Photo: facebook.com/C2Cofficial
C2C might be a relatively new name to some people, with their debut album Tetra having just been released in the UK, but the DJ quartet from Nantes, France have in fact been around for 15 years, winning DJ competitions with alarming regularity.
With Tetra they made the move from impressing audiences with their turntable dexterity to producing original music, using a vast range of instrumentation and incorporating a wide spectrum of musical influences, and it's one of the best dance records we've heard in years.
Ahead of their sold-out show at London's KOKO it was up for debate which C2C was going to be performing. The group who produced the stonking Tetra, or the entertaining and impressive turntablists. Thankful, they found a balance between the two.
Opening with arguably the two most bass heavy numbers from the album, 'The Cell' and 'Arcades', saw the crowd easily warmed up and enamoured with the men on stage. But with 'Delta' they took the opportunity to demonstrate their unique skills, with serious and proper turntablism coming to the fore and the track itself becoming a canvas for them to play with.
Watch C2C performing 'Down The Road' live in Lyon
Perhaps the most impressive element of their show was their ability to transcend the standard DJ/audience relationship of a guy (or guys) stood behind a booth playing tracks for a crowd to dance to. C2C put on an actual show, at times spliting into two teams for a scratch battle and riling the crowd up in support, swapping decks with stylish choreography and embarking on insane polyrhythmic scratching between the four of them.
In the past, DJ shows have been confined to the club setting, with only really big names being able to handle themselves in a gig environment. When fans go to see a gig they want something to look at, and while live bands lend themselves to that, DJs do not.
But C2C were as entertaining to watch as any band could be, drawing the audience's attention to what they were doing with their turntables and showboating for an increasingly appreciative crowd.
Neither their skills with turntable and mixer, nor their collection of great dance tunes can be credited with the quality of their live shows. It's their ability to combine the two that made them great.
Below: C2C and more - the 20 best albums we've heard in 2013
