“A NIGHT OF A DOZEN D.J’S” – SATURDAY 9TH JANUARY
SPECIAL REVIEW
All too often we spend our time seeking out those special club nights to review our extrovert activities at events across gAylist/land London and whilst the D.J’s do tend to get a reasonable mention in amongst everything else, rarely do we get the opportunity to focus solely on them in a review of their live sets. Yes we have our “music” posts, but they only capture a few elements of the talents around, but when you get a collection of some of the scene’s top jocks playing out to our delight, all in the space of twelve hours or so, well the temptation to review it all was too much to resist. So, sit back and enjoy our journey, lapping up some truly remarkable music in the hands of some of our favourite D.J’s. with the odd mention of a scene face and friend here & there.
Well, it all started, as most of our nights do, very innocently with simple plans to catch up with an eminent & internationally renowned D.J. to wish him happy birthday, although with news coming through before our mid evening departure for Covent Garden, that at least two other top notch scenester's were playing out, we felt already that the night was going to be far from innocent. However, to Seven Dials we headed & naturally where else but The Box, which has become a favourite Friday haunt of ours, but rarely a Saturday stop-off, although with master D.J. Paul Heron playing, on the back of his birthday the previous day, it was a foregone conclusion we would be there. Arriving at just after 8 p.m., early for us, we immediately spotted the man behind the decks, already well into his set. Bounding up, we greeted him, handing over a birthday card & then immediately grabbed refreshments, turning back to Paul to catch up on news of his birthday boy antics & other tasty bits of gossip.
Now, it is fair to say that we are used to seeing Paul in octane fuelled fashion behind the decks of London’s big clubs where his flair for hard edged tech & pumping beats go down exceptionally well, indeed we have lost count the amount of amazing sets we have savoured in his hands, so to see in him action in The Box was interesting to say the least. But, the man has incredibly diverse talents (steady) music wise & he soon found his rhythm, selecting some more appropriate mellow house tunes to delight the select audience, including a rendition of our signature tune “Music Is The Answer”, one of our top ten 2009 tunes “Vicious Circle”, not to mention some Whitney & Kelly Rowland thrown in for good measure, all mixed in with his trademark sounds, Paul really finding his groove. It was all helped along with the arrival of pal Stephen, our lovable laughable friend, The Box’s owner Frank, who came over for a chat & catch up, and then the charming Pier Morrocco, fresh from his D.J. exploits for Salvation in South Africa, taking a well earned evening off with his boyfriend. So good was the atmosphere, by now time was slipping away before our eyes & with the drink flowing & the naughtiness creeping in, especially the antics between us, Paul & a very horny looking barman, our stay overran and we literally had to tear ourselves away for the planned forage into Soho.
But, it wasn’t long before we found ourselves at Rupert Street’s door, although the bar was absolutely rammed with socialites & sophisticates, soaking up the musical entertainment that resident Alessandro was delivering, his very characteristic Latin infused (well, he is from Scilly!) yet tough house beats we simply adore. But with a glance at the time, Barcode was very much calling, so we turned tail and headed across to Archer Street & down into the club space, where we found Brent Nicholls behind the decks, injecting some real energy into the space which was filling nicely with an eclectic crowd of drinkers, pre-clubbers & out of towner's looking for an upbeat end to their evening. It was great to see Brent back at Barcode on a Saturday, the source for so many great beginnings to club escapades & more besides, his varied tastes in music suiting this venue perfectly and it wasn’t long before a whole host of our favourite tracks were pulled out of his collection, Zoe Baldwin’s “Release Me”, the new Soul Avengerz’s mix of “Shame”, Celeda’s “Underground” & even a brilliant re-mix of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “The Power Of Love”, which we agreed with Brent would make an amazing “afterhours” dancefloor hit. With the music simply top notch & then the company getting even better with the arrival of budding D.J. pals Mariusz & Norbert, joining us & Stephen, it was clear Mariusz was in a playful mood, dragging us into a pseudo sexual frolic around the D.J. booth & the adjacent seating, for quite a while being the focal point of the entertainment, Stephen, Norbert & Brent looking on in wondrous merriment.
But, sadly, like The Box before, our stay at Barcode came to an end all too soon, as 1 a.m. arrived and with our mood set on continuing the party, the choice now was where? D’Johnny was definitely calling at Lo-Profile, we loving his truly funky chunky tech infused style, but then there was Megawoof, where Italian stallion D.J. Pagano was returning to lay down one of his perfect progressive sets which we have come to adore, although the choice was inevitable, as the terrific Nick Tcherniak was playing out at Barcode Vauxhall, so many the times in combo with Brent, the man that leads us astray. So, it was slung into the club bar in our favourite haunt south of the river that we found ourselves, Nick not disappointing in any respect, pulling out of the bag some truly incredible tunes that had us dancing in an instant, minimal, tech, hard edged yet mesmeric house that had us dizzy in delight.
And with the place pumping & a crowd to match it wasn’t long before we bumped into familiar faces a plenty, including fierce partner in crime Lexi, who had Naomi Cuiz & friend in close quarters, the attendant Boyz photographer catching the four of us for posterity (they even published it, brilliant!) and then, as we turned to head back to Nick, who else appeared but D.J. Jamie Head, having not long returned to London from a trip down under, giving us a welcoming hug and then emitting those immortal words “you coming to Beyond?!”. With that gauntlet laid down, our night was now well and truly heading for a collision course with the morning and when Nick finished his set, handing over to “mirrorball-tastic” Hi-Fi Sean, we were in musical heaven, sinking copious amounts of our favourite white spirit with Nick & D.J. Gary H, a recent Trade hard nut favourite of ours, who had finished his set up in the front room. Mr Sean was weaving his magical music wand & spinning some fantabulous tech yet uplifting beats and with news that he was playing next door afterwards, combined with Jamie’s gauntlet lay-down, the inevitable was about to happen, but not before we had caught up fully on news with Mr Tcherniak, ending our excursion to Barcode Vauxhall brilliantly.
But with Area’s door slung open and Jamie’s beck & call ringing in our ears, we headed to Beyond, Gary H in tow, to continue what was now a marathon of D.J. experiences at the mecca for afterhours audacity. With the ever present Tom Fuller treating us impeccably yet again, it was a mere moment before we had negotiated the lengthy queue and was inside, soaking up the building atmosphere, courtesy of the chunky tech sounds of Paul Christian in the middle “Black” room, but the main space firing up for an incumbent Hi-Fi, who was mopping up his music in Barcode. With the new VIP room being launched upstairs, it wasn’t long before a whole host of us were invited to take a look, Jamie Head & his entourage back from wherever they had gone, together with a smattering of other familiar faces posing with us in front of the camera (twice in one night!), before heading back down into a packed main room, where Hi-Fi Sean was doing it all again, dragging us into his heavenly house music home.
So, back in our most favourite dancing spot of any we know, just shy of the main floor D.J. booth, we spent most of the rest of the morning, lapping up first Sean’s offerings, then yet another incredible set from Mikey D, which included record after record of sheer brilliance, Norman Dorat’s “Last Forever”, a new twist of Serge Devant’s classic “Addicted” & even fab version of the super up-to-date Erick Morillio’s “I Get Lifted”, being highlights, that had us tearing up our corner in pure adoration. A whole host of Jamie’s pals including Q.X. editor Cliff had joined in the fun, as was an off-duty Terry Bryan, who usually delights us with his uplifting & chunky funky house in the Terrace bar and it was here that we said our farewells to Beyond, to friends & to a jovial Jamie Head who’s raw yet refreshing tech & progressive sounds were tempting us to stay a little longer, but our body was saying a resounding no, more expectant of a cosy recline back home not far away.
Well, what an amazing treat of a night we can reflect upon, very much a delectable D.J. experience extra-ordinaire, each one of them playing a superb part in making it a most memorable Saturday come Sunday of magnificent music, From Paul Heron in The Box, through Alessandro at Rupert Street, then Brent Nicholls at Barcode, our trip up west, with prolific performances from all three, would have been enough for many. But with Vauxhall drawing us in, Nick Tcherniak shone like the star he is and then Hi-Fi Sean treated us to not one but two superb sets, rocking the main room in Beyond brilliantly. To add to it all, Mikey D exploded our enthusiasm with a dreamland delivery of a set, rounding off a thrilling 14 hours of heavenly house music, also hearing that D’Johnny played out fantastically at Lo-Profile, Pagano blew everyone at Megawoof away with one of his best there yet and Alan K kept the Beyond party pumping way past mid-day. So, we can reflect & relish on the fact that we continue to be so fortunate to have such brilliant D.J. talents available at our fingertips, feeling humble & privileged yet truly enchanted to be in the company of each & every one of them. (DISCO MATT)
SPECIAL REVIEW
All too often we spend our time seeking out those special club nights to review our extrovert activities at events across gAylist/land London and whilst the D.J’s do tend to get a reasonable mention in amongst everything else, rarely do we get the opportunity to focus solely on them in a review of their live sets. Yes we have our “music” posts, but they only capture a few elements of the talents around, but when you get a collection of some of the scene’s top jocks playing out to our delight, all in the space of twelve hours or so, well the temptation to review it all was too much to resist. So, sit back and enjoy our journey, lapping up some truly remarkable music in the hands of some of our favourite D.J’s. with the odd mention of a scene face and friend here & there.
Well, it all started, as most of our nights do, very innocently with simple plans to catch up with an eminent & internationally renowned D.J. to wish him happy birthday, although with news coming through before our mid evening departure for Covent Garden, that at least two other top notch scenester's were playing out, we felt already that the night was going to be far from innocent. However, to Seven Dials we headed & naturally where else but The Box, which has become a favourite Friday haunt of ours, but rarely a Saturday stop-off, although with master D.J. Paul Heron playing, on the back of his birthday the previous day, it was a foregone conclusion we would be there. Arriving at just after 8 p.m., early for us, we immediately spotted the man behind the decks, already well into his set. Bounding up, we greeted him, handing over a birthday card & then immediately grabbed refreshments, turning back to Paul to catch up on news of his birthday boy antics & other tasty bits of gossip.
Now, it is fair to say that we are used to seeing Paul in octane fuelled fashion behind the decks of London’s big clubs where his flair for hard edged tech & pumping beats go down exceptionally well, indeed we have lost count the amount of amazing sets we have savoured in his hands, so to see in him action in The Box was interesting to say the least. But, the man has incredibly diverse talents (steady) music wise & he soon found his rhythm, selecting some more appropriate mellow house tunes to delight the select audience, including a rendition of our signature tune “Music Is The Answer”, one of our top ten 2009 tunes “Vicious Circle”, not to mention some Whitney & Kelly Rowland thrown in for good measure, all mixed in with his trademark sounds, Paul really finding his groove. It was all helped along with the arrival of pal Stephen, our lovable laughable friend, The Box’s owner Frank, who came over for a chat & catch up, and then the charming Pier Morrocco, fresh from his D.J. exploits for Salvation in South Africa, taking a well earned evening off with his boyfriend. So good was the atmosphere, by now time was slipping away before our eyes & with the drink flowing & the naughtiness creeping in, especially the antics between us, Paul & a very horny looking barman, our stay overran and we literally had to tear ourselves away for the planned forage into Soho.
But, it wasn’t long before we found ourselves at Rupert Street’s door, although the bar was absolutely rammed with socialites & sophisticates, soaking up the musical entertainment that resident Alessandro was delivering, his very characteristic Latin infused (well, he is from Scilly!) yet tough house beats we simply adore. But with a glance at the time, Barcode was very much calling, so we turned tail and headed across to Archer Street & down into the club space, where we found Brent Nicholls behind the decks, injecting some real energy into the space which was filling nicely with an eclectic crowd of drinkers, pre-clubbers & out of towner's looking for an upbeat end to their evening. It was great to see Brent back at Barcode on a Saturday, the source for so many great beginnings to club escapades & more besides, his varied tastes in music suiting this venue perfectly and it wasn’t long before a whole host of our favourite tracks were pulled out of his collection, Zoe Baldwin’s “Release Me”, the new Soul Avengerz’s mix of “Shame”, Celeda’s “Underground” & even a brilliant re-mix of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “The Power Of Love”, which we agreed with Brent would make an amazing “afterhours” dancefloor hit. With the music simply top notch & then the company getting even better with the arrival of budding D.J. pals Mariusz & Norbert, joining us & Stephen, it was clear Mariusz was in a playful mood, dragging us into a pseudo sexual frolic around the D.J. booth & the adjacent seating, for quite a while being the focal point of the entertainment, Stephen, Norbert & Brent looking on in wondrous merriment.
But, sadly, like The Box before, our stay at Barcode came to an end all too soon, as 1 a.m. arrived and with our mood set on continuing the party, the choice now was where? D’Johnny was definitely calling at Lo-Profile, we loving his truly funky chunky tech infused style, but then there was Megawoof, where Italian stallion D.J. Pagano was returning to lay down one of his perfect progressive sets which we have come to adore, although the choice was inevitable, as the terrific Nick Tcherniak was playing out at Barcode Vauxhall, so many the times in combo with Brent, the man that leads us astray. So, it was slung into the club bar in our favourite haunt south of the river that we found ourselves, Nick not disappointing in any respect, pulling out of the bag some truly incredible tunes that had us dancing in an instant, minimal, tech, hard edged yet mesmeric house that had us dizzy in delight.
And with the place pumping & a crowd to match it wasn’t long before we bumped into familiar faces a plenty, including fierce partner in crime Lexi, who had Naomi Cuiz & friend in close quarters, the attendant Boyz photographer catching the four of us for posterity (they even published it, brilliant!) and then, as we turned to head back to Nick, who else appeared but D.J. Jamie Head, having not long returned to London from a trip down under, giving us a welcoming hug and then emitting those immortal words “you coming to Beyond?!”. With that gauntlet laid down, our night was now well and truly heading for a collision course with the morning and when Nick finished his set, handing over to “mirrorball-tastic” Hi-Fi Sean, we were in musical heaven, sinking copious amounts of our favourite white spirit with Nick & D.J. Gary H, a recent Trade hard nut favourite of ours, who had finished his set up in the front room. Mr Sean was weaving his magical music wand & spinning some fantabulous tech yet uplifting beats and with news that he was playing next door afterwards, combined with Jamie’s gauntlet lay-down, the inevitable was about to happen, but not before we had caught up fully on news with Mr Tcherniak, ending our excursion to Barcode Vauxhall brilliantly.
But with Area’s door slung open and Jamie’s beck & call ringing in our ears, we headed to Beyond, Gary H in tow, to continue what was now a marathon of D.J. experiences at the mecca for afterhours audacity. With the ever present Tom Fuller treating us impeccably yet again, it was a mere moment before we had negotiated the lengthy queue and was inside, soaking up the building atmosphere, courtesy of the chunky tech sounds of Paul Christian in the middle “Black” room, but the main space firing up for an incumbent Hi-Fi, who was mopping up his music in Barcode. With the new VIP room being launched upstairs, it wasn’t long before a whole host of us were invited to take a look, Jamie Head & his entourage back from wherever they had gone, together with a smattering of other familiar faces posing with us in front of the camera (twice in one night!), before heading back down into a packed main room, where Hi-Fi Sean was doing it all again, dragging us into his heavenly house music home.
So, back in our most favourite dancing spot of any we know, just shy of the main floor D.J. booth, we spent most of the rest of the morning, lapping up first Sean’s offerings, then yet another incredible set from Mikey D, which included record after record of sheer brilliance, Norman Dorat’s “Last Forever”, a new twist of Serge Devant’s classic “Addicted” & even fab version of the super up-to-date Erick Morillio’s “I Get Lifted”, being highlights, that had us tearing up our corner in pure adoration. A whole host of Jamie’s pals including Q.X. editor Cliff had joined in the fun, as was an off-duty Terry Bryan, who usually delights us with his uplifting & chunky funky house in the Terrace bar and it was here that we said our farewells to Beyond, to friends & to a jovial Jamie Head who’s raw yet refreshing tech & progressive sounds were tempting us to stay a little longer, but our body was saying a resounding no, more expectant of a cosy recline back home not far away.
Well, what an amazing treat of a night we can reflect upon, very much a delectable D.J. experience extra-ordinaire, each one of them playing a superb part in making it a most memorable Saturday come Sunday of magnificent music, From Paul Heron in The Box, through Alessandro at Rupert Street, then Brent Nicholls at Barcode, our trip up west, with prolific performances from all three, would have been enough for many. But with Vauxhall drawing us in, Nick Tcherniak shone like the star he is and then Hi-Fi Sean treated us to not one but two superb sets, rocking the main room in Beyond brilliantly. To add to it all, Mikey D exploded our enthusiasm with a dreamland delivery of a set, rounding off a thrilling 14 hours of heavenly house music, also hearing that D’Johnny played out fantastically at Lo-Profile, Pagano blew everyone at Megawoof away with one of his best there yet and Alan K kept the Beyond party pumping way past mid-day. So, we can reflect & relish on the fact that we continue to be so fortunate to have such brilliant D.J. talents available at our fingertips, feeling humble & privileged yet truly enchanted to be in the company of each & every one of them. (DISCO MATT)
No comments:
Post a Comment