Greg Bowes
PREVIEW OFTHEWEEK
As if the banging breakbeats of Cut La Roc and Aphrodite weren’t enough, this month you can catch a staggering assortment of international DJs at two not-to-be-missed Gauteng events.
The first of these is the Select party at Carfax on Friday March 10. Backed by the French Institute, this is the only annual cultural showcase that you can actually dance to, with an impeccable history. In 1998 the headline act was the brilliant Bob Sinclair, who topped charts around the world with the irritatingly catchy Jane Fonda-sampling Gym Tonic track. Last year, Carfax’s cool dance floor was treated to I-Cube’s trickily innovative electro-house and the party-rocking sounds of Kojak and Impulsion.
One only has to look at the recent successes of outfits like Les Rhythmes Digitales and Cassius for proof that French dance music culture isn’t slowing down in the 21st century, and from this pool of talent the French Institute has drawn another truly awesome group of DJs. This year’s line up includes DJ Deep, Pepe Braddock, Eric Rug and Scotsman DJ Q.
DJ Deep and Eric Rug’s tracks have appeared on best-selling local collections like House Afrika Deep House Sounds and the Fresh House Flavas series. The former records as The Deep (with Julien Jabre) while Rug turns out lush disco-house with Marc Collin as Dirty Jesus and on his own as Daphreephunkateerz and Low Tone Priority. Pepe Braddock is half of Trankilou and his tunes consistently appear in the boxes of top DJs the world over.
Scotsman DJ Q may not be a big name yet but undoubtedly will be. It was while working as a suspended-ceiling fitter in 1994 that he released his first single, East End Tracks, and (if you’ll excuse the pun) it raised the roof off many a dance floor with its fusion of slamming disco loops and spacey Detroit futurism. The EPs We Are One and Make Your Mind Up and his debut album Face the Music followed on the Filter label, and his new album Twentyfourseven has just hit the shelves.
With such an abiding and deep dedication to good, ground-breaking music, it’s doubtful you’ll need any of this party’s other attractions, but nonetheless they include VJs, a second outside dance floor with local deck hands and a simulated beach (the only thing missing will be Leonardo).
An equally stellar cast of DJs is lined up for Virtual Reality, which is being thrown by the Reality posse and which happens at the Mega Music Warehouse in Newtown on March 25. On the bill are house legends Digs and Woosh and jungle giants Shimon and Randall.
Digs and Woosh have been playing out top- notch deep and groovy house with the DIY crew since 1990, when the first Tory anti- rave law came into force. Notorious for their free parties, DIY were Britain’s original house “sound system” – basically a glorified mobile disco. This culminated with their involvement in protests against the 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act.
The dynamic duo have been guests and residents at clubs and venues across the world. Their killer selection skills can be heard on the DJ mix DIY Volume 1, and as producers they’ve been responsible for the Rump Funk EP and the awesome The Message.
Another two heavyweight drum’n’bass DJs round off a monstrous month for trainer- wearing twisters and trainspotters alike. Shimon records for London’s cutting-edge tech-step label Ram Recordings, which has been responsible for ferocious classics like Valley of the Shadows and the Speed of Sound album. On his own or as part of the Ram Trilogy (with Andy C and Ant Miles) he’s produced massive tunes like Quest, Genetix, Mutation and No Reality.
DJ Randall has had a reputation as the undisputed king of drum’n’bass since knockout gigs at early raves like Delirium. He’s played at just about every major jungle event in the UK, including Dreamscape, Helter Skelter and World Dance, and spins regularly on London’s Kiss FM. He also oversees the labels Mac 2 and 24 Karat and a vinyl emporium called De Underground. The party also features local lads the Bass Alliance Posse and the Reality Allstars, breakdancers and “multifunctional smoking parlours”.
With so much flair and damn fine music on show, anybody who can still shake a leg should take advantage. Hell, catch a train if you have to!
Select happens at Carfax, 39 Pim Street, Newtown, on Saturday March 11 from 9pm. Pre-sold tickets are R60 and you’ll pay R70 at the door. Tickets for Virtual Reality are R80 and it takes place at Mega Music Warehouse, Newtown, on Saturday March 25