GUEST DJ
Ultragroove
Disco don Elliot Eastwick guests at Edinburgh’s proper house night
The weekend just gets bigger and bigger. No sooner is Thursday pronounced the new Friday, than the boys at Ultragroove decide Sunday is, in fact. the new Saturday and welcome ex-Hacienda resident Elliot Eastwick to fill the last days of summer with his own take on house. And it should be a funky one. 'I was into disco before I was into house,’ Eastwick explains, ’and, whenever I play house, I slip in a few old disco tracks - not filtered loopy stuff because that just bores the pants off people. And I don't think I'll be playing any ABBA, although I do like 'Gimme Gimme Gimmme'.’
His love of clubbing grew from the early days of Manchester's legendary Hacienda and, after a sabbatical of sorts as resident at
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Paper Recordings' Elliot Eastwick doesn't need luck for his Ultragroove debut
Hard Times, he returned to the club as a DJ. It was Eastwick who played the last ever record before the Hacienda closed. 'l'm very nostalgic about the club,’ he acknowledges. ‘I was really sad when it closed, partly because I was doing the Saturday night residency and it was going really well - we felt we'd turned it around because there was a period when it had been pretty shit. It was a kind of club that couldn’t really happen now.’ Since then, Eastwick and partner in crime Miles Holloway have been residents at Turnmills' Head Start and regularly guest slot around the UK. Eastwick's jet-set potential has, however, been hampered by Bergkamp syndrome. ‘I stopped flying four years ago,’ he confesses. ‘I had a really bad flight and what I later found out was a panic attack - at the time I just thought the cabin pressure was going to go and I couldn't
breathe! I went on courses but they didn’t help much. I started again about a month ago. Miles was going to Australia, New Zealand and Slovenia, and in the end I just thought "Fuck it". I mean it was like, "Where would you rather play, Iceland or Birmingham?“
Elliott is playing Edinburgh as part of the Robodisco tour, which coincides with his first mix LP. 'It’s a compilation album of stuff we've played at the Robodisco club, old favourites and newer stuff - and there's a lot of tracks that are hard to get hold of. And it’ll make money, and that’s why people make mix albums, if they're honest. No one does it for aesthetic reasons. Although knowing us, we’ll probably lose money!’ (James Smart)
I Ultragroove, La Belle Ange/e (Venue 707) 225 7536, 27 Aug, 70.30pm-5am, £8 (free before midnight).
NEW RESIDENCY
Trade
The hard house phenomenon comes to the capital
The hills and glens echo again to the hard house stylings of DJ Ziad
Mention hard house to anyone who knows their history and they Will immediately cite Trade as its UK home. It was launched ten years ago by Laurence Malice as the first legitimate after-hours club and has gone on to made its mark on UK clubbing, establishing the Dng careers of the late Tony De Vit, Tall Paul and current hard house hero Fergie.
Back in February 1999, sometime dance diva and current club manager Mary Kiani brought Trade to Glasgow, and the night achieved enViable success, first at The Tunnel and then at The Arches. Disputes emerged, however, between Kiani and the London HQ, and the relationship reached an end in July of this year. As Jonathan Llewellyn, the promoter at Trade, explains: ’She wanted to take Trade in a direction which differed from Our idea of its direction.’
As a result of this parting of the ways, George Paterson, the promoter of Edinburgh hard house night Luvely, was invited to meet wth Laurence Malice and discuss future plans for Trade in Scotland. He was an ideal
candidate due to his established credentials in club promotion and obvious passion for house music. As Llewellyn says, ’Laurence and George have known each other for a while, and we know George is determined to make it work.’
Paterson’s first ever clubbing experience was at the London original and, as he rightly states, ’the only way you could do Trade is if you were paSSionate about it yourself.’ Dedicated to replicating the gay- friendly, hedonistic Vibe of London Trade, Paterson already has some ideas for development. ’l’d like to take it further and get the Wild element much bigger here by encouraging people to undress-up more,’ he says. ’The more nakedness there is, the much less inhibited the crowd becomes.’ So think skimpy for Trade’s first night, with ’Fierce Rulin’ reSidents’ Guy Williams, Steve Thomas and Ziad, and keep an eye out for one-off events planned all over Scotland.
(Catherine Bromley) I Trade, Wi/kie House, 225 5583, 2 Sep, 70pm—5am, £72 (£70 members).
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The best of the nest in Festival clubland and beyond
Ultragroove
Paper Recordings’ Elliot Eastwick guests at this bank holiday special and, as a thank you to regulars, there’s plenty of opportunity to get in for free. Ultragroove, La Belle Ange/e (Venue 707) 225 7536, 27 Aug, 70.30pm—5am, £7 (free before midnight).
Trade
London’s original hard housers return to Scotland for some Tartan Trade antics from Guy Williams, Ziad and Steve Thomas. Trade, Wi/kie House, 225 5583, 2 Sep, 70pm—5am, £72 (£70).
Untamed
Enjoy a rumble in the jungle and raise money for the conservation work of the Tusk Trust. Barcardi are also on-board to encourage you to let loose. Untamed, The Ark, 229 7733, 7 Sep, 70pm—3am, £5.
Nomad
Wander into new musical territories in the company of Manchester’s electronic expert Justin Robertson (Lionrock). Nomad, La Belle Ange/e (Venue 707) 225 7536, 7 Sep, 70.30pm—5am, £8 (£6).
A big, bad beats ’n’ breaks selection as the Plump DJs (Finger Lickin’) and Wreckage (Wall of Sound) join the residents for their Festival special. Boogie Mo’ Dynamo, The Bongo Club (Venue 743) 556 5204, 26 Aug, 77pm—5am, £8 (£6).
Digital
The underground club goes overground (almost) taking over two floors for tonight’s event, which features a live set from techno manipulator Pure Science. Digital, The Venue (Venue 758) 557 4865, 2 Sep, 70.30pm—5am, £5 (£4).
ProgreSSion
A new night with a purely progressive playlist, featuring residents Steven McCreery (The Tunnel) and Alan Dobson, plus a live set from Sheffield movers and shakers Mara. Progression, Wilkie House, 225 5583, 7 Sep, 70.30pm-5am, £7 before
7 7.30pm; £8 after.
24 Aug—2 Sep 2000 THE “ST FESTIVAL GUIDE 51