CLUBS
Gene Farris
‘Hello?’ Gene Farris answers the phone sounding at the fragile end of a hardcore mid-week bender. ‘l‘m losing my voice bit by bit and I only just got up,‘ says the adored Chicago house DJ and producer. 'It‘s the dry air, I swear I haven‘t even been smoking today. I sound like Barry White -— “hello, baby", ha ha.‘ Luckily this isn‘t an audio interview and Farris will be able to hide for the rest of the day in the studio, working on his new album This Is My Religion which is due to be released at the end of the year on Soma.
‘lt‘s called This Is My Religion ‘cause it is, I guess,‘ explains Farris, somehow managing to avoid sounding like a cliché. ‘The music is my religion. I believe in God and everything but it‘s not as intense as the music is to me. It‘s in my heart, it's the thing that‘s closest to me.’
‘The album‘s full of more experimental Chicago tracks, more dance house,‘ says Farris. ‘l‘m using some disco samples and more hip hop stuff. But I‘m not down with the rapping - I just like danceable beats and grooves, you know? The instrumentals of hip hop records will be all over the album.’
‘The Lowdown Dirty World EP‘ - the latest release on Farris‘ own Farris Wheel Records imprint due for release at the start of July - has been causing a bit of a stir on both
sides of the Atlantic. So much so that the last copy of it was actually taken from his bag by a ‘friend‘. ‘Now I don‘t even have a copy of it myself. I had given one to Silicone Soul and had to borrow it back to play at a party. I just hope that my friend is playing it out.‘ It must be pretty cool, then, to see so many people go crazy for one of your own tunes. ‘Well, I have maybe thirty releases
Gene Farris knows good house
out, so I’ve seen people react to my stuff before, but this is a little special to me ‘cause this release is on my own label.‘ (Simone Baird)
H Gene Farris Dis at Tribal Funktion at The Venue on Sat 77 Jul; ‘The Lowdown Dirty World EP’ is out on Farris Wheel Records at the start of My This Is My Religion is out on Soma later this year.
Claudio Coccoluto
There's a method of teaching the violin called the Suzuki technique that has little ankle biters scratching out tunes even before they‘re out of nappies. Works for them, and it worked for Claudio Coccoluto too, but in his case it was with turntables. The earliest memory Italy's numero uno DJ has is playing around in his father's hi-fi shop, scratching on the record players. 'It was an experience that signalled my destiny,‘ says the bloke behind '97s carnival romp and Ibiza anthem 'Belo
54 TIIE LIST 8—22 Jul 1999
. rm . é“:
laudio Coccoluto and Duo frid
Horizonte', speaking through his manager/translator.
At fourteen he had his own show on pirate radio station Radio Luna, and by his late teens he was a professional DJ in Italy's Clubland. Twenty years of hard work since then, promoting club nights, producing (under various guises including his latest project The Dub Duo), running his own Dub label and presenting his own show on Italy's national radio station Rai Stereo 2, has made him one of the most familiar names to the country’s club kids. Lately,
he’s been in demand more and more for remix work and in the last month has gone from mixing two artists that couldn’t be further apart.
Go to one end of the scale and he’s Coccoluting Underworld’s ’King Of Snake' and, somewhat to the other end, he's lending his skills to Geri Halliwell for her next release ’Mi Chico Latino‘.. He doesn't go for the traditional plinky plonky piano Italian house style, preferring a more explosive percussive style. 'l'm an avant garde DJ living in my own style,‘ he says. He may be on a par in his home country with the likes of Jules or Tong, but he’s dogmatically precious about his credibility. He's paid his dues and his passion for music is above all.
’People choose to work with me ’cause it’s a risk and because there's a pretty good chance I'll come up with something different, something new that might not be understood at that moment.‘ (Rory Weller)
I Claudio Coccoluto Dis at Tangent at the Sub Club, Fri 16 Jul. The Dub Duo’s next single ’I Love You’ is released on Mon 19 Jul 0n NRK. .
Club news
THE EXTENSION TO the Cul De Sac‘s licensing from the West End Festival worked so well they're going to stay open until midnight every night of the week. This means you can hear the likes of Shu Hirata, Rub A Dub and Goodfoot DJing for an hour longer.
STOP PRESS Just as we go to print, we hear of another of those free party jollies at The Temple, Thu 22 Jul. For precisely no money at all at Soundpresence, you can hear Radio 1's Tim Westwood and Femi Fem (Young Disciples) joining local DJs Paul N‘Jie and Naeem on the decks alongside MC THAD Byron. The super fine Kele Le Roc will also be there on the night for a live PA. Get hold of an invite for the night from Rub A Dub‘s new record shop on Howard Street or at 23rd Precinct. Hey, the best things in life are free.
PARTY ON IN EDINBURGH It's that time of year when the hardcore stand out from the wannabes - late licences are go. From Sun 8 Aug—Sat 4 Sep, licences can be extended an extra two hours. While over 600 pubs and clubs in Edinburgh have applied for the late licence, only a few will be rejected on police grounds. It is up to the discrimination of the venue manager and promoters whether the licence will be used each night, so don‘t be surprised if you are kicked out earlier than Sam.
TASTE'S FIFTH BIRTHDAY Last minute panic for Taste who were forced to move their fifth birthday bash from The Honeycomb to Wilkie House. Noise complaints from a visitor lodging across the road meant that the sound system had to be lowered significantly. Despite the move, the venue was near capacity and considered a huge success.
WELL DONE TO all those who partied at Under Cover at Studio 24 on Fri 2 Jul. Jointly held by Apex, Pillbox and Mingin', they managed to raise just over £4700 for the homeless charity Shelter.
SUMMER HOLIDAY BLUES for those that frequent The Potterrow. The club will be shut from Sun 25 Jul after Cream and re-open on Fri 3 Sep with Alpha Beat Soup.
Paul N'jie at Soundpresence on Thu 22 Jul