Essence Of Chi promoter Keira gives us the lowdown about her night...

Please introduce yourself...
My name is Keira, the London-based promoter of drum & bass event Essence of Chi which has been running for over six years now.

Where & when do your events take place?
Essence of Chi has taken place in a multitude of venues ranging from 200 - 1000 capacity, everywhere from the likes of Scala and Hidden for our large scale birthday parties for example, to the smaller more intimate clubs such as Herbal, Plan B or Gramaphone where we are currently doing a series of nights. We used to have an event on every month in the beginning, but these days we prefer to do three or four events a year, alongside hosting arenas for other promoters such as Moondance who we have been working with since 2005.

What are the names of the residents?
Our main resident DJs include Subterra and The Healing Crew who play at every event, as well as the likes of Kane, Zero T, Artificial Intelligence, Ant TC1, Nookie and T1 who have supported Essence of Chi since day one, and play for us on a rotational basis. Our main resident MC and co-founder of the night is LowQui, who has now moved to Oz on the other side of the world, but we always try and make sure we have something on when he is in town! Bassline MC & Five Alive are our other mainstay EOC resident MCs, with Skydro, Miss Trouble & Ken Mac also putting in regular appearances.

What's the night all about?
We throw parties that combine all angles of drum & bass from deep to dancefloor with an electric atmosphere, whilst paying special attention to sound, light, space and, of course, the all-important quality DJ and MC line-up fused together to achieve the perfect balance.

How would you describe your crowd?
Our crowd are what makes Essence of Chi what it is. We tend to pull a more mature crowd that know their beats, but are nonetheless up for partying until the last tune gets dropped and rewound!

Best memories from a night?
Over the past six years there are too many magic memories to mention, but nights that stand out in my mind include: our first Birthday at Scala alongside London Zu and witnessing around 1000 people going mad to Calibre dropping "Second Sun"; LowQui's Au Revoir Review at Plan B, a charity event we did for his farewell before he emigrated for Oz - it was a sad night in a way but the vibes were off the hook; and any of the Moondance New Year's Eve events where we've hosted the EOC Arena - we have done it five years in a row now and each year just gets better and better, especially with the Ninebar Soundsystem on board.

What are your plans for the future?
We are trying to bring Essence of Chi right back to basics right now, with the intimate setting o Gramaphone in Shoreditch which suits the vibe of the night perfectly, and ensuring that we have a soundsystem that will do drum & bass justice, such as Ninebar. Sound is the most important thing to consider when putting on an event in my opinion which is why I won't even consider using a rig that isn't up to scratch anymore! We will be doing a series of events at the Gramaphone this year that showcase some of the labels and artists we love, and that are also smashing it in the scene right now. Our first Gramaphone event was alongside CIA Records which was one in one out by 12! We are also participating in the "Moondance Summer Warehouse Party" on June 19th which should be an amazing night, and something a bit different.

Anything else you’d like to tell us about?
Our next event at Gramaphone is "EOC presents Integral v Dispatch" alongside the mighty Ninebar Soundsystem on Bank Holiday Sunday 2nd May. No work the next day so get yourselves down there !

 

 

Related Links:

• Rotation Presents Nine Years Of Ninebar
• Promoter Profile: Get Some
• Promoter Profile: Organic
• Break Thru Presents Soul:ution Review
• Fizzy @ Camden Rock Preview

Like it? Share it!
Sign up for more with the Kmag weekly newsletter.