Photo by Marek Richter

Event promotion is a tough game, and the pain is felt even more during an economic downturn. While some promoters, club nights and record shops fold, solid nights become fewer and a distant memory. Even though nights are not as constant as before, Brighton can still attract the names and throw a great party. Expect good things from Paul Woolford at the Concorde. Recession, what recession?

Support comes in the form of Leeks & SynthetiK Voices. SynthetiK Voices have played various live gigs around Brighton, incorporating Allen & Heath mixers with two synced copies of Ableton Live. The guys also work as product testers for Allen & Heath, exposing them to some of the most cutting edge hardware.

Synthetic Voices: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hrfsK9mzzGk

Tickets: £8 in adv / £6 concession/NUS

Doors: 11pm - 4am

20/02/09

Subtone first started DJing 5 years ago in Poznan (Poland) where his musical journey began. Influenced by DJs such as Richie Hawtin, Dj Hell, Ricardo Villalobos, Sven Vath, Carl Craig, and recently: Claude Von Stroke, Martin Buttrich, Loco Dice to name a few. Subtone has always been interested in quality electronic dance music.

Download audio file (Brighton Fusion – Fat!Beaches with Subtone.mp3)

Brighton Fusion – Fat!Beaches with Subtone.mp3
Right click to download

Lazy Fat People – Science Fiction
Rekorder – Rekorder 6.1 (REK006)
Bushwacka! – Another Chance
Yoshimoto – Du What U Du (Paul Woolford Remix)
Dk7 – Life Is Everywhere (Paul Woolford Remix)
Marc Romboy Vs. Tommie Sunshine – Body Jack(Dj Delicious Remix)
Sebastien Leger – Hit Girl
Mason – Exceeder(Great Stuff)

I swing by Audio at around 11:00, looks like most of Brighton have realised what’s in store and form an orderly queue that spreads up and round the corner. Tonight will be packed. In fact, like a twat, I’ve been dreading this night for a while. I love Audio, but admittedly it can sometimes be a bit to packed. It’s a small venue, which is also one of its selling points. But Laurent Garnier, a man who could attract a lively bunch of people to a funeral, could be something else. The night was perfectly managed by the venue, not packed out so you can’t move but flexible and free while still keeping an amazing atmosphere.

On entry, Laurent stands in the booth, flicking through a lifetime’s supply of CD’s – he prepares his set to a Jazzy backdrop. What a pleasure getting into a venue and being greeted by the headline act. You can almost picture Laurent now; “non, non, non, a hwil play see whole naight, or a hwil not play at all.” And what a night it was to be. It’s clear 2 minutes after entry it was gonna be manic, filling up 4 times more space then Paul Woolford just the week before (not comparing the 2 of course).

And it begins. I feel my feet start frog stepping on the spot. Garnier is a well know and respected artist – he’s known as a king of techno yet famous for his incorporation of different styles both in his production and live sets. So what could we expect? He breaks straight in with some classics, and fills audio with a deep techno sound that I haven’t heard in a good while. Everyone seems to be playing much fluffier stuff these days – not bad sets, yet just more flaccid. Frankly I want something darker, dirtier and ooh a little more Detroit. After all we live in the Detroit of the UK don’t we? Excuse the pretentiousness but is this place, Brighton, not meant to be cutting edge? Sometimes it feels like we live in Portsmouth yet all think it’s so good. Cock’s to that.

Garnier fed in so many genre’s into his hours you’d be amazed. You don’t get to many DJ’s that can really play to an audience. In reality any cunt out there can beat match… and look how special you are, you picked some tracks. Garnier takes on a different role, everything is thought out, enjoyed, not playing music cause “it’s cool” but playing it because everyone involved is eating up every track. This is were the years of experience come into play, know the audience, play tracks and create more then just a club night atmosphere. Rip the fucking roof off and serve to it the crowd with some Dijon mustard.

We had such a musical rollercoaster of an evening. 2:00 we’re hit with breaks (not the cheese you hear most places), 2:30am comes the signature track “Man with the red face” – bringing a riot followed with a DnB period. Seeing the reaction from the crowd Garnier grabs his mike; “So you like DnB” he bellows. The crowd go wild. Why? Frankly I held my head in my hands and retreated to sit this one out. But you can see what’s happening, read the crowd and feed them. Feed them that dirty Dijon mustard they’ve paid to eat. A while passes, and it’s back to the key, Tech. Garnier, now skipping like a French man with a fresh baguette. And it goes on… we get more and more hypnotised by the Dijon and keep begging for more.

Things suddenly go quiet, the crowd stare like zombies. Blissful vocals of; “You make me feel, mighty real” – creep out of the speaker system. A real slow build up, working it’s way to a crescendo sending the crowd flying. Remember the Dijon? Yeah they are swimming in the shit now. Time passes, things get darker: “You’ve got to believe in something, why not believe in me” hits the speakers. Someone help me out here. I know this sample is widely used. E.g. Fierce Ruling Diva’s – Believe and that track that people always claim is Dave Clarke’s – House of God. Spread some light here, is that Dave Clarke’s version? Or why the fuck would it have the Orbital – Chime aspect? Ah at this point I’m too fucked to comprehend what’s going on. After all, it is 4:30am.

The camera goes away, it’s time to relax and just be free. Can’t tell you too much about the end cause frankly I wasn’t mentally there. But what can be said is; it was stunning.

I wanted to be sceptical about tonight. I can’t imagine Mill’s, Hawtin, or the like, let alone Garnier playing at Audio… turns out I was wrong.

Fuck me, how wrong.

Audio
http://www.audiobrighton.com

10 Marine Parade
Brighton
East Sussex
Tel: 01273-624343

info@audiobrighton.com

Words: Marek the Czech

12►

Photos by Marek Richter

Arriving at around the usual time of 12:00 it was easy to see the night was going to be spacious to say the least. Don’t get me wrong I’m not going to start complaining about how a club should be ram-packed every night. Oh no. It just gets on my tits when an artist who is sure to deliver a great evening doesn’t get the full appreciation deserved. Obviously the change of licensing laws has forever changed how many people arrive at a club around 12:00. Where a few years ago this would be a ram packed time and the build-up would get appreciation. Now, often, the pre-main act slot seems to just cater for a few wonderers on the dance floor… trying their hardest to build up some penash-umph-and-atmosphere for a night to go on. The night did’nt get too much fuller as things went on, a real miss and let down for Brighton clubbers.

Warming up we had David Parr playing until the 1am expected come on time of Woolford. I’ve wanted to see Paul Woolford for a long time thus jumped at the chance to see him at Brighton’s premier, Audio. Woolford is famous for his own style that he throws into his productions, ranging from the recent Modernist EPs and that track that has to be mentioned, Erotic Discourse – under his pseudonym Bobby Peru. A track, that when first heard easily delights with its creativity and direction – it’s a dream. Not many songs can rip up a dance floor in such a dark way. To finish the Night Paul did a classic walk off ending, record plays but no DJ. Has to be done more often. Like the style.

Why does a mass load of people not go for a name like Paul Woolford yet dance to his tracks like maniacs on a regular basis? The only comprehendible answer can be ignorance. They are blind to what’s good and in front of them. Okay, okay, rant over!

One thing that does scare me is all the talk of Laurent Garnier next week and the anticipated masses that will huddle the venue. Audio is a small club and such a high class name could be hell. Ah well… can’t wait for it.

To continue the weekend festivities we have Blackstrobe at the Ocean Rooms tonight (Saturday 07th 06). A highly anticipated night, which if well executed (if they turn up) could go down as one of this years best.

Audio
http://www.audiobrighton.com

10 Marine Parade
Brighton
East Sussex
Tel: 01273-624343

info@audiobrighton.com

Words: Marek the Czech

Photos by Marek Richter

Gosh. This review is soo late.

Let’s take it back a week like some cheap hip-hop act:

Picture the scene. It’s the Concorde, 11:30, after masses of vodka – we are greeted with a queue not so dissimilar to the job centres up in Liverpool. Yes we are getting political now. One queue for people dismayed without tickets and another (bastard of a line) for listed/already-paid runts. Having been promised a cut rate at the door it was a shame to have been hit by the £10 taxation ahead – but oh well. Steal from the Rich and give to the poor these suckers can’t be cheap.

As the crowds huddled to the front of the C2s stage we could see a bewildered Peaches (Merill Nisker) getting a pep-talk from Brighton’s renowned RR’s mafiosa goon Steve Chaos. As she gets to grips with Mr Pioneer the night (drama) starts to unfold. Now we all know that we don’t go to see Peaches DJ, that’s what we’ve got Erol for; we go for the live show! After all this lady is the queen of distorted shouting; “I don’t give a fuck, I don’t give a shit!!! A DJ set is not enough to please the die hard audience. Luckily when she blasts out such classics as her own rendition of the Black Eyed Peas – My humps she raises a riot from the minions bellow. Come on how could “My dumps” go un-noticed and even be accepted? Only Peaches has the power. What made Merill’s show ever more eclectic was the fact that when Erol came to the decks she didn’t run away and cower like many-an-other musical types. Oh no, she stayed on that stage and owned it even more. What a fucking lady – one after my own heart? I think not.

Erol soon comes on and attacks the crowd with his usual twist of electronic dance-fest making them, as if hypnotised, follow his every direction. I’m a massive fan of Erol as a DJ but his production work I’ve sometimes found to be outside of my range. The “Bloc Party” remix for example never hit me as a classic rework. But his disc skills out do any pre-emption’s stuck in my mind. Gradually as his Casio-clad hands twisted the DJM600s knobs his set got deeper and more twisted. Dropping “Erotic Discourse” towards the end of the night resulted in an audience uproar. I was busy most the night making a fool out of myself thinking my photography skills were up to scratch after the stated masses of vodka but this track kicked me back and spat me out on to the ground. As I came too jumping around with the rest of the audience, my camera flapping as if it was some cheap shit from China, I was hooked. A stage invasion at this time was underway with people huddling to dance along with the queen of smut herself. Peaches continued her show playing the drums and being the overall undomesticated bitch that she is – working perfectly with the man Erol. The show must go on!!

At this point I think I stumbled off the stage in the most un-professional manner you could ever see a chap with a camera do. Holding my drunken head in both hands I retreated to the stage front to claim I had lost my bag (it was on my shoulder… case closed).

And the story continues. The Concorde started to empty and a dance floor was free for the last hardcore dancing maniacs. Hovering at the back a tad perplexed over the nights frivolities we met a group of people who where equal minded (or mind dead). As we stumbled out of the doors walking with a girl who had spent the whole night clutching to a cabbage (no joke) we pursued the hike along Madeira drive back to civilisation. Along route I mumbled profusely about how much I enjoyed hearing Paul Woolford’s – Erotic discourse until a taxi apprehended us. Confused and bewildered we exchanged rape with the cash point (Sainsbury’s car park?) and moved on to a party in what is now an unknown location. It’s a bit like the X-files this. Turning up to a house of more equal-headed (you know what I mean) people we sat down and mingled our arses off as the sun came up. To our surprise we where told the base of all this trouble had a pool but in a desperate effort to steer clear of any Michael Barrymore misfortunes we stayed seated and made a brief escape without even saying good bye. Sounds rude but you try and speak politely after a night like this and see if you make sense. Mumbled words and misguided vision!

The day took us onto a stop off at some Unwin’s somewhere and the night, well day continued. The eventualities finally leaving us standing (Saturday evening) in Above Audio feeling like a snake that’s been cut in half. When I was younger my father told me that when a snake is cut, hundreds of other little snakes wallow out from its still moving carcass – I am now the embodiment of one of those small snakes.

Chaos Rocks has built itself as one of the most established nights in Brighton at the current time – a status the boutique once ruled with pride. Coming a long way since the Enigma days it shines through with such class equalling with nights from the Bleeps or even Kliks guys. They have the passion to put on nights no one else around here has dared. So next time you are bored in town and you happen to walk past Rounder Records, stop, walk back and give them your wallet as a sign of thanks.

Enjoyed immensely and would recommend to all.

Concorde2
http://www.concorde2.co.uk/

Madeira Shelter Hall,
Madeira Drive
Brighton
BN2 1EN

Telephone: 01273 697888
Booking office: 01273 673311
Fax: 01273 696157

info@concorde2.co.uk

Words: Marek the Czech