Strawberry Circus

The reputation of Beat Circus now is up there with all the major players of the party nights to go to in Brighton. With a cult following already well established, it’s not hard to see how the Strawberry Circus was a phenomenal success, raising over £4000 for charity that will build a school in Africa. The good karma is oozing out of this collective of very wonderful people. Collaborating with the Strawberry social, a concept of good things happening for good reasons under the guise of a shindig is the brainchild of Simon (Strawberry).

An all day all night event gathered with a diverse cross section of Brightonians. The free-party hippies partied with families and breaks heads raved with indie kids, moshing at the front. No-one escaped the lick of paint as beautiful revellers stumbled around with an array of strawberries, butterflies, prawns and owls plastered over their faces. It was the kind of camaraderie and fun vibe that the Beat Circus achieves with finesse from their previous parties such as the Wig Party and Tash Club. Tongue firmly in cheek, poking fun at the other themed party nights that seem to give the nouvea riche chavs and Snafu collective ladies the green card to go out dressed in a mere whisper of pink nylon and look even more slutty than usual.

Rocking up at a very respectable 5pm or so one would think, the day and night was already a sell out. Wafts of Jamaican chicken from the BBQ and the fantastic sounds of Los Albertos winding up their set, established a very exciting atmosphere. Circus, being a collective of mad entertainment really lived up to its name. Live music in the courtyard, dogs, kids, nutters, graffiti and poetry reading on stage, it was hard to know where to look or what to do next. As the afternoon merged in a haze to the evening- the Beat Circus DJ’s took little time to whip up some madness on the dance floor as everyone was itching for a good stomp. The King and Queen offered the opportunity to showcase their concept to a wider audience and more room to manoeuvre and throw shapes on stage themselves. Double horn action was backed up with a set on a blow up sax by Rusty, by that time of day and closing one eye to focus on stage, his delivery was rather convincing. Jay J Lovelle, Leekey Beatz and Rusty lapped up the vibe and gave the crowd the classics to get them jumping- and if the venue wasn’t made of prehistoric granite (The King and Queen sure does seem that old) the walls would have been shaking too. Banging tracks such as the Circus anthem Bass Phenomena and Groove Amada thundered out peppered with some more progressive electro techy breaks sounds. With Adam Aaren producing their own tracks that are laid under the live music and cameo instruments appearances- the sound is well executed, smooth and professional. Plaza de Funk and Steelzawheelz were next to get some action with the decks. Plaza, a DJ and producer from Fat Records (where the geniuses of banging tunes and eccentric head gear that we all do an impression of when camping singing the rave version of Dr Who, the one and only Orbital) kept the party vibe electric. Steelz is a very established name on the breaks arena hails from West Records- both artists kept a crowd alive that after a day on it should have been flagging by now. Brighton party people are made of harder stuff.

With urchins scaling the castle walls, literally attempting a break in through the toilet windows it was rammed to capacity. Soul of Man’s appearance topped off a fantastic day, his play list and style cut though heady state and wobbly knees producing a stellar atmosphere and 5th wind to make everyone dance with the same enthusiasm as when they first bounded through the doors, hundreds of yellow bangle buddies. The founders of Finger Licking Records and boasting a collection of break beat classics under their belts as producers, banging them out from Ibiza to Glade, certainly suited the headonism of a Brighton party.

With good things set for the future of Beat Circus and its first birthday approaching we can expect bigger and brighter stuff to happen. Get on your dancing shoes and keep the dressing up box handy.

Words: Catherine