Club Culture
As everyone and their uncle descends on Edinburgh for the biggest arts festival in the world, The List looks at the EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL CLUB FESTIVAL and asks if it can bridge the gap between clubbing kids and culture vultures. Words: James Smart
The traditional image of the Festival is characterised more by fat comics than phat beats. Now in its third year, the Edinburgh International Club Festival is trying to change all that. And it‘s not pissing about. This year sees Nick Warren (Thu 10 Aug), Boy George (Fri ll Aug) and Marshal Jefferson (Fri l8 Aug) crash the party. alongside trancemasters Hybrid (Fri 4 Aug) and an array of local clubs. With fifteen different nights and projected crowds of up to 1800 packing out the gothic spires of Teviot Row House, it might just be big enough to make a dent in the invigorating sprawl of the Edinburgh Fringe.
Yet. as the event‘s marketing manager, Tony Foster, acknowledges. thespians and clubbers have not always gone hand in glove. ‘It didn't fit neatly with the Festival atmosphere at first,” he says, ‘But it depends if people are prepared to be experimental.‘ The event's association with Beat 106. who are broadcasting live from the venue every Thursday, should encourage greater recognition, and Sat 26 Aug sees a ISDN link with the high profile Creamfields festival.
Scott Conchar, co-promoter of local night Sublime, stresses that many of those attending the Club Festival aren’t out-of-town festival-goers. Yet he does see an increasing acceptance of the clubbing scene in the broader area of the arts. ‘You do get much more of a clubbing crowd inside the venue,‘ he says, ‘But certainly not exclusively so. The scene has been going on for about twelve years now so performers and audiences have grown up with club culture and in that sense, it‘s a part of the festival as a whole.‘
Sublime presents two of the Club Festival’s highlights: ex-Cream resident Nick Warren and seminal trance night Return to the Source (Sat 12 Aug). As Conchar reveals, however, the Sublime crew could easily have left the punters in the shade to sun themselves in foreign climes. ‘The last couple
variety.’ oi Kid
'It's like a festival within a festival, and nowhere else in Britain has that
Karma‘n get it: Boy George guests at Golden, at Edinburgh International Club Festival, Fri 11 Aug
of years we‘ve avoided getting involved.‘ he says. ‘Wilkie House, where we normally are. gets turned into the Gilded Balloon in August — so we get a month off. But this year we‘d already been on holiday so we had the opportunity to put some nights on and thought, why not!”
Sublime illustrates the paradox of the Club Festival rather neatly, with its marriage of big-name DJs and the smaller—scale Edinburgh scene. But the club festival organisers don‘t see this as being problematic. ‘We're creating a big platform for local talent’, explains Tony Foster, ‘It‘s a mix of different things, so a superclub can run hand in hand with a smaller club, and we can give a platform for Edinburgh-based nights. It gives the punters a chance to go to clubs they might not otherwise go to.‘
That visiting superclubs can. ironically enough. help nurture smaller nights is a view shared by Manga and Jungle Magic regular DJ Kid. who appears alongside Doc Scott and Storm as a part of
the Metalheadz set on
Sat I9 Aug. ‘It's part and
parcel of getting people
to hear what‘s going on - in the Edinburgh club
scene.‘ he states. "The Festival is certainly a good thing to have because with a venue that size, we can have so many different styles of music on the same night. It‘s like a festival within a festival, and nowhere else in Britain has that variety.‘
Edinburgh International Club Festival (Fringe) Teviot Row House (Venue 14) 650 4403. 4-6, 10—13, 17-20 8. 24-27 Aug, 9pm-5am, £7-£10 (ES-£8).
Hitlifl *
Clubbing appointments to add to your Festival diary
Cream
The Edinburgh International Club Festival kicks off With a bit of a showstopper: the Liverpool superclub hosts the Scottish debut of Hybrid, whose Wider Angle album unleashed breakbeat trance on the world. Also on the line-up is Cream resident Paul Bleasdale as well as a host of local talent. Edinburgh International Club Festival (Fringe) Teviot Row Union (Venue 74) 650 4403, 4 Aug, 9pm—5am, f 70 (f 8 advance).
Sublime
Edinburgh techno-trance night Sublime demonstrates that local clubs can kick it too. Their International Club Festival debut features top trancer and regular guest Nick Warren, alongSide reSSies Kev and Idge. Beat 106 Will be broadcasting elsewhere in the bUilding, from a list of JOCkS which includes Colin Tevendale and The Jengaheads. Edinburgh International Club Festival (Fringe) Tewot Row Union (Venue 74) 650 4403, 70 Aug, 9pm-5am, £70 ([8 advance).
Big Beat
Edinburgh’s dancefloor Jazz experts welcome back a bit of a legend on the scene. Funky Hammond organ man Reuben Wilson Will be delivering up the SOUI-JaZZ goods With accompaniment from his regular outfit Push. Boogie With the best of them. See preView on follOWing pages. Big Beat, La Belle Ange/e (Venue 707) 225 7536, 4 Aug, midnight—3am, [ 9.
Phosphorescence
Goa trance is enjoying a bit of a reVival in Edinburgh thanks to the efforts of Phosphorescence (DJ pictured). As well as all the usual pyrotechnics, hippy stalls and patterned sarongs, this month’s event features a guest slot from Lucus of Tip Records. Grab a drum or a didgeridoo and trip out, man. Phosphorescence, The Venue (Venue 758) 557 3073, 5 Aug, 70.30pm—3am, £8 ([7).
Blue Strawberry
A new night from stalwart of the local scene Yogi Haughton. He'll be iomed at the decks by Kevm Jones and the Master Blaster. Expect the best in funk and soul to warm up to, movmg into melodic house grooves. Get down to mu5ic for mind and feet. Blue Strawberry, The LIQU/d Room (Venue 773) 225 2564, 5 Aug, 70.30pm—3am. £6 ([5).
3—- l 0 Aug 2000 THE lIST FESTIVAL GUIDE 77