Clubs INTRODUCING . . .
Patrice Scott
The best new nights in town. KNOCK KNOCK Residents ‘We don’t have any,’ says co-promoter Grainne Braithwaite (pictured). ‘We’re just going to ask DJs from Scotland who we like, or people who might not DJ but who we know have good taste in music.’ Lined up for some of the first few dates are Mogwai, Dolby Anol and Pro- Vinylist Karim. Guests Live bands every week, with the hotly-tipped D/R/U/G/S appearing on 9 Feb. ‘People are really excited about D/R/U/G/S right now,’ says Braithwaite. ‘The other week The Guardian compared them to Orbital.’ 16 Feb hasn’t been confirmed yet, but previous guests Becoming Real and Rocketnumbernine should give you a clue.
Music policy Whatever the hell works, you might have realised by now. What they say ‘Me and Rob [Morrison, co-promoter] were talking about it,’ says Braithwaite, ‘and we decided there’s so much good stuff to do during the week, but nothing on a Wednesday. And also, I’ve noticed through promoting gigs that your standard seven until ten show doesn’t work for bands like D/R/U/G/S or Becoming Real. It feels like your night’s just starting and it’s over. That’s no fun.’
What we say Braithwaite’s company Synergy Concerts has a shining reputation for booking some astonishing cutting-edge artists, so you needn’t worry about the music. Morrison – who is the entertainments convener at the Art School union – will also be introducing a visual element to the show by allowing GSA students to display their work on the night. Even if it ends up shutting in the summer with the union itself, this still promises to be an unmissable midweek set for the next few months. (David Pollock) ■ The Art School, Glasgow, weekly Wed.
40 THE LIST 3–17 Feb 2011
FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY STAY PLASTIC La Cheetah, Glasgow, Fri 11 Feb; The Halt, Glasgow, Sat 12 Feb
‘We never wanted this night to be about one specific genre,’ says Grahame Ward, one of the trio behind fresh-faced party night Stay Plastic. ‘It was about playing electronic dance music that we all liked, from techno to garage to UK funky, and getting in some of the best new talent that had never played Glasgow before.’ Although Stay Plastic’s only been a regular concern for a year, Ward, Chris Dardis and Richard Strang (aka residents Wardy, Sidrad and Danceaff) first ran a couple of nights under the same name half a decade ago, when they were youngsters receiving their musical education through nights like Pressure and Numbers,
when the latter was at the Brunswick Hotel basement. Yet now they’ve reached the level where they can attract a big name birthday guest like Detroit’s Patrice Scott. ‘We’re big fans of his music and his Sistrum label,’ says Ward, ‘and we’ve heard good reports from mates in London about his set. Besides, if we were to stop the club next month, we’d want to say we’d had someone from Detroit in to play.’ To make the occasion special, and possibly also to
prove their hardcoreness, the trio will be hosting a very late afterparty at the Halt on Woodlands Road the next day. ‘We’ve got guys from some of our favourite nights,’ says Ward, ‘like Fortified, Jelly Roll Soul, Scrabble and Hologram. They’re mates of ours too, you tend to see a lot of the same faces at the quality underground nights. I think the same entry fee just gets passed about between us over each month.’ (David Pollock)
ELECTRO CONGOROCK Fuse at The Lane, Edinburgh, Fri 4 Feb
Fuse continue in their dedicated search for the best in underground dance beats as they welcome Congorock for his Edinburgh debut. ‘I was attracted by loud music in general. Punk, hardcore, Detroit techno, I liked every kind of aggressive style of music,’ explains Congorock (whose real name is the equally magnificent Rocco Rampino). ‘One of my good friends in my school was a DJ so it was just normal to me to hang out at his place listening to dance music. When I was a kid there were no boundaries about the stuff I wanted to listen to, and its still like that.’
An Italian producer who has worked and toured with contemporaries Bloody Beetroots and Crookers, specialising in hard frenzied beats and squealing acid that collapses into frantic breakdowns or ‘fat heavy beats with a tribal flavour and dirty synth lines,’ as Congorock describes it himself. ‘I like distortion in my synth lines. Also I try to produce my beats in order to make them sound as realistic as possible. Giving a human touch to dance music makes a big difference.’ You can see what he means favouring rough ragged beats to overly refined faceless electronica.
Picking up remix work for the likes of Rex the Dog, Swedish House Mafia and Mark Ronson, Congorock should make the perfect farewell party for Fuse at The Lane as they move to doing a series of one off parties at different venues across the city. (Henry Northmore)