I went to watch sunset at Café del Mar before rolling into Ibiza Rocks for the first of Stormzy's #merky residency shows last night, and I have to say the chilled vibes and the allure of one of nature's greatest shows probably wasn't the best preface to a night of London-based grime. Noted. Still, luckily it doesn't take long for your ears to get used to an aural pounding, and before I knew it I was skanking on the balcony with the best of them.
It was actually WSTRN who can take the credit for getting me all gee'd up post sunset slump. When I arrived the West London lads were owning the stage, blasting out the bass and overlaying it with sweet, sugary choruses - enough to make you bounce while smiling inanely. They exited stage left, dreads swishing down their backs, after a rendition of their biggest hit, ‘Come Down', a cover of the Evelyn Champagne King track that transports you straight to the middle of summer and probably resulted in the first Ibiza Rocks singalong of the season. Nicely done.
Radio 1 Xtra DJ, Charlie Sloth, then stepped up to the mark, ready to bring his own fire to the booth. He unleashed a slew of drum'n'bass and hip hop belters, ramping up the energy and then maintaining it with his combination of outrageously infectious music choices and off the chart charisma. This man's magnetism single handedly keep the dance floor pumping, and he was solely responsible for some of the most unacceptable bass faces I've probably made voluntarily in a while - I'm just grateful I wasn't with anyone at the time to capture it. He gave us some Drake; he gave us some Bob Marley, and an in homage to a legend, he gave us ‘Purple Rain' - that won't be the last time we hear the Prince track this season, I'd wager.
By this point the crowd was unashamedly begging for some Stormzy action - me along with them. I'd never seen the man in motion before and his reputation precedes him - I went expecting some fiery fierceness and I wasn't disappointed. His stage persona is unquestionable - the man has presence - and he owned it as soon as stepped on. Rattling through tracks like ‘Shut Up', ‘Dude' and of course, ‘Scary', he entranced us with an intensity that'd perhaps be unnerving if it wasn't so compelling - there's something about this level of cockiness that must make people quiver in your wake - it's kind of like a super power. Short but sweet, his time in the limelight didn't seem to last nearly long enough, but I guess when you've got something to say and you say it so convincingly you don't need to hang around for long. On my way out there were a lot of cries of "oh my days, what a night", and yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Sunset ain't got nothing on this dude.
WORDS | Abby Lowe PHOTOGRAPHY | Luke Dyson
