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Slave
Of all the off-shoots from the house music template, one of the most underrated must be the brand of hard, bouncing tracks pioneered and championed by the likes of the late Tony De Vit. Admittedly, the genre can slip dangerously close to cheese at times, but the relentless, metronomic beats and seriously funky bass licks that underpin the sound strip house down to its basic elements. When you add to that the beat-perfect mixing and gradually building levels of intensity favoured by hard house Dis, no right minded fan of dance music can avoid being drawn to the dancefloor.
With this in mind, Mary Kiani. not satisfied with bringing Trade to Glasgow and provoking something of a renaissance for clubbers - gay or straight - hell bent on hedonism, has launched Slave.
'The ideas behind opening the club are the same reasons I started Trade at The Arches,’ explains Kiani. 'The rhythmic and percussive hard house sound is my passion, and there was no-where giving me what I wanted in terms of the music and the atmosphere.’
Slave is not likely to become a bastion of hard house purism, however; instead the idea is to bring the cracking atmosphere found at the likes of Trade to
Glasgow clubbers on a permanent basis 'Sunday night is going to go the Chicago house route, with live percussionists and musicians, even singers ad-libbing. We’ll be hosting a full-on gay night during the week, and we’re planning a Rubber Ball in conjunction with one of the big fetish clubs. Basically, I've been out all over the world and I want to try and bring into the club all the stuff I’ve seen on my travels - the little touches from different scenes that introduce a bit more fun, a
Mary Kiani: Slave to the rhythm
bit more glamour, into clubbing.’
That said, the weekend looks set to become a tailormade clubbing solution for fans of the harder end of the house spectrum, with residents Robin and Lovejoy joined only by guests drawn from the roster of DJs currently whipping the crowd into a frenzy every month at The Arches. (Jack Mottram)
I Slave is at 228 Clyde Street, Glasgow, and open now on Fri—Sun. Ticket information on 243 2440.
Skool's in: Rennie Pilgrem
82 THE LIST l7 Feb—2 Mar 2000
Rennie Pilgrem
It’s not the easiest position to be in: producer, DJ, remixer, label boss, father and spokesperson for a whole new sound. ‘lt’s hard,’ admits Rennie
'Pilgrem, not only dad to two young
children, but to the whole nu skool breaks scene. ’The worst part about it is suffering for your art, simply because you choose not to make cheesy shit.’ But how bad is the suffering, really? ’Well, I had to sell the Ferrari last week.’
Although Rennie Pilgrem pretty much invented the nu skool sound with the hugely popular ’A Place Called Acid’ in ’95, it wasn’t until a few years later that the actual term ’nu skool breaks’ was coined, this time not by an over- zealous dance rag.
’The name came about when we [Pilgrem, Adam Freeland and Tayo] were doing a night called Friction,‘ explains Pilgrem. 'We wanted something so that people would know that it wasn’t big beat.’ Why? 'Well, big beat was a nice idea when it
started, but it just became a load of substandard shite, with everyone copying each other and doing the same shit. What we were doing was — or is -— a lot closer to drum & bass than big beat.’
Perhaps a testament to his dedication, Pilgrem won the title of Breaks Remixer of ’99, after retouching the likes of BT, The Light, Simple Minds and E-Z Rollers. ’Yeah, I was the official number one breaks remixer,’ he admits, laughing. ’It was official you know, from DJ magazine.’ And did they give you anything? ’Um, a Puffin Club badge with 'I Do Breaks’ written on it.’
Pilgrem is now taking time out from remixing duties to concentrate on his debut album. After so much hard work, is he happy with his profile now? ’Well, I’ve got such a huge nose, so no, it’s not an ideal profile.’ (Simone Baird) a Rennie Pilgrem 015 at Nomad at Wilkie House, Fri 18 Feb. His debut album Selected Works is set for release in May on TCR.
Club news
Goings on beyond the dancefloor SOMA CONTINUE THEIR quest for national domination with a few do’s this year at London's ultra-credible club The End. If you want to see some of the Glasgow label’s finest, head down for their first night on Saturday 11 March. Slam, Carl Cox, Jim Masters, Silicone Sole, Sidewinder, Nigel Hayes and Paul Cawley will be representing. Call the Soma offices on 0141 572 1477 for further info.
FRESH AIR FM will be up and running again for one month from Sunday 20 February on 87.7FM. The student station aim to provide dance music, up to the minute news and goings on around Edinburgh. The final list of clubs involved was not yet available as we went to press, but more information is available from 220 6665 (office) or 557 6667 (studio).
THE TEAM BEHIND the Sub Club will be able to set a firm date for the long- awaited reopening in the next couple of weeks as surrounding buildings have finally been declared safe and refurbishments proper can commence at the fire damaged venue. In the meantime, the Subbie team are working to improve the sound system at temporary home Planet Peach, although judging by the hyped up atmosphere at the first of the relocated Subculture events, and the frenzied scenes at Optimo over the past couple of months, regulars are pleased as punch to have an ersatz Sub Club rather than no Sub Club at all.
IF YOU’RE FEELING a touch underwhelmed by the somewhat subdued club scene in Glasgow at the moment, help is at hand in the form of Ouch! The club collective are currently planning a second wave of events around the city, from full on extravaganzas featuring live music and a cabal of DJ talent to sedate Sunday socials. Keep an eye out for the ever inventive flyers, the latest being a pair of surgical gloves to be 'worn when listening to inferior music’. If a spot of live entertainment between DJ excursions floats your boat, the new Firehorse Foundations pre-club is also well worth checking out. Their ventures in the past offered genuine surprises, from weird improvised jazz ’n’ bass to straightforward funk, and their commitment to showcasing 01s on the verge of making it big gives the kids a chance to hear music from the margins in an accessible setting.