Edinburgh Thursdays

Pre-Club I Countdown at Rush. 7pm-larn. Free. Weekly. With all drinks at exceedingly low

prices (tmtil llprn). you'll be counting down to a fairly hefty hangover at this chart and party pre-club.

I Eccentric at Barn Bou. 9pm—3am. Free. 16 Aug. Fortnightly. New residents Stuart Sandernan (Naked) and Lee Murray join Iiuan James and Phil York as they play quality t'S house and liuropean trance for the discerning pre-clubber at this ()riental style bar.

I Flashback at Flashback.

8.30pm - lam. Free. Weekly. DJ Venus shows no shame in playing top tunes from the (ills. 70s and Xlls. Drinks promos a bonus.

I Immersed In Music at I’ivo.

9p”) lam. Free. Weekly. Stnokey 8; The Bandit (Senses) tear tip the funky house highway in a bid to entertain the drinking hordes at this Czech-themed style bar.

I La Fromagerie at The Meadows Bar (downstairs). 9pm—3am. Free. 9 Aug. Fortnightly. Sample the cheesy delights served tip by Iidinburgh‘s original Ii-Y, sleazies Al and Kant the Mullet.

I Made In Iguana at Iguana.

9pm lam. Free. Weekly. (iareth Sornrnerville breaks the mould of his l7|tragroove guise. playing warm New York house. disco and all things sotilftil at this pre-weekcnd pre-club.

I Mellow Mellow Right On at The Carwash. 9pm -lam. Free. Weekly. DJ Sofa Boy gets comfortable with art eclectic mix of chilch funk and nu jazz. sounds.

I Oxygen at ()xygen. 9pm-lam. Free. Weekly. The weekend starts early in the company of rotational residents Stuart (iough and Beanie. seasoned entertainers in the swinging styles of funk. soul. R&B and hip hop.

I Prefix at Bar L'nion. 9pm— lam. Free. 9 Aug. Fortnightly. Chris Bryant and Derek Selrnes sort the deep attd funky wheat from the house chaff.

I Salsa Viva at Baracoa. Xpm—Iam. Free. Weekly. DJ Jorge plays the Latino grooves to make you salsa at this long- standing night. featuring dance classes for beginners and those at intermediate level. I Shadowskill at Barn Bou. 9pm—3am. £2. 9 Atig. Fortnightly. Confucius say this new ()riental style bar got plenty good drtun & bass and hip hop with DJ Sam and Redo.

I Ska at City Cafe. 9pm—lam. Free. Weekly. All new pre-club featuring original Jantaican ska. roots and rocksteady with DJ Shayrnas.

I Soft Rock at The Pond Bar. 9pm—lam. Free. Weekly. Mullets. perms and poodle heads let loose to some ‘orrible soft rock in the comfortable surroundings of Leith‘s premiere watering hole. ()n the subject of all things soft. Soft 2: ‘Leather & Laee‘ will take place at Club Java on Sat I5 Sep. We apologise in advance.

I UrbannHangSuite at Bann's.

I lpm--3am. Free. Weekly. Light vegetarian snacks served to a kooky and eclectic soundtrack from Son of Ugly.

Club

I Bar 101 at La Belle Angele. lem—late. Free. Weekly (during Aug). Late night club/cafe with a solid soul soundtrack served tip by the Sotil Space DJs.

I Behave? at The Honevcornb. Monthlv. Next date 30 Aug. ' I I Bezique at The Honeveornb. Midnight—late. £5 (£4). 9 'a- lo Aue. Weekly (during Aug). C‘est chic! C'est manifiquel C'est Bezique? Eighties disco with dress code encouraged where Leon ‘Silk' Singleton. Alf ‘Stop that scratchin'. you're rnakin me itch' Parker and Garv ‘Lager' Costello let loose with music of questionable taste. Warning: this is a White Rabbit Cowboys production.

I C.C. Blooms at CC. Blooms. lt).3()pm—3am (bar frorn 6pm). Free. Weekly. Trip the light fantastic to Hi-NRG dance action at this ever-popular gay bar. I Cuban Brothers at Teviot Row House (Club Festival). I2.3()am—5am. £7.50. 16 Aug only. First of two consecutive dates frorn Miguel Mantovani and Richie Palloco aka The Cuban Brothers. Combining breakdancing. verbal filth and a soundtrack of Latino Ioungecore. these greasy gringos are in the process of conquering the world with their unique take on entertainment.

I Da Break at La Belle Angele will return in Sep.

I Dust at Studio 24. Monthly. Next date 6 Sep.

I Fresh Air at The Honeycomb will return in Sep.

I Fusion at Po Na Na. I Ipm--3am. £2. Weekly. DJs Mark B (Studio Grand) and Murray Richardson (20/20 Vision) playing vinyl gems in the realms of house. hip hop. funk and soul.

I Genetic at The Citrus Club.

I lpm—3am. £2. Weekly. Still a mighty popular soiree that showcases alternative. indie and lo-fi. No smoking in the bar area. mind.

I The Moneyshot at The Bongo Club will return in Sep.

I Muzikisum at The Honeycomb. Monthly. Next date 6 Sep.

I Naked at Iigo. Monthly. Next date 2.3 Aug.

I Nocturnal at Noa will return in Sep. I Playaz at Iigo. Fortnightly. 3() Atig.

I ReJuvenation at The Bongo Club. Monthly. Next date 31 Aug.

I Snatch Club at The Liquid Room. It).3()pm—5am. £3.50 (£2.50). Weekly. Relive the fun and games you had at cheap British holiday camps like Butlins at this funky disco cutn cabaret. with your hosts of distinction Mr Harry Ainsworth and Spanky Alexander. Benny Hill-like antics will of course be rife. all drinks are available at l97().s prices and because it's the festival there's a select line-up. this week featuring guest DJ Styler (9 Aug) and The Gay Bernard Manning ( l6 Aug). (iod hel us.

I putnik at The Venue (top floor). l().3()pm—3am. £3. l6 Aug. Fortnightly. Feel the gush as Sputnik rockets right to the epicentre of your aural cavities. rupturing your mind with experimental yet nonetheless accessible house mUsic. This fortnight. it all comes courtesy of resident types Dan Frantic. Hobbes and Lisa Thomson and their special guest DJ. Steven Brown (Transrnat).

I 3 Piece Sweet at The Cocteau Lounge. Monthly. Next date 30 Aug with the end of Festival party. Hooray!

I 3 Piece Sweet at Teviot Row House (Club Festival). I2.3()am—5am. £5. 9 Aug only. The three sweet peas Sally. Wendy and Nikki get in on the Club Festival action to run amok with their free-range music policy. From kitsch to cutting edge. these girls have got all dance bases well and truly covered.

Chart & Party

I Funky Underground at Revolution. l()pm—3am. £4 (£3). Weekly. A monster soundsystem. good odds at copping off and some handy dance podiurns for attracting attention to your funky strutting are just three of the reasons why Revolution seems like a good idea when you're drunk.

I Ignition at Eros/Elite. 9.3()pm—3am. £3 (£2). Weekly. Last year's ‘Scottish Discotheque ()f The Year' still draws the numbers at this big ‘ole chart and party night.

I The 6, 7, 8 Special at Why Not?

I Ipm—3am. £5. Weekly. A magical musical

journey that takes you through the 60s. 70s.

80s and 90s with plucky survivor Disco Billy and his new friend Disco Diva Dale. Cage dancers a definite bonus.

I The Subway at The Subway. 9pm-3am. Free for students with matriculation card: £l otherwise. Weekly. A mainstream soundtrack plus the odd spot of indie.

DIt‘St‘nIS

GUEST DJ/ALBUM LAUNCH AJIK

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Manga at La Belle Angele, Edinburgh, Fri 10 Aug.

Call it drum & bass, call it jungle, call it what you will. Whatever label you care to apply, the musical style that originated from fusing hardcore techno, hip- house and breakbeat is constantly evolving and pushing new boundaries. By definition recombinant (in that it takes aspects from all kinds of music and combines them), it can therefore be hard to keep track of just where drum & bass is at right now. Thankfully one name can help you chart the history and pin-point the current state of play and that name is J Majik.

Known to his parents as Jamie Spratling, Majik has been working the scene since the tender age of 14. In 1994 he produced the seminal classic ‘Six Million Ways To Die’ and since then has collaborated with the likes of Doc Scott, Goldie and Dillinja. Far from resting on his old-school laurels, Majik is forever pushing the scene forward and his new mix album Infrastructure (released on his own label, Infrared) signals the future of drum 8. bass.

‘The album involves a lot of the artists that I’ve been working with over the past year and it’s the product of what we’ve been playing in the sets for the last six months. We want it to be an underground album that’s really big, hoping to cross-over a little bit with the more vocal stuff that we’re doing.’

In terms of the new elements Majik is endeavouring to work into the scene, disco samples and defined vocals are evidently high on the agenda. It’s this freedom to move that initially attracted the young DJ (still only 24) to drum 8. bass and it still inspires him today. ‘I don’t like to get stuck on one sound,’ he says. ‘As a DJ it’s really nice to be able to play different kinds of tunes and it makes a big difference to your production when you’re playing out a lot ‘cause you’re constantly seeing what the crowd’s reaction is and this helps you work out whether tunes will work or not.’ (Catherine Bromley)

I Sunstroke at The Subway West lind. 7pm—3am. £2 (£l with student ID or Ilyer). Weekly. Christ alive it‘s art indoor beach party. featuring limbo dancing and Miss Wet T-shirt/Mr Wet Y-Fronts competitions. DJs will of course be spinning summer six/lers and there's a free shooter for every punter in beachwear.

I Thursday In The City at (‘luh Mercado. Spin—3am. Free. Weekly. Commercial chart and dance from (irant Stott and Micky (iavin (Radio Forth). pltts drinks promos a plenty for those who want to start the weekend fashionably early.

Edinburgh Fridays

Pre-Club

I Bass:1rap Sessions at 8am Bot). 9pm—3am. Free. Weekly. Wise Manga master (i-Mac lays on some special treats at his drum & bass. hip hop and R&B pre-club. all in the name of that currently prevalent thing called the Festival. This week. the treat comes in the form ofguest DJ Senses (lnperspective ).

I Blok at PopRokit. 9pm—3am. Free. Weekly. A regular venture courtesy of Robin Styler (Solefusion). Bootsy

9.

(Substance/(iroove Theory) and (iregor (Douche Ma Touche). where rare groove. funk. disco and hip hop w ill be the order of the day.

I Centro at City Cafe 2. 9pm-lam. Free. l7 Aug. Fortnightly. A relatively new venture for L'ltt'agroove‘s (iareth Sommerville. where the playlist incorporates everything from jau daddies like 'I‘erry ('allier to llouse hustlers like Deep Dish.

I Chaos Cubano at Baracoa.

ltlpm lam. Free. Weekly. DJ Mikayel hosts a night of funk. hip hop and salsa. I Cuba Norte at Cuba None. ltlpmrrlam. Free, Weekly. Still supplying the broadest musical spectrum for Latin lovers and still pivotal to the whole Latin

I Cuts & Strings at The ()uthouse. Monthly. Next date 3l Aug.

I EH1 at till I. 9pm —3am. Free. Weekly. In the sleek. minimalist surrounds of this swanky style bar. (iav Sutherland breaks out the beats ( It) Aug). while Drew Wright dishes the deep house ( l7 Aug). I Flashback at Flashback.

8.30pm lam. Free. Weekly. DJ Frenchie supplies a retro chart mix for the over

2 I s.

‘(5 Aug 203‘) THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE 83