'GLUBS
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Laurent Garnier
Paris's maniacal Laurent Garnier is gagging for it. He's been locked away in the studio for months constructing his latest album Unreasonable Behaviour for his own label, F Communications, and he hasn't really been Dling; but he's chosen Slam's night Pressure to hurl himself back into it.
'I miss DJing, a lot,’ he admits. ‘It’s bloody time I come back to it, and The Arches. Every time I've been I've had a wonderful time. I'm very excited to play The Arches because Dave (Clark, head of Soma) says “This is your house, this is your home". That’s a wonderful thing to say to a DJ, you know, to make them so welcome. It’s like you can do what you want, and that's always a wonderful feeling.’
The last time we saw Garnier up here was for his live show at T in the Park in 1997, which could only reinforce his feeling towards the Scottish crowd. 'T hey went fuckin' beserk,’ he remembers. 'The atmosphere was amazing; it's a really easy crowd, they just want to have fun. that's it.’ Out of the hundred or so live shows he has done. he places that one right up at the top.
He's not just doing the interview
equivalent of shouting out 'Hello Scotland. I love you.’ He genuinely likes the place and the people. He's personal friends with the Slam crew and has been for a long. long time. With all this mutual admiration, you‘d wonder why he hasn't done any production work with Soma or Slam. He's quite coy, but reckons it's something they ‘really should do'. The new album, which is due in the new year, has been taking up all his
Communications.
Sights set on Glasgow: Laurent Garnier
time and is 'very unreasonably nasty', which is just what we'd hope from him. There is some kind of twisted logic that the most nasty of sounds should come from such a nice guy. Guess you've just got to be cruel to be kind. (Rory Weller)
I Laurent Garnier 015 at Pressure, The Arches on Fri 24 Sep. The single “Sound Of The Big Babou’ is out now on F
Salute!
Born out of a dissatisfaction with current modes of presenting music, Salute! is an evening of entertainment that defies categorisation. According to promoter Stephen Pastel, the night should be seen as much of a meeting place as a club: ‘In the first place, it’s something social. We see it as a place for people to come and exchange ideas and listen to new music in a non- rock show environment.’
Ready to salute: Stephen Pastel
This genre-fiddling ethos is helped along by the fact that each night takes on a theme celebrating a facet ‘of cultural life that might not seem at home in a club context. The first for example, Salute European Cinema!, featured a screening of a Truffaut short, Teenage Fanclub covering Ennio Morricone and DJs spinning film soundtracks and contemporary European electronica.
Not satisfied with blurring the distinction between gigs, clubs and
cinemas, the people behind Salute! are keen to promote their night in a less than conventional manner: ‘It seems that everyone markets clubs aggressively these days, so we haven't over-advertised the night. We like the idea of people gravitating towards it over time.‘ This means that the evening's entertainments have already taken on something of a co-operative feel, with members suggesting suitable future themes. These include a pair of evenings saluting secret music, with the first set to feature the low-key minimalism of Leeds' Empress and local heartbreak-rockers National Park. A Salute 1968! is on the cards too, which may well end with clubgoers barricading themselves in and engaging in vociferous sloganeering.
If a hectic start to the weekend is what you're after, Salute! is perhaps not the best option. For those seeking diverse entertainments in a relaxed setting, and a chance to see and hear anything from brand new music to classic film, then a Salute! membership card is essential. (Jack Mottram)
I Salute! is on Fri 24 Sep at the 13th Note Cafe. National Park preview, see Music page 42.
preview CLUBS
CI u b n ews Essential tidbits this fortnight
NOT SATISFIED WITH wreaking havoc in Auld Reekie, the Taste posse have landed in the world's hotspots this month. Fisher 8. Price have a number of gigs amid the exploding buildings of Moscow while Stuart Barrie found himself in Florida as a hurricane threatened to wipe the state off the map. Not to be left out. promoter Gordon says he is off to East Timor ‘for a tea party'. Please note that we've always said that they are completely mad.
OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS in Edinburgh. While it is true that The Liquid Room will undergo a huge expansion (capacity will go up to 3500), work won't start until January. What was The Honeycomb will soon become The Peppermint Lounge, aimed directly at the student market. And no, Warren Deigh hasn't yet found a new venue. Rumours that the Bongo won't have their license extended seem to be unfounded, but we'll keep you posted. Look out for our round table interview next issue on the state of club venues in Edinburgh.
SHEFFIELD'S SUPERCLUB GATECRASHER is due to begin a monthly residency at The Potterrow, starting this November.
WORK STARTS THIS issue on the huge refurbishment of The Arches that will run through until the end of next year. The project, which will see a new entrance and cafe bar on Argyle Street and the opening up of the currently derelict massive basement, will have interior design by award-winning One Foot Taller and Timorous Beasties who last worked together on Bar Strata in Glasgow. Don't worry about the work affecting the fine array of club nights, they promise us that there's actually going to be a lot more on than usual. £4 million is being spent on the work, coming from a combination of £35, million from the Scottish Arts Council Lottery Dept, £350,000 from Railtrack who own the building, £80,000 from Glasgow City Arts Council and a contribution from coffers of The Arches charity, too.
Fisher 8: Price descend on Moscow
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