‘I THINK WE'VE STAYED TRUE TO OUR ROOTS'
Allan Dunbar
Ride th “whrlwid
Mark Edmundson catches up with the team at Headspin as they celebrate their big tenth birthday
t was the winter ol‘ 08. and. inspired by l‘ellow lel'tlield institution Messenger Sound System. :\llan Dunbar and Slcye Austen landed themselyes a brand new club night at the old Bongo. determined they were going to pill on something a little different from the norm. “The big clubs at the time would‘ye been
'l‘ribal Function. a fairly young .\langa and lots of
housc clubs. l’ure was still on the go and Big Beat was a bit of a thing around that time too.‘ remembers Dunbar ol' the Iidinburgh scene. ‘But all the clubs tended to stick to one kind of music which was what we wanted to get away l‘rom.’
Friends had introduced the pair to award-winning bedroom D.l (‘olin .‘ylillar. whose mi\ ol‘ quality hip hop. classic funk and drum & bass proy ed the missing link between Dunbar‘s house and big beat roots and .-\usten‘s penchant for party soul. l‘unk and reggae. and the three set out on what would be a lto datel ten-year odyssey. welcoming turntablist Daya into the ranks and laying dow n the grooy c to the Bongo littitltlitll.
‘\\'e tried to please e\eryone. not by compromising musically but just by playing the best of all sty lesf says Dunbar ol~ a Headspin hymn sheet that excluded no specilic style from the soul spectrum and beyond but cherry—picked the creatn ot‘ all crops. 'lt‘s still the same ethos today. \Ve'ye stuck to our original template really and I think we'ye stay ed true to our roots.'
()yer the years the Headspin crew haye pioneered the use ol~ two D.ls on tour turntables. experimented with liye instrumental jams augmenting the mix. introduced liye Visual projections from Foundlight. staged performances from national sensations Aim and J-Walk
as well as local success stories like Found and the X- \'ector.s. and lime made pechssionist Bongo Dave at regular lixture and lil'th member.
\Vhile l'aithl'ul attendees will tell you that the resident liights are where it's at. it is in the roll call of special guests that we see Headspin's wider allegiance.
Legendary eyenings haye been spent in the company of
Mr Scruff. DJ Yoda. Andy Smith. Mark Rae. The llerbaliser. The l’sy chonauts. The ['nabombers and The Nextmen to name btit a few. and all before (though seyeral haye returned after) they made the big push into the oyer-ground.
‘For a long time we were putting on names who were
just on the cusp ol‘ greatness; now we want to get
names that people already want to see.‘ explains Dunbar. addressing a more recent trend for bagging tabled names like Marc Mac. Tom Middleton. David Holmes and Norman Jay. “It's really because we want to see them too — the chance to play alongside these guys is fantastic.‘ If there is a direction for the club in the future Dunbar belieyes this might be where it's going. with the return of floor-filling DJ Format in Febrttary.
‘.-\ lot of clubs. certainly in Edinburgh. haye hit ten years and called it a day but we've had a really. really strong year and there’s no doubt we would miss it if we stopped. l'm sure we'll know when it's time to knock it on the head. it it starts getting rubbish we'll stop. but hopefully that won't happen.‘
Headspin celebrate their tenth birthday at the Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Sat 26 Jan.
THE BEST DANCE-FLOORiACTION
Back Tao Mine A house party vibe is promised at this new night, with tea, toast. booze and Bis (who guest on 25 Jan only). Got any Marmite for that? The Flying Duck, Glasgow. week/y Fridays.
:1 Mange 'And now. the end is here. And so I face the final curtain . . .' Manga bows out in style as 12 years of drum 8. bass goodness comes to a close in the company of Commix and DJ Die. The Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Sat 19 Jan.
:2: Mungo's HI Fl Brother Culture guest at this first birthday party at the GSA tor Glasgow's premier dub and dancehall night, now with added grime and dubstep. Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Fri 25 Jan.
:. Pressure Legendary Detroit techno innovator Derrick May invades the decks at Pressure. with a typically jam-packed line- up in support. Arches, Glasgow, Fri 25 Jan.
:1. Headspin Funky goodness and tour deck tuntablology as Headspin marks its tenth birthday. The Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Sat 26 Jan.
1' Spiced Morgan’s Spiced and XFM collide once more. and this time they’re bringing Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip (pictured) — the men behind the mighty “Thou Shalt Always Kill' — with them. Box, Glasgow, Sat 26 Jan.
: t Optima A new venue for Optimo's Edinburgh endeavour and it’s just as good as ever. Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Sat 26 Jan.
:5 How's Your Party? Quite possibly Radio 1's most eclectic DJ, Mary Anne Hobbes. serves up a fisttul of good-time electronic rock'n'roll. The Sub Club, Glasgow, Thu 31 Jan.
17—31 Jan 2008 THE LIST 29