CHILLQ‘JT
CURIOS
Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Every Sunday
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’lt‘m'tix/t/l’l. ‘.'/itn its tax, atriioerihere. striking decor and relaxed feel. it", the ideal place for wasting the day away And it's all free. Who you ran't get something for nothing?
Curios l‘, run by Malcolm Hamilton. a veteran from the club's shortlived original incarnation back in the late (lbs. and Tommy Mullins. an actor who was keen to dip his toe in the club promotion waters. ‘We've revamped and regenerated it.' says Mullins. explaining the sudden reappearance of Curios last summer. 'We wanted to do something different. I'm a keen clubber but because I'm from an acting background l'm interested in bringing theatre to an audience that might not otherwrse experience something like that. That's the thinking behind the event.'
With a collective of DJs Involved who play anything from ambient Spanish blues through to trance. Mullins says that they're keen to keep a relaxed feel to the place. Hence the retro games. “We've got stuff like Screwball Scramble, Hungry Hippos. Jenga. air hockey. dominoes and card games. and we cover all the tables in paper and proVide crayons so people can doodle while they're chilling'
Central to Curios is its ever—changing interior design and themed events. ‘We use a lot of recycled materials to dress the place. Again. it's that Curios thing of revamping and reusmg. We've had Peter Pan and Narnia events. a Garden of Eden theme and a fish and pond thing going on.' They're currently planning an event based on the surreal children's book Where The Wi/d Things Are.
'I was in Mexrco and I saw this [warm guy wrapped in silver dancing With two strobe lights in his hands. Something simple like that thrown sporadically into an event can really keep people on their toes. That's what we to bring to Curios — something that makes people say “Did I really see that or was I drunk?”
(Andrew Midgleyl
38 THE LIST 6—20 Jan 2005
Mark MacKechnie and DJ Tanyuska
‘JE‘I'I Q'EN'JE CHINAWHITE Chinawhite, Glasgow. various nights
Footballers of Glasgow, take heed. London‘s fibertrendy clubbing emporium Chinawhite opened its doors officially in Glasgow last month, becoming only the third branch of the chain around the world (the second is lbiza‘s Mao Rooms, opened in 2001). The name has achieved almost a Stringfellow’s level of notoriety as a media glitterati hangout. The club however are keen to point out that they are open to all comers.
The idea is to present a relaxed atmosphere for anyone from 18 to 80, although a discretionary door policy is in effect. The thinking is simple. While the club want to respect their customers with a chilled-out, ‘no clipboard' attitude, they don‘t want the place to descend into an alcopop-stained OK Corral by night’s end. Which is just as well, because the silk- curtained, Eastern-themed procession of private and public rooms are a world away from the stripped down stone and wood surfaces of Lowdown - the bar that formally occupied this space.
Musically, the emphasis is also on doing something a little more upmarket than your common-or- garden fleshmarket. ‘Fridays and Saturdays are your regular R&B nights,’ explains Mark MacKechnie, marketing manager, DJ-booker and also one of the men behind Traxx and Melting Pot. ‘But we also have Andrew Pirie from Melting Pot on Fridays, who’ll be playing a mixture of Afrobeat and funky house at the start of the night. On Wednesdays we have Stuart McCorrisken and Tanyuska from (Glasgow synth-poppers) Salon Boris, who play electro-funk and what Stuart calls beat-pop, on Thursdays it’s Mash (Martin Jengahead), Kev from
the Buff Club and Paul Cawley. And then Sunday is Harri from the Sub Club, which is pretty self- explanatory.
‘From nine until midnight, the aim is a laid-back, chilled-out vibe, and when it hits 12 it becomes a full- on party with folk dancing on tables . . . which we’re actually fine with!‘ (David Pollock)
This Issue: Xp/iC/‘f With such hugely-respected nights as Manga and Obscene already going strong in the city, this
new monthly D&B-focused night aims to help cement Edinburgh’s reputation as Scotland’s jungle capital. Why should we be interested?
A shit-hot line-up of new and talented guests. for starters ’lhere's DJ l riction. who was nominated as Best DJ. Best Newcomer DJ and Best NOV/C(Nlmf Producer at the Accelerated Culture awards in December. He has been backed by Grooverider and Ed Rush. and is a True Playa/ recording artiste. there's also. Baron. yet another producer who's likely to establish himself over the next 1;) months. wrth 'l'he Way It Was' havrng already achieved top spot in the Radio 1 Drum 8. Bass chart and been inducted into the Breakbeat Kaos crew.
And on vocal duties? MC Eksman. whose good showings at the Accelerated Culture Awards as Best Lyrical MC and Best Crowd-Hyping MC — as well as a win under Best Newcomer MC — mean that his lyrical stock is rising Just as fast as Friction and Baron's are on the decks. Alongside residents ENO and form Piper of Mischief. it all adds up to a duality young line-up for this fresh-faced Club.
With a proliferation of drum & bass clubs on the go what makes this lot stand out?
‘With Friction the 'DJ of the moment' and Eksman the ‘MC of the moment' I can't see there being man, complaints' says promoter Simon McGrath. ‘I really feel there's an opening for the approach we are taking and. haying confirmed further bookings. I know the lineups are only gong to get sicker' (Davrd Pollocki
I Honeycomb. Edinburgh. Sat 75 Jan