CLUBS listings
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.Edaiburgnssongo Club
Shaka comes to town.
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um" ” {rail Shaka.
“Nationality: Born in Jamaica, he
emigrated to Britain in the 50s; Occupation: Dub reggae 01, sound- system guru and benefactor of the lab Shaka Foundation.
Remind us about this Dub Reggae: Remember Bob Marley? well that's reggae. Now remix the music with a greater emphasis on the instrumental side, particularly the bass, and add lots and lots of echo. That’s dub.
And the ‘sound-systern'? Just the
collective name for a group of lads with a turntable. a selection of dub plates, some technical, echo-generating
~wizardry and several thousand watts of
bass~generating speakers. The Jan Shaka Sound System is one of the most respected in Britain, but Shaka will be playing his records on the Messenger System in Edinburgh.
Why is he so well respected? Shaka is the leading exponent of roots reggae, which employs the humanist philosophies of Rastafarianism. While many sound-systems have moved off into modern dancehall styles, Shaka believes in the unifying force and spiritual nature of dub reggae. Music, he believes, has a far wider role than mere entertainment.
All very worthy, but is he any good?
You bet. He is a top entertainer too. When playing on the Shaka Sound he uses just the one turntable to blend the
music into a continuous whole with that
echo and reverb unit, piling up great
walls of stomach churning bass and
letting the vocal samples drop like sweetly ripened plums. His own, priest- like attitude as he bobs up and down in front of the turntable is transferred to his multi-racial audience. Hearing Jab Shaka is, quite simply, the most spiritual experience you can have on a dancefloor.
You mentioned a ‘Jah Shaka Foundation': The guy practices what he preaches and the Foundation brings assistance to Jamaica, Ethiopia and Ghana, providing equipment for, schools, hOSpitals and self-help projects. Shaka is a hands-on benefactor too, spending time in Ghana as well as recording with reggae artists in Jamaica.
IJah Shaka makes his first ever Scottish
appearance at the Messenger Sound System, Bongo Club on Sat 12 Dec.
84 "IE [181’ 3—17 Dec 1998
CLUB LISTINGS continued
I Cathouse at The Attic. l l pin-3am. £2 before 11.30pm; £4 (£3) after. Weekly. Rock and indie with a play list that can range from Metallica and Marilyn Manson to Oasis and The Beastie Boys. With student-friendly drink promos.
I Club Fondue at Noa. From 5pm. Free. Weekly. Wind down your hectic week with all that’s cheesy. Cocktails are £2.50 and bottles of champagne £ 1 2. Loads of nibbles and dips too.
I Club latlno at The Bongo Club. Monthly. Next date 18 Dec.
I Cuba Norte at Cuba None. lOpm—lam. Free. Weekly. Flamenco trio Flamenco Puro with dancers Tote Conte and DJ Simone.
I Defcon One at La Belle Angele. llpm—3am. £5. ll Dec. Monthly. Big big night — it’s The Psychonauts! With four decks on the go. it is sure to be a mad one. Resident Colin Millar will be arsing around‘with the best of them.
I Divine Divas at The Venue. Monthly. Next date 25 Dec.
I eh1 more at ehl. 9pm—lam. Free. Stylish pro-club bar. Gordon Mac (aka Sublime‘s Beany) plays on the first Friday of the month. the big beat sounds of Sleazy G on the second and fourth whilst you can catch Gav Lyell on the third Friday each month.
I Esteem at The Vaults. l0.30pm—3am. £7. ll Dec. Fortnightly. A great selection of DJs playing shake-ass funky house. Andy Ford. Dave Smith. Numb. Ray and TJ Crossley ham it up. In association with Rogue Music.
I Evol at the Liquid Room. 10.30pm—3am. £4. Weekly. A healthy mix of music. taking in anything from Blur. Pavement and Oasis to Public Enemy. Jackson 5 and Underworld.
I Fat Vibration at The Bongo Club. llpm—3am. £5 (£4). 4 Dec. Monthly. Featuring the live funk/soul/groove band The Ugly Groove Movement and DJs Eh?Wun! and Sly Si on the decks.
I Frontier at Revolution. l0pm—3am. £5 before llpm;£6 between llpm—midnight; £7 after. Weekly. Residents are Kevin Jones and Vanessa Motion. Brand new chart and house night with enormous capacity.
I Funk Train at The Potterrow. 9pm—3am. £7 (£5). l8 Dec. Monthly. DJs Allen Ross and Matthew Atkinson ask you to put on your mama’s flares and get busy at the Funk Train Christmas Special. I Fuse at The Wee Red Bar. lOpm—3am. £3. 4 Dec. Monthly. A fusion of the roots of dance. that‘s Latin.jungle. funk. ska. dub and more.
I Gold at The Attic. llpm—3am. £3 (£2). Weekly. With nights like this the 80s will never die. ‘The 80s were too much fun'. they say.
I Headspin at The Bongo Club. Monthly. Next date 26 Dec.
I Higher Ground at The Honeycomb. llpm -- 3am. £7 (£6). ll Dec. Monthly. Residents Mr Todd and Dr Argun in the front playing real deal deep house; Lyley and Gino throught the back with disco and funk.
I Jazz Joint at Henry's Cellar Bar. lOpm—3am. £4. 4 and 18 Dec sees Hub Central. the very funky Hub unplug themselves for a mellow night of breakbeat and urban soul. I | Dec sees 4our Stoke 5ive. a 4/5 piece hip hop band with a strong contemporary jazz edge.
I lift at Wilkie House. l0.30pm—3am. £7 (£5). ll Dec. Fortnightly. A quality night of techno and trance. Guest DJ Orde Meikle (Slam)joins residents LFT and Paul in the main room. Believe and Pro het X through the back.
I e living Room 9pm—lam. Free. Weekly. Andrew Moisey. Dillon and Christopher Wright with a freestyle mix of dance sounds in this well-situated bar. I Lucious at The Ark. l0pm-3am. £5. Weekly. Half price entry with flier. Massive party music from the 70s to the 90s with the Woosh team and a tight but polite door policy.
I Made In Iguana at Iguana Cafe Bar. 8pm—lam. Free. Gareth Sommerville plays the full range of hip hop. house and garage tunes.
.43
The City Cafe 2, Edinburgh
Open Thu—Sat, 9.30pm—iam.
- ’If we're out clubbin’ we come here first. It’s classy.’
- ‘lt’s nice.’
- ’Na, it’s good, ’cause you’ll meet up with people you know so you can have a blether. Everyone’s up for it here, 'cause you know that everyone who's here is going to a club afterwards. C'mon, l’ve got ma gold bikini on. You get lots of flyers here as well, for somewhere to go to afterwards.’
- 'We’ve JUSl nicked 4000 postcards. You see a lot of freaky men here.’
- ‘There were a couple of freaks singing very loud in the toilets.’
- 'That was me!’
I The Mambo Club at The Cavendish. l0ptn—3am. £3 concs and before I lpm; £4 thereafter. Weekly. Make tracks and hear an array of reggae. ragga. soul. funk. swing and R&B sounds provided by Sir Ossie.
I Manga at La Belle Angele. Next date 22 Jan with their third birthday bash.
I MIB Presents South Central at Club Mercado. MIB has finished at Club Mercado.
I Mi Salsa at The Bongo Club. Monthly. Next date 25 Dec.
I Midnight Blue at Cafe Graffiti. 9.30pm—2am. £5. Weekly. Continuing to make a real impact on Edinburgh‘s soul andjazz scene. catch The MB Players live on stage and the impressive DJ Tinku behind the decks.
I Moroccan Clouds at Po Na Na. lOpm—3am. Free before l lpm; £2 after. Weekly. DJ 4th Varmint with disco to funk. hip hop to cheese.
I Planet Earth at The Citrus. llpm—3am. £4. Weekly. A busy and long- running night of 70s and 80s sounds where New Romantics. punks. glatn rockers and disco freaks relive the era that others do their best to forget.
I Pure at The Venue. l(l.3()pm—3am. £6 (£4). l 1 Dec. Fortnightly. Two floors. Special guest DJ Frankie Bones from New York. famous for his sublime stuff on Nu Groove Records. Joined as always by the Pure residents. This is not one of Scotland‘s most famous clubs for nothing. you know!
I Reaction at The Subway. l lpm--3am. £2; free for students with matriculation card. Weekly. A mix ofchart. dance and classic disco.
I Rebel Waltz at City Cafe. ()pin—lam. Free. 4 Dec. Fortnightly. Murray Richardson greets the weekend revellers with his impeccable deep house cuts.
I The Rocking Horse at The Rocking Horse. I lpm—3am. £l. Three floors of alternative club action. loosely divided between gothic. heavy metal and indie. Drinks promos.
I The Salsa Hut 7—10.30pm. Free. Cool little Mexican restaurant bridging the gap between great food and great music. With DJs.
I Salsa Viva at the Venue. l0.30pm—3am. £5; £3 before llpm. 4 Dec. Fortnightly. It's their third birthday and it's going to be a Salsa Suprise. Resident DJ Coco Vega plays to an up for it crowd.
I Seen at The Honeycomb. l [pm—3am. £l0 (£9). 18 Dec. Monthly. The end of an era folks. this is Seen's last night. The ultimate hip hop showcase. the greatest freestyler on the planet. Supernatural and the lTF and DMC champ DJ Noize. Anyone who witnessed their show at the Northern Mixing Campionships last year will agree that this cannot be missed. Also featuring Eh?Wun! and The Dynamic Duo. Definitely going out with a bang.
I Snatch DJs at Negociants.
l()pm—3am. Free. Weekly. Ian and Hugh brin ing in uplifting house.
I T e Sting at The Potterrow. 9pm—3am. £7 (£5). 4 Dec. Monthly. Hip hop. jazz funk and raga-muffin chat with Fh'.’Wun!. AJ and Ambassador. MCs are A]. Warren and Natty P.