Clubs
PROFILE Rahzel
www.list.co.uk/clubs Captain Corelli’s Mandolin is carefully designed to
STEVE LAWLER Occupation King of Space
King of Space? OK, I’ve heard of DJs with big egos but this is ridiculous We don’t mean he’s overlord of the cosmos. He’s been resident at Space, the award-winning house superclub in Ibiza, for the last seven years. ‘For a DJ it’s still the hub for electronic music,’ he recently explained. ‘Ibiza has always been about music. There is a magic about the island and its music that is difficult to put into words. To be honest, if I wasn’t in Ibiza at the time I was starting out I might not have perused my career in the way I did. The experiences I had in Ibiza gave me the hunger to become a DJ.’
Phew, so he’s not insane. But what does he get up to when he’s not on the White Isle? His dark and deep tech- house is in demand pretty much all year round. He’s held residencies at legendary venues such as The End (London) and Twilo (New York). Then, of course, there’s the production work with releases on R&S and Bedrock among others, remixes for Justin Timberlake, Maps, Bat For Lashes and Radio Slave, mix CDs (particularly his Lights Out series on Global Underground), and not forgetting his own VIVa Music label. Sounds good, any more info? Lawler ran the now defunct Harlem Records but realised the future was digital. He’s now abandoned physical releases with all VIVa Music only available via digital. The label is a hotbed of up-and-coming talent with deep house and tribal techno cuts from the likes of Dualton, Sean Miller, Dragosh, Town Crier and more. While Lawler has stated he’ll only sign a track if he ‘thinks it’s the bollocks’.
I like a man with passion and convictions, where can I catch him? He’s playing a three-hour set at Musika this fortnight. (Henry Northmore) ■ Musika at Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Sat 24 Oct.
40 THE LIST 22 Oct–5 Nov 2009
HIP HOP RAHZEL AND JS-1 Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Sat 31 Oct
This fortnight Cabaret Voltaire welcomes a great hip hop double act: Rahzel and DJ JS-1. Probably the best known beatboxer of all time, Rahzel has been leading the scene for years, having brought the ‘fifth element of hip hop’ to the world’s attention by way of collaborations with The Roots and his incredible solo live performances. Fellow New York native JS-1 has just released his third album, No Sell Out, which is firmly centered on ‘back in the day’ sampling of funk and soul and features a host of great MCs. One of the highlights, ‘Nuthin’’, features new talent, Brother Ali, sharing the mic with Sadat X and CL Smooth, two legendary rappers from the ‘golden age’.
‘Having Sadat was a no-brainer,’ says JS-1. ‘Working with CL was awesome because I always loved his music. And I added Brother Ali last, after performing with him at Nokia Theatre in NY.’
Asked about their forthcoming performance, Rahzel explains: ‘People can expect to see JS-1 entertain the crowd for a bit with his own set showing off his amazing skills. Then him and I blending things together to entertain the crowd.’ ‘Touring with Rahzel is a blessing,’ adds JS-1. ‘We
have done tons of shows in the past decade, probably close to 1000 by now. We have never prepared anything in advance, honestly.’ The two will be supported by a variety of local hip hop
artists, including well-regarded rapper, Loki, and Scotland’s amazing beat-box talent, Big Taj for a night of hip hop perfection. (Pete MacLeod)
P H O T O :
A A L Y A M A A N
NEW NIGHT FUN SIZE La Cheetah, Glasgow, Fri 30 Oct
‘I’m a bit bored of being serious,’ says Teamy, co-promoter of Fun Size. ‘New music and clubs and even the political vibe of this decade are all a bit serious, really. So I’m going to channel the five-year-old version of me for Fun Size. That’s when my mum bought me some ‘best of 1985’ album because it had ‘Ghostbusters’ on it, but it also had ‘You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)’ by Dead or Alive, ‘Male Stripper’ by Man 2 Man and loads of other Hi-NRG tunes. So I want to channel that five-year-old dancing around the living room in his underpants to the only record he owns.’ Just because ‘fun’ is the word Teamy uses most, it doesn’t mean we’re talking kitsch. Or ‘fun . . . but shit’, as he calls it. He anticipates playing Hi- NRG, classic disco with female vocals and upbeat rock’n’roll from the 50s: basically ‘anything that puts a smile on people’s face.’ It’s a diversion from his other night in Glasgow, Nice’n’Sleazy’s monthly Wrong Island, and also for his co-promoter David Barbarossa. ‘I’ve known David for some years now,’ says Teamy, ‘mostly through meeting on the dancefloor at Optimo dancing wildly to the same tunes. He’s very much a DJ’s DJ; I saw him play with [LCD Soundsystem’s] James Murphy last year, and James was taking note of every song he played.’
Max’s Kansas City itself (and the downstairs club space, La Cheetah) is
the building formerly known as the Twisted Wheel, so expect a fun new night for a fun new venue. (David Pollock)