Runaway – Indoor Pool review

The New York party scene is relatively small these days, and many operating within its tight-knit sphere privately lament the ongoing difficulties promoters face –strict licensing laws which hark back to the Giuliani era, small budgets and a general apathy towards the city’s rich vein of DJing and production talent. Yet within this scene there are still great nights (and days) out to be had, with promoters using the lack of suitable nightclubs as an excuse to host parties in inventive locations.

Alongside Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin’s near legendary Mister Saturday Night and Mister Sunday soirees, the roving Let’s Play House parties are now firmly established as one of the city’s best. Location-wise, they couldn’t be more diverse: from the decadent surroundings of the Le Bain hotel in lower Manhattan to abandoned Williamsburg warehouses, a club hidden behind a restaurant, a boat on New York harbour and a Chinatown karaoke bar, the two men behind the parties – Jacques Renault and Nik Mercer – have proved to be quite the hosts.

Now they have now launched a Let’s Play House record label in conjunction with established imprint Throne Of Blood, with all concerned evidently buoyed by the party’s growing reputation. Appropriately, the first release comes from Runaway, the house-centric production duo of Renault and Marcos Cabral. “Indoor Pool” is probably their best deep chugger since “Brooklyn Club Jam”, and it appears on the A-Side of this release alongside a Slow Hands version that boasts some devilish piano flourishes. Brighton duo Soft Rocks meanwhile deliver a typically squelchy, drum and arpeggio-heavy revision, while Future Times darlings Beautiful Swimmers (a serendipitous choice of remixer given the track’s name) round off a faultless release with a sleazy analogue vocal version that will only enhance their growing reputation. An auspicious debut.

Aaron Coultate