5*
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Colours at The Arches, Glasgow, Sun 27 May.
hances are you’ve heard of
Paul Van Dyk. He hogs the
lion’s share of awards from the commercial dance press, his productions and remixes litter the charts, and a promoter only has to print his name on a flyer to guarantee a sell-out crowd. And what’s more, his success spans the UK, US and Europe. For Van Dyk there’s no masterplan behind his enduring popularity, it’s all just a hobby that got out of hand.
‘You know,’ he says, ‘I was just a clubber in Berlin, and was going to clubs playing Detroit techno, which I loved, but I missed the song elements, the melodic elements you get in other music. So, I went out and found records with those elements, made some tapes for my friends and one of those tapes ended up with a promoter.’ It’s the usual story, although
few manage to scale the commercial heights reached by Van Dyk, and the DJ can’t quite
fathom the reasons behind his successes. ‘The success I’ve had doesn’t surprise me, because I was never really looking for it. I’ve never made a track or played a track that hasn’t been for me to enjoy myself, and the cool thing is that many other people seem to like that stuff too. I suppose I’m just
a pretty lucky guy.’
So far, so self-effacing, but there is one word that can get Van Dyk going: trance. ‘Oh no!’ he says, clearly exasperated by the genre he’s associated with. ‘I always just call it electronic music. I don’t have these preconceived ideas about tracks, there is a lot of nonsense talked about what is techno, what is trance. If I had to play what people call
.. iSl [MS LIVE BAND EAST WEST CONNECTION Big Beat, Edinburgh, Fri 25 May.
l :. suiited among the league of UK soul luminaries that includes Gilles l3. teison and Norman Jay, Dr Bob “RES .8 an astoundineg influential figure in contemporary black music. He ut l‘ilS DJing teeth playing jazz to the ': il< dancefloors as early as 1971; pat. ed an integral role in the formation .lf“.l success of London's top pirate Hillt‘ station Kiss FM: has his own unease imprint Black On Black Records. l has; recently Joined with long-time ‘ilit'?tlgtl(9 Lofty from Chilli Funk and xiiig Records to form the soulful dance r”-.l‘i(‘:§l0ll that is East West Connection. i’lt‘ project came about in 1997 when .t nes suggested he and his old friend . mitt. do a cover of the Teddy l’twrtdergrass classic ‘The More | Get'. win little thought. the name of the {l'i‘illiCllOll unit was coined -— ‘a simple. :; 't‘plt? thing because he came from the .-.i=::t side of London and I came from 1w east s:de.' says Jones — and East \‘.»_-::t Connection was born. When the duo came to record the first a ': mm tney recruited the services of Mind New Heavies keyboard player Ni 4 Cowley. who in turn enlisted some
72 THE LIST 3.1 May—T Jun 2001
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‘I’m just a lucky guy’ says van Dyk
trance and nothing else, I would have given up DJing ten years ago. It’s so boring, who wants to hear exactly the same thing for six hours?’
Judging by the snaking queues that greet Van Dyk’s frequent appearances in Scotland, his inclusive approach goes down rather well, and he’s
keen to return the compliment: ‘Two of my best gigs
(Jack Mottram)
of the UK‘s leading jazz and funk players. Thanks to these collaborations. so live sounding was the first album that East West Connection started getting requests to play live shows. And so what began as a studio project developed into a road band purely by popular demand.
Having recently released their second album Nothing Can Hold Us Back. featuring contributions from acclaimed vocalists like Terry Callier and
have been at Colours in Glasgow and Sublime in Edinburgh. The crowds in Scotland are very much aware that they are part of it, they don’t go out and wait to be entertained, they understand that they are as responsible for a good night as the DJ. For me as a DJ, it’s the best thing a crowd can do.’
Dr Bob and Lofty get connected
Blacksmiths Pete Trotiiian. Jones is keen to nurture the project's; live feel and to encourage creative input from the muSiCians themselves. He compares the relationship between he and Lofty and the musicians who realise thezr songs to that of Patrick Forge amt iii; band Da Lata: ‘Lofti, and l are strictly musiCians but we no ante. produce and mix so it's a classic Case of they need us and we need themf (Catherine Bromleyi
Word up
The latest C/ub news . . .
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IF YOU REALLY WANT TO push the boat out though, there's one dance festival that looks set to beat the others into submission. It’s called Ecosystem 1.0 and it takes place smack in the middle of the Amazon rainforest from 2-5 August, featuring Afrika Bambaataa, Bryan Gee, Armand Van Helden, Moby and Grooverider amongst many others. The event is supported in the UK by drum & bass mag Knowledge and affordable tour packages will be available. For more info contact liquidskymusic@ hotmail.com or alex@ knowledgemag.co.uk.
lHi Sf CUM) ANNlJAl
‘i a .‘3l(lf: chant, par/ii Scottish Dance in if. rile to take place later Till“; iiirintl‘. l’rriirioter'f‘. and ills froiri Scotland’s top club niglitr; '.‘.rill f)‘; allowing their prrmefy. on Mon 78 May at f)f).'.l‘.:ll‘:£l(lllf;. f)f)fl()l)‘:ll(), Proceeds go towards lite ‘v.r'."a.erle,’ lrust and all support is greatly (ti/l)f(:’;l£ll‘:’l, Please call Oliil ()6?) 226‘} for more llliffllllélll’Jll.