beats for real, and grab a ticket for his November 9th show at Star Anise – it’ll be your Christmas come early. 

Tickets are no longer available for this event