Art and Commerce are a couple with an on-again, off-again relationship. In the 90s, grunge drove a wedge between them, and Art threw all of Commerce’s clothes on the front lawn in the rain, yelling about “selling out” and “integrity”. Since grunge turned into the radio rock of the late 90s, though, Commerce has been working his way back into Art’s life. Now that Art is struggling to pay the bills, Commerce is looking more and more attractive.

Like any co-dependent relationship, Commerce is of course getting something out of this arrangement. This evening, in an austere studio space, Commerce got to hang with all of Art’s friends, and introduce them to some products.

Bonds, the ‘Commerce’ in this increasingly stretched analogy, launched a new clothing line in collaboration with Vice magazine. Bonds were hoping that a little of Vice’s cool would rub off on their made2share brand; Vice (the Art half of the equation) was drawn by the traditional magnet that is an open bar.

As is expected of Vice, there was plenty of cool to go around. As the room became crowded, it was hard to look in any direction without spotting an ironic moustache, or chunky plastic glasses. The sheer number of alarmingly beautiful people made your ‘interesting looking’ correspondent feel very self-conscious, not to mention underdressed.

Despite the cocaine glamour, the room was relaxed and convivial, greeting Victorian electro act Metals with little of the apathy typically associated with cool. In fact, Metals proved an excellent fit with the atmosphere of the evening, the dense beats and Femme Metale’s declamatory vocals well matched to the angular, severe space.

That Metals sounded like a product of the 90s British dance scene means they’re probably at the cutting edge, as the house sounds of that era are already resurfacing. Femme Metale has a brash vocal style that tends more towards flat statement than house music’s diva vocals, though, setting Metals more on the Ministry of Sound path than pop-house crossovers like David Guetta.

The idea of a band playing a product launch might still be anathema to some, but it’s becoming a reality in these days of constant touring and sliding record sales. Commerce used Art to sell it’s product, and, in this case, quite nakedly so; at least Art is getting something in return.