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GUEST DJ
DJ Cosmo at Tangent
The Riverside Club, Glasgow, Sat 13
Jan. Tangent are no strangers to
unconventional venues, whether it’s proving a tug boat is the ideal space for disco dancing or rocking restaurants after hours. This time, Eamonn and Gerard are back on dry land and in an almost-standard club, The Riverside, normally home to the ceilidh massive.
These days, Tangent have turned back the clock on house music, programming sets that take in pop, soul, electro and disco but operate within a house music format. As such, DJ Cosmo is a natural guest, a woman who launched her career at David Mancuso's The Loft, one of the few nightclubs that genuinely deserves the ubiquitous epithet, ’Iegendary'. When you add to the mix regular sets at the equally renowned Body & Soul, a brace of groundbreaking radio shows on New York’s WNYU FM, mixing up house, garage and disco cuts and a steady slew of quality production work, you know Glasgow is in for a treat.
Now based in London, it may come as a surprise to house aficionados that the famously picky New York crowds are less of a challenge than your typical British clubber. 'Over here,’ says Cosmo, 'the great thing is that your average person knows a lot about music of all different kinds, and it’s more challenging here to keep things fresh because people latch onto new things much more quickly. In the States it can take years for people to get into a new trend, so that constant change is a thing I really enjoy.’
'One thing I'll always miss about New York is the dancers, though. At The Loft and Body & Soul you really did get the best dancing you'll ever see, especially at
Trade’s DJ Ziad christens the new venture
NEW NIGHT
The divine doyene of disco house: DJ Cosmo
The Loft - I know I'll never see anything like that again, and on that scale. It was incredible how they used to move, and understand the music so well, so if there was a break with no drums the crowd would all be moving, whereas most people tend to just stop and wait for the next beat.’
As for Glasgow, Cosmo‘s last appearance at Tangent's Sub Club Friday nighter in 1999 went down a treat. 'The last time I played at Tangent it was fantastic,’ she says, ’plus I got to play at the Sub Club before it burnt down! This time it’s going to be more of a retro disco-thing, which will be great, and well suited to the venue, which I hear is kind of out of the ordinary. I’ve been talking to the guys from Tangent, and from the sound of it, my set should fit perfectly with what they’re planning: plenty of disco.’ (Jack Mottram)
they’re really gay nights that should really be called ’straight-friendly' We're dOing a straight night that’s gay friendly'
It may not be self-conSCiOusly glamorous, but that doesn’t mean Shift aren’t making an effort. Pyrotechnics, proiection screens, UV lighting and profeSSional graphic design should help the launch go With a bang Adding some not inconsiderable clout to the occaSion is London DJ Ziad of Trade and Sundissential fame
When its regular run starts in March, the guests Will continue to rock in, but
Shift La Belle Angele, Edinburgh, Sat 6 Jan.
The aftermath of New Year is a time for chilling. It's a time for working out detailed, over-ambitious exerCise plans, for casting your mind back over scenes of mayhem With a slightly worried chuckle, It's a time to refuel your batteries
But it's Surely never been a time to launch a club, let alone another hard house monster7 Well, blow me down if the bOys and girls at Shift haven’t decided to do Just that. The first Saturday of the month sees
Edinburgh's newest club launch at Wilkie House, helping scotch the rumours that the venue was gomg to have an attack of the cheesy choons come 2001.
But won’t its kick-off be marred by fixture congestion? Co-promoter Duncan Compton doesn't see it that way. ’I think as far as Edinburgh is concerned, yOu have got a lot of hard house mghts,’ he concedes, ‘but most of them are at the glamorous end of the scale, a lot of our friends wanted the mUSlC Without the hassle of dressmg up. Also nights like Joy and Luvely are called ’gay-friendly' when
they won’t be the only focus of Shift. ReSidents include the Reverend Ross, who likes to combine ‘a tough beat With tribal funk’ and Phil York, who prefers it ‘bOuncy and banging’ But as Compton explains, they're all diSCiples of the hard house gospel: 'We're not going to Just throw in a bit of trance or progressive house '
And With that, as purists everywhere heave a sigh of relief and check their January diaries to see if they really need four days to recover from Hogmanay, Compton concludes confidently ‘I promise you, it’s gomg to blow people away.’ (James Smart)
clubs@list.co.uk
Word up
'THE MUCH-POSTPONED VAPOUR finally hits town at The Arches on Friday 6 February. It looks set to be a bit of a mixed bag of left-of-centre dance music, with the first one featuring the rather stylish Hard Hands label, who are bringing Paul Daly and Nick Rappochli (no? us neither) and the rather better known talents of Pressure Drop, aided and abetted by MC Cheshire Cat. The big draws are in the next arch, however, as celebrity toy collector and Mo' Wax head honcho James Lavelle cuts up some dope plastic, while the portly master of house, Jon Carter turns the party out later on.
FANS OF THE mighty Hi Kaiate, hoiire of the fun newsletter and tunky heat Will be distraught to learn that the t luh is on hiatus until March, apparently because Neil T‘v'l(l(_l\llll(lll is be<oniing a hobo for a couple of months, and Andrev.‘ Divine has hurt his ankle If either of these 't'acts' are, in fact, facts, we \\lSll them both well
AFTER A VERITABLE flood of replies to our generous give away of five Dobedo.co.uk record bags, we can now announce that the lucky recipients will be Neil Anderson, Jennifer Franklin, Mark Foster, Steve McMahon and Greg Stoffels. Congratulations to you all — your treats will arrive in the very near future.
HONEYCOMB ENTERTAlvalENTS HAVE at last announced that the spectacular new club on the former site of The Vaults Will open on Saturday 24 February The launch night, ‘lT’, Will feature a five hour set from special guest Roger Sanchez
FETISH FREAKS KEEN to get their kinky kicks can look forward to another Scottish Cyber Ball at Studio 24 on Saturday 23 February. Tickets are available in advance at £12 from Ripping and Zyberzone (Flip Basement).
THOSE OUT THERE partial to a bit of rare groove action Will be singing hallelujah when they hear that the maestro Keb Darge ‘lJQIO‘.‘v’l is coming to Edinburgh later this month He'll be hosting a night of his legendary deep funk and rare groove at the Wee Red On Friday 26 January and even though he looks like an old puffin past his prime, yOu can guarantee that Ill this case older is most definitely Wiser