Stompa Phunk: D.Ramirez & Holly Cooper // Audio

Who are the djs & what’s the night about?
D. Ramirez is Dean Marriott, Sheffield house guru who’s gone by many guises over the past 15 years. See: Masters of the Monotonal Groove, Lisa Marie Experience Project, Fingerfest Inc. See also Vudu label and Slave Recordings. A staggeringly long discography including “Auto Porno”, “Chemical Whore” and Freaque On”.

Holly Cooper is one of Stompa Phunk’s newest residents . Last October, she made a special mix for BF that was pretty stunning and got me into some new artists I’d never heard of such as Henrik B.

And Stompa Phunk is, well, Stompa Phunk!

Why did I want to go to the night?
I actually had no idea why I knew who D. Ramirez was so strictly speaking, I wasn’t a fan. However, as the Saturday night approached, I had this niggling feeling at the back of my head –”go, go, go”. His name flashes up on the occasion on my playlist, as I have a fairly eccentric & idiosynchratic way of amassing music (as do most people, I suspect). I also try to make an effort to go see DJs I’ve never seen, not dissimilar to the ethos of ordering something you’ve never tried before when going out to eat. Finally, Stompa Phunk feature quality acts, and even though Fusion loves the night more than I do, I trust their rubber-stamp of approval whole-heartedly. That should probably go without saying for Brighton people.

What did I think of the dj?
Unfortunately, I arrived too late or left too early, but I somehow managed to miss Holly’s set. It was probably more that I was late, due to watching the rubgy match over with the White Rhino lot at Barney’s. I don’t even like rugby, but offers of champagne are stupid to pass up. D. Ramirez looks like he’s a year-round Miami resident. He sported chin-length bleach blond hair and a tight black muscle shirt and it was either the dark or he had a pretty decent tan as well. I hadn’t heard the Cuban anecdote, but I can see how people might think he’s not English. I’m always surprised how first impressions can be deceptive. I had a similar thing happen at Le Name when I saw Damian Lazarus and assumed he was French (he’s British) and then realised who he was — doh!

Getting back to Saturday night — I was already a bit messy when I arrived at the club, but the club was pretty full and D. Ramirez was into his set, playing largely an electro-driven set. Everyone was really getting down to his tracks and so was I! Although one person I talked to didn’t rate some of the track selections in D. Ramirez’s set, I felt he connected with the crowd in a tangible way. He was such a happy smiley DJ, constantly reaching out to fans who pressed up against the glass to shake his hand or ask for whatever tune. Always a complete nightmare for DJs, but D. Ramirez handled it all in his stride and as a DJ, his positive attitude is a rarity (as they’re usually moody fuckers, aren’t they?okay maybe not!).

What did I think of the night itself?
There was quite a lot of support on the night, with a pretty decent crowd in the club. There were a lot of young (18-25) males out, some of whom smelled (smoking ban is truly and utterly a bad thing, I can see why now). However the ones that didn’t smell were good dancers, and I remember having a funky little shake of the tail feathers with some tall lanky boy — hopscotch for the cool kids. A fun night overall with lots of smiling and a lot of sweat — all the hallmarks of a quality night. I left at about 2.30am, and skipped off to the party down the road at Pressure Point, where friends were awaiting my arrival.

http://www.myspace.com/dramirezmusic
http://www.myspace.com/hollycooper
http://www.stompaphunk.com/

Audio
http://www.audiobrighton.com

10 Marine Parade
Brighton
East Sussex
Tel: 01273-624343

info@audiobrighton.com

Words: Amy the Film Maker