If Abu Dhabi was a musical genre, it’d be hip hop. It’s got lots of money, gold rims by the garageful, and it isn’t about to be modest about its riches. Fittingly, then, club nights in the capital tend to cater for those who thrive on scuzzy basslines and breakneck MCing, leaving the city’s population of bespectacled indie fans decidedly under-loved.
But at last, help is on the way. Reçession may not be the first attempt at an indie night in the city – we remember the days when folk would stamp their grubby Converse along to the likes of Kaiser Chiefs at Heroes’ popular Step On night, sadly now discontinued. But while its predecessors were unapologetically broad in their ‘indie music’ remit (pretty much anything with a guitar or a fashionable haircut went), Reçession appears to be a bolder attempt at a more refined niche. As the striped black and yellow banners inside Left Bank proclaim, it’s a night primarily dedicated to ‘celebrating the Factory era’, a period stretching across the late ’70s and early ’80s that saw Manchester-based label Factory Records propel acts such as Joy Division and Happy Mondays to the fore.
But does Reçession deliver on its promises? Sort of. Early on, DJ Jono tests the water with hits from The Smiths and Primal Scream, but aside from one polo-shirted chap doing his best Morrissey-inspired dance, the reaction is fairly muted. With the sense that the crowd’s attention span is wearing thin, the focus shifts to Britpop bands of the mid-’90s by around 10pm, with The Stone Roses, Blur, Oasis and Pulp all given an outing. These fare decidedly better, with the biggest yelps of nostalgia reserved for nailed-on crowd-pleasers ‘Common People’ and ‘Parklife’.
But towards the end of Jono’s set and the night’s halfway point, the boundaries blur a bit, with the likes of synth-pop songstress La Roux and grunge idols Nirvana creeping in. Sure, the crowd go nuts on both occasions, but we’d imagine this was also the moment any diehard ‘Madchester’ fans in the room would have crept towards the door. And it’s just as well, since by the time Andy Williams takes to the decks at 11pm, the night bolts off at a complete tangent. Tracks from Gorillaz and a funky dance remix of The Gossip’s ‘Standing in the Way of Control’ soften the blow a little, but by midnight the guitar-led indie classics have given way completely to thudding house tracks from the likes of Armand van Helden.
Confused musical priorities aside, our only other small gripe is the venue itself, which – with its luxurious leather and stunning views – doesn’t particularly lend itself to a good old indie knees-up. Nobody’s going to sneer at you for turning up in battered footwear and a grubby gig T-shirt, but the crowd is still very much dressed to impress, broken up by the odd scruffy-haired gent throwing his limbs around to The Smiths like it’s 1982 all over again. Nothing wrong with that; we’d have preferred a touch of spit and/or sawdust, is all.
Still, against a party brave enough to go against the flow, these are admittedly picky complaints. Reçession certainly has the potential to be one of the city’s liveliest, most unique nights and offers some welcome respite from the city-wide omnipotence of hip hop and R&B. But before it can consider itself absolutely unmissable, it really needs to stick to its musical guns and deliver fully on its promises. Our advice? Head down for the first half, then slope off to somewhere with a decent jukebox to continue the party.
Reçession takes place every Friday night, 7pm-3am at Left Bank, Souk Qaryat Al Beri (055 596 9250). Entry is free. www.facebook.com/decadentabudhabi
