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Joey Negro PREVIEW TECHNO RADIONASTY Jackhammer at the Caves, Edinburgh, Fri 28 Oct.
Radioactive Man and Billy Nasty have both played Jackhammer before but now they’re back in a new itineration, as two-headed techno mutant Radionasty, drawing on both their styles to create a fresh new sound. ‘Our first track was quite dark fast electro but the others have got a deeper edge,’ explains Radioactive Man (aka Keith Tenniswood) of their recent productions. ‘It’s not straight-up techno, I hate the word tech-house but there are house elements in there and it’s a little bit deeper than we expected.’
Tenniswood is, of course, no
stranger to groundbreaking electronica duos, first appearing on most clubbers’ radar as one half of Two Lone Swordsmen alongside Andrew Weatherall. ‘In the early 90s it was all about raves and free parties, then I started going to the Drum Club, Sabre Sonic and Full Circle, where I got to meet various people such as Mr Weatherall and Jagz Kooner from Sabres of Paradise and sort of got involved at their studio. They took me on, basically making the tea and skinning up, and let me in at weekends and I learnt how to use bits and bobs.’ Tenniswood went on to release a
slew of tough electro and techno releases (including a Fabric mix) and worked alongside David Holmes, Beth Orton, Sven Vath and more. ‘I like interacting with other people in the studio, it can get a bit boring on your own,’ adds Tenniswood. ‘Myself and Billy have been mates for years, we’d been doing some stuff in the studio together, messing about and the results were pretty good, we’ve actually got a couple of records coming out on Craig Richards’ label.’ Not forgetting a track on a EMP’s tenth anniversary compilation.
Now they are taking to the clubs with a back-to-back DJ set. ‘I kinda like that two records on, two records off, because you get to mix a few and it’s a bit more of a jamming vibe. It’s going to be pretty full-on dancefloor stuff but it’s not aggressive techno, I’m going to say “firm but fair”,’ he laughs. (Henry Northmore)
‘THE SOUL SCENE HAS A HISTORY OF ALL NIGHT LICENCES’
‘On the Northern Soul side, we’ve got Brad Wilson from Detroit and Honky from New York, who supposedly has the biggest soul collection in the world, he was the guy who bought Frank Wilson’s ‘Do I Love You?’, the most expensive record ever.’ There are plans, says Haughton, to make this an annual event and move towards using the venue’s full three thousand plus capacity, although it’s hard to see how this debut line-up can be beaten
Cairndale Hotel & Leisure Club, Dumfries, Fri 4–Sun 6 Nov. Radioactive Man
20 Oct–17 Nov 2011 THE LIST 55
LIVING FOR THE WEEKEND Todd Terry, Kerri Chandler, Lil Louis, Joey Negro, Greg Wilson, Craig Charles and many more descend on Dumfries for the Scottish Soulful Weekender. David Pollock finds out more
Aberdeen or London. ‘The soul scene also has a history of all-night licences, until 7 or 8am in the morning,’ he continues, ‘and you’re not going to get those licenses in antiquated Edinburgh.’ Interest seems to have been strong, with half of the planned-for 1000 tickets sold with six weeks to go until the event. Of the venue, Haughton says ‘I think it has more function rooms than any hotel I’ve ever seen,’ including a reproduction art deco main ballroom and various smaller spaces, including one which will be given over to young and emerging talent.
Contained within that will be a line-up which could easily grace a venue like the Arches. ‘I think I’m most excited about Todd Terry,’ says Haughton. ‘He’s one of the world’s biggest DJs, I think I’m right in saying he’s only played in Scotland once before. Nobody can quite believe we’ve managed to book him. Kerri Chandler’s been a huge success at Southport before, Greg Wilson’s a big name on the funk and disco edits scene and I know Lil Louis has played the Sub Club a couple of times recently, where people said he smashed it.
A weekend of soul music held at a hotel in Dumfries & Galloway sounds almost like a niche market event, a retro get-together for old school Northern Soul junkies to relive the glory days. Yet Yogi Haughton, the promoter of the first Scottish Soulful Weekender, has a wide-ranging definition of the word ‘soul’ – that’s why this incredible-looking three-day weekender includes house legends like Todd Terry, Kerri Chandler, Lil Louis and Joey Negro alongside more traditionally soulful DJs and artists including Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, Greg Wilson and Craig Charles.
‘It’s inspired by the Southport Weekender,’ says
Haughton, a familiar face on Edinburgh’s club scene for many years, ‘which started off as a soul weekender and then grew towards the dance end of the spectrum – they didn’t quite turn their back on soul, but it became less important. I used to DJ at Southport and I also used to DJ at the Prestatyn Weekender, which did the soul thing very well but didn’t have a lot of good house, so I figured there was a niche for an event that was musically right in the middle.’
How well does he think the two audiences will complement one another, though? ‘A lot of people in one genre can’t understand the other, but this will be for people who find every emotion in their body stirred by both. Even in jazz music, soul is soul is soul.’ In Haughton’s eyes both audiences are the same audience, separated only by generations. Although Dumfries & Galloway has a rich local art scene, it’s perhaps not the most urban location for something like this. That suits Haughton just fine, as he points out ‘the Midlands of the north’ is actually quite central if you want to draw an audience (by train to either Dumfries or Lockerbie) from Manchester,