But did the protester have a point? Should we be grateful for this interruption? Do we give a fuck? really? 
if the music is being played completely live?

After all its been made entirely on a computer, quite possibly the one they've got in front of them.

Obviously the aforementioned scenario didn't actually happen although the proposed campaign is real enough. Brainchild of progressive stalwarts and minimal commercial trend-chasers Marcus and Sabastian of Son Kite. According to them "only a handful of trance acts play properly Live" (as they do?) and this causes the problems they have with some promoters not properly catering for their extra requirements.

As a former guitarist happy to slap a Musicians Union "Keep Music Live" sticker on my guitar case in the late 80s and quick to ridicule any notion of a band miming on stage, I'm all for the idea of performed music being as live as possible and I sincerely hope it moves in that direction. However calling musicians who've spent days and weeks creating tracks comprising a complex vorti of multilayered original sounds matured in oak production vats "Fake Live Artists" for playing their tracks as audio from a computer is going a bit far.

What do they mean by "Live' anyway? Constructing new sequences on the fly?  Unlikely. Singing? - please don't!!  No, more likely its the ability to mute and unmute mutliple pre-made tracks on a computer-based sequencer, preferably using a knobs and faders midi controller with a couple of flashing lights on it (so we know its switched on). And possibly tweaking effects levels or dropping in random samples, although they could just as easily be spreading margarine on slices of bread for all we could - (or should?) - tell.

Its worth bearing in mind at this stage in the argument that progressive minimal music (like Son Kite's)  uses far less sounds and effects than full on trance and is on average a full 20 bpms slower thus making it alot easier to replicate live (if thats what you want to call it) from the computer sequencer rather than an audio file. However, artists pushing the limits of current computer specs, (as alot do) are far more at risk of computer crashes when attempting the same feat.

Just to confuse matters further a number of artists are starting to use the aptly named 'Ableton Live', which blurs the distinction between live mixing, audio playback and sequencing, giving the possibility of various degrees of Liveness.

Maybe this is the way forward and will keep the self-righteous grumbling minority happy? We certainly don't want to regress back to a couple of 303s and a drum machine however much we liked it at the time.

Personally speaking, lay on a bit of dry ice, a dynamic lightshow (with strobe) some awseome music, a couple of pills and a laptop-centric nodding duo and I'll be happy (in about half an hour).

Just so long as there are no interruptions / crashes etc to ruin the moment.

©Dave 'Matchstick Man' Griffin

Tom: 2008 has been a busy year in the Eat Static calendar. Where have you been, and what have you been up to?

Merv: It has certainly been a strange year so far! Joie quit the band just after New Year, so I suddenly found myself in a one man band! He had reached his limit with the travelling and being away from home so he left me with the honour of carrying it onwards… and upwards I hope! I carried on with the live gigs and have been getting fantastic reactions wherever I have played and people have either said they could not tell the difference with one person or they have preferred it! I have played in Australia, Israel, Japan, Holland, France, Ireland as well as festivals like Glastonbury, The Glade, Waveform, Shamania in the UK, throughout the summer… and still have Bulgaria, Russia, Mexico, Croatia and Brazil to go yet!

Tom: You recently released your latest album ‘Back to Earth’ in July this year, tell us about that, and what we can expect to hear.

Merv: Its my first completely down-tempo album, something I have wanted to do for a long time and so I teamed up with Interchill Records and recorded a selection of electronically infused world music tracks... its been getting great reactions so far, and was a good excuse to explore interesting musical avenues… it mixes Latin, Jazz, Breakbeat, Middle Eastern and squelchy funkiness… all with that Static twist.

Tom: Eat Static was born in 1989 out of the legendary Psychedelic ‘Space Rock’ band the Ozric Tentacles. What’s the story, and how did it happen?

Merv: Joie and I were always making experimental music on the side from the time. I joined Ozrics in 1988, and then a year later we met Steve Everitt who came down to jam with us one new years eve armed with a sampler… he brought the dancey drum element into myself and Joie’s analogue chaos and the eat static sound was born. We also loved the fact that within dance music you were trying to make synth’s sound more silly and basic compared to the more serious stuff we were doing with Ozrics.

Tom: The Ozric Tentacles apparently got their name from a discussion about hypothetical names for cereal brands. Where did the name Eat Static arise from?

Merv: From a scene in Star Trek 2, ‘The wrath of Khan’, the Klingons were transmitting radio noise at the Enterprise, and they uttered the words ‘let them eat static’… it suited our spikey sounds perfectly.

Tom: The Eat Static sound has touched on many different genres from Psychedelic Techno and Trance to Breakbeat and Drum & Bass. Which musicians, and artists have influenced or inspired you over the years?

Merv: Originally it would be Kraftwerk that first got me into the sounds of the synth, alongside Tubeway Army, John Foxx, Devo plus our school had a Korg MS20 in the music room which I spent many a lunch time tweaking.
When acid house came over in 87/88 that inspired me to properly get into that style and sound and I loved the way that party’s were playing music that nobody knew who had made it, just fresh tunes every week. It was just the music speaking for itself. Joie and I had always been influenced from many styles of music outside the dance genre too, especially traditional world music. The first dance stuff we were listening too was Aphex Twin, Yello, labels like R&S from Belgium, and generally acid house records that DJ friends of ours were collecting.

Tom: What are you listing to on your Ipod or CD player right now?

Merv: Dance music wise the new Zen Mechanics album, Error Corrective, Groovuscule, Psy-Sex… I have actually been having a bit of a fling on some of the alt/indie stuff around at the moment too. Beirut, Interpol, Grinderman/Nick cave, PJ Harvey, plus digging out a few old classics like Joy Division, early Roxy Music… all over the place!

Tom: The Eat Static and Ozrics albums feature some great fantasy and sci-fi artwork. Who is the artist responsible?

Merv: The guy who does my Static art has been a friend since we were about 6 years old. His name is Paul Boswell and I have always loved his style. He mixes fantasy/airbrush into his passion of street graffiti and always comes up with some unique ideas. I still have all the originals of every cover and they still blow me away when I look at them now, plus I like the continuity through the whole collection, it gives the album a more personal touch too.

Tom: With the running theme of aliens and UFO’s in the Eat Static album art, and content of your music. Where does the extra terrestrial fascination spring from?

Merv: Probably from my childhood as I loved the early Sci Fi movies, and B movie black and white films. Also Dr Who probably had an influence as it was full of old analogue synths making daft bleeping noises, and the documentaries we were made to watch at school… weird and dark! I also got into the crop circle thing when I was only 12 years old. I visited one near my school as I had heard a rumour that aliens had landed at Cley Hill and had left marks. I cycled over there and it really blew me away. Joie was also into the whole factual thing with abductions, and real life accounts so when we got together it naturally formed a backdrop against the music we were producing.

Tom: You’ve been on the road touring with the Ozrics, and Eat Static for nearly 20 years in countries all over the world, and when you’re not on the road you are in the studio.
Your schedule must be pretty heavy at times, what motivates you and keeps you going?

Merv: The reactions of the crowds wherever we play. Just to get that vibe from giving them your art is amazing, and I also really enjoy creating new music in the studio. It has fascinated me for years, and I feel like I have only just scratched the surface, especially as technology continues to develop. I also meet so many interesting characters while on the road… crazy, crazy people!

Tom: Do you have spare time to do other things and what do you do?

Merv: I am usually recovering if there is any spare time, especially from gigs abroad. For one concert night it’s usually a couple days either side for travelling before getting home and resting, then off to the next one. It’s quite a gruelling job sometimes!

Tom: What is your most bizarre gig experience to date?

Merv: Hmmm, there’s been a few! Once, we played in one room of a club with no monitors to hear anything while the music came out of the PA in a completely different room, so we couldn’t hear what we played or see the audience!
Another time we played a festival in Belgium, and the support act was a comedian with a real cow on stage. We all had to help shove the cow onto the stage, which took a lifetime then proceeded to watch the cow crap all over this guy… what an act!
There was also a gig in Holland in 95 in a huge park to celebrate 50 years of VE day… I lost all the sounds in my TB 303, and had to re program the whole thing while the Dutch philharmonic orchestra played before us!

Tom: In the late 90’s Eat Static’s ‘Contact’ EP got to number 41 in the UK charts. Tell us about your close encounter with Top of the Pops?

Merv: Well, it didn’t make it in all because of Elton John doing ‘Candle in the Wind’ for Princess Di… I don’t know whether to love him or hate him for that!

Tom: t was announced in February 2008 that Joie would be leaving the group to spend time with his family. Since then you’ve be going it alone, and keeping up with the touring and live shows, how has it been?

Merv: Hard work, but rewarding. I felt a little bit self-conscious at first but I have had such warmth and love from the crowds that it has been amazing. People have said the sound has gone tighter, more rhythmic and more insane!

Tom: What plans do you have for Eat Static in the near future?

Merv: Well next year is gonna be a mad one as its my 20th anniversary for Eat Static, so lots of gigs, and a new album. I have just re-launched my label Mesmobeat too, and I’m going to be releasing other people’s stuff. I have some great releases lined up already.

Tom: Eat Static will be performing live at Plug n Play Studios on Friday October 17th, where can we catch you playing in the coming weeks?

Merv: I’m doing Liverpool Cream venue with Alien resonance the week after (25th), the Shpongle after party at the Scala in London on Halloween, Exeter Phoenix Arts Centre on Sat 1st November, then DJing at a trance Burlesque show in Bristol on Sunday 2nd Nov.

PlugnPlay Studios
For more info pls contact Tom on 01189 581 447 or email info@plugnplay.tv

1. It’s been five years since your last studio album ‘Original sounds of the Zion’ was released in 2002, where have you been and what have you been up to since then?

Mainly relocating to the fine city of Cologne, Germany where the Zion Train studio is now based, but also working on the Zion Train side project Abassi All Stars, which has now both a vocal and dub album released on Universal Egg records. I (perch) also managed to produce an album with UB40 (Homegrown) and another with the singers of 99 posse – a well known Italian band.

2. Zion Train was formed in 1990, and your first albums were written at your studio based in north London. How did you all meet, and what bought the Zion Train together?

We first met on the dub and roots circuit in London in 1990 although Zion Train was born out of the ashes of a sound called the Train which was resident in Oxford from 1986 – 1989. What brought Zion Train together was a mutual love of underground dub and roots music combined with a love of underground dance music and the desire to marry these two schools of music to create a new powerful sound that we felt defined the urban sound of 1990’s England.

3. Zion Train’s founder Perch, was later joined by Dave Tench, Cod, and brass player Hake. Where does the fishy theme come from?

We adopted fish names as a partial antidote to the ego problems so many people in the music business seem to face during their careers. Our rationale was that if we did not use our real names then our personal ego-attachment to our projects would be reduced. The reason we chose fish names rather than anything else was that we like fish ;-) Not sure to date if it worked but it makes for good fun all the same.

4. Zion Train have a long 15 year history of performance, with an impressive ten album releases under your belt, and have launched and managed two prolific Dub/Reggae labels Deep Root, and Universal Egg. What would you say is the highlight of your career so far and why?

Hmmm, tricky.
Nothing really surpasses first hearing your music on the radio or a well known sound system. Both of these things happened for Zion Train in the space of a month in 1992 when Kiss Fm started playing our first single ‘Power One’ whilst our second single ‘Power Two’ was debuted on the Jah Shaka sound.
However, each day brings new challenges as independent musicians and so in a way each day presents new career highlights.

5. ‘Live as One’ is your forthcoming studio album due out in September, the first album produced solely by Perch. Can you tell us about the new album, and who will be featuring in the new Zion line up.

The new album has a great musical diversity and features many talented studio musicians such as our well established brass section of Dave Fullwood and Sebastian Harzmann alongside guitarist P. Lush, keyboard player Paolo Polcari, drummer Vedran Meniga and melodica player Chasbo. There are seven vocalists featured which is more than on any previous release, they include Earl 16, Tippa Irie and YT alongside the less well known Lua, Dubdadda, Marlene Johnson and Raiz. The musicians mentioned above hail from the UK, Italy, Croatia and Jamaica so we have a really diverse crew.

The live line up for the 2007 tour features Dubdadda on vocals, Dave Fullwood on trumpet, Sebastian Harzmann on Trombone and perch on electronics and live dub mix.

6. What’s your favourite piece of equipment or software to be found in your studio right now?

Korg SDD1000 analogue delay unit – transcendental magic in a metal box…

7. For the sound system heads, tell us a bit about Abassi Hi Power.

Abassi is my custom 12kw rig. It features 12 x bass scoop bins driving precision device speakers and powered by Jah Tubby’s hand built bass amps. It has JBL mid range and hand made treble boxes all powered by crown amps and it is phat ;-)
It is a hi fi sound system running in stereo (most of them run in mono)

A full list of all the gear is available at;
www.wobblyweb.com
there are some pics of the sound there also

8. With gigs and tours in Japan, South America, Russia and all over Europe, the Zion Train word has spread on a global scale. Has this had an effect on your music, and how?

Of course, we reach these amazing places and are introduced to rich and diverse cultures, both musical and otherwise that go on to influence our world view and hence our music. We are deeply privileged to be able to travel in this manner and like all experiences these ones seep into our being and permeate our sound. An honest musician’s work is a reflection of their state of mind at the time of composing the music – our collective state of mind is hugely influenced by visiting Aztec ruins, Brazilian favelas and Japanese Bhuddist temples and so, therefore, is our music.

9. You recently got deported from Moscow at gunpoint – what happened there?

Well, its not the first time I have been mistreated by presumably racist government officials – I have been stripped, beaten and bullied in the UK, Belgium, Africa, Italy, Bavaria and Russia – but that is just a demonstration of the evils we try to fight with our vibration so it merely strengthens me.

In Moscow, my passport was taken from me at immigration, taken into an office and vandalised without my knowledge. I was then lead to a ready to depart plane by an armed soldier who handed my vandalised passport to the pilot of the plane saying my documents were not in a fit state to enter Russia - that was the first chance I had to see the damage to my passport – not ONE WORD was said to me by any of the Russians during the whole procedure. The soldier stayed at the plane door until it was closed!! The pilot of the plane (a German) said he had never experienced such a disgrace in his career (I said I had ;-)

10. What is your most bizarre gig experience to date?

Could be playing under Mount Fuji in the bright sunlight, playing on a squatted boat in an LSD factory in Amsterdam or playing in the African bush during a full solar eclipse – they all felt very bizarre to me at the time…..

11. The Zion Train sound and releases on your Universal Egg label have touched on many different genre’s over the years from Dance and Techno to Folk, Soul and Blues as well as the stable Dub and Reggae vibe. Which musicians, and artists have most inspired and influenced you over the years.

The main names would have to be;
King Tubby
Ravi Shankar
Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn
Jah Shaka
John Coltrane

All for the same reason – their constant, unbending application to music which they believe lends a higher purpose to their existence and helps free the hearts and minds of their sisters and brothers alongside their disassociation from conventional music business which any honest musician would tell you just corrupts the pure beauty of music.

12. What are you listening to on your Stereo/MP3 player at the moment?

Daghast systems – Classical music of Iran
Ital Horns – dub music from London
The Creator – Aisha (produced by Mad Professor)

13. With music now firmly rooted in the digital domain, people downloading and copying music more than ever, and mainstream artists giving away their albums free with newspapers, what do think the future holds for the music industry, and how will it affect Zion Train and Universal Egg?

Major labels and media companies have been panicking for 10 years already – they are monolithic money grabbers and it is no surprise they try to swamp the music market with their crap freebies and ridiculous marketing schemes. True music lovers will always find the music they love, through whatever means are available and enough of them will pay for the music to keep the musicians in work, I am completely confident of that. The advent of widespread web use and the copying/downloading of digital music formats only serves as free advertising for those independent labels and bands brave enough to embrace it, hence I hope it will help the future of Zion Train and Universal Egg immensely.

14. What plans do you have on the record label front, and what future releases can we expect to hear on Deep Root, and Universal Egg?

On Universal Egg there will probably be a remix album partnered to Live as One with remixes from Vibronics, Rob Smith, Digital & Lutin and many many more. There will also be our 3rd volume of the Lead With The Bass Dub Compilation as well as the debut album from Dub Terror – our most promising up and coming artist. Abassi All stars Showcase Volume 2 is in the works also.

Deep Root will feature singles from Abassi All stars, System Error and Dub Terror during 2008

15. Zion Train will be performing live at Plug n Play Studios in Reading on September 5th as part of the ‘Live as One’ tour. Where can we catch you on future tour dates?

Below are our winter tour dates so far
We will follow these with trips to Mexico, Brazil and Japan, all being well ;-)

31-Aug The Maze Nottingham - UK
01-Sep Camelots Doncaster - UK
02-Sep Trades Club Hebden Bridge - UK
04-Sep Soul Cellar Southampton - UK
05-Sep Plug and Play Studios Reading - UK
06-Sep Concorde 2 Brighton - UK
07-Sep Trinity Bristol - UK
08-Sep Fridge London - UK
09-Sep Bestival Isle Of Wight - UK
11-Sep Siar O Thuaidh, Kane's Bar Dingle - Ireland
12-Sep Club Isobar Cork - Ireland
13-Sep The Bailey Enniscorthy - Ireland
14-Sep Voodoo Dublin - Ireland
15-Sep The Afterlife Festival Galway - Ireland
16-Sep Trinity Rooms Limerick - Ireland
20-Sep Kulturfabrik Esch Sur Lazette - Lux
21-Sep Soundstation Liege - Bel
22-Sep Shake it Easy Festival Brussels - Bel
23-Sep Melkweg Amsterdam - NL
26-Sep Tivoli De Helling Utrecht - NL
27-Sep Vera Groningen - NL
28-Sep Fenix Sittard - NL
29-Sep Kulturhuis Bosch Arnhem - NL
30-Sep Yaam Berlin - GER

Zion Train website
For more information please contact: Tom on 01189 581 447
or email info@plugnplay.tv

He also discusses the mood for changes within the music, and how promoters could be more adventurous. Personally, I’ve noticed all sorts of previously unheard influences appearing in the music, such as punk, world music, and rock, for starters. Although the author has his roots very firmly in the underground scene, (which you’ll learn if you check his book) he has left, in my opinion, some important names out of his writing (for example, artists and labels featured on www.unsound-system.org).
Maybe he just doesn’t think they’re any good.

I guess it’s impossible for anyone to be totally comprehensive about every branch of the D&B scene, but he is so obviously totally into the music, that reading his descriptions of the parties just makes me wanna drop everything, check out what’s happening, and get out there now.

It’s also very inspiring to read how the music has spread so widely around the world. D&B has gotta be one of our best exports in the last decade or so!

The full 2006 update of All Crews is absolutely essential reading for anyone into what’s new on the D&B scene, and will only be published in the next issue of Knowledge Mag

All Crews Update Extracts...

**I’m strolling up Tottenham High Road. A Merc pulls alongside. Smoked black window scrolls down. Pendulum reverberates. Colin Knowledge beckons. “Alright B.” We chat and catch up. Then comes the question. “It’s a couple of years since All Crews came out. People wanna know what’s been happening since ‘04.” “Apart from me ‘n’ Kate getting married?” “Fancy writing an update? Here…” Throwing me the keys to the company car. “Take the ride. Hit the road. See what’s gwannin’.”**

You’ll be shocked to know that Knowledge’s budget doesn’t run to a company Mercedes. So Colin just e-mailed me. But you get the metaphor. And I’m always up for travelling through Our music; meeting All Crews.

The road’s familiar. But the land is always changing. What’s new with the music, clubs, DJs, pirates, producers and on the streets? Who’s on the up? What’s going on back stage? Which tune will people always remember? And are there still global unknown soldiers ruffin’ it out for the love of Jungle Drum & Bass?

A TALE OF TWO NIGHTS

**Fabric Friday night. Pendulum are inside. Outside the queue’s around the block. Big beefy bouncers greet us. “Yeah. Jho Oakley’s guest list.” Stairs are filled with tiers of ravers sitting, hugging, chatting. Beyond double doors, it’s rammo in the main room. Feet are stomping, hands reach up into cascading purple haze. Pendulum’s digital rasping guitars cause a frenzy outside that caged DJ box. No wristband. No entry. Up next is Annie Mac. They chant, ‘Tarantula’, moshing in room one. Hype’s rinsin’ room two. And bodies wallow horizontally in the chill-out space between the two. Room three’s across the bridge. The intimate club within a club’s heaving. Beneath the bridge, above the musical melee, mobile screens float through the throng. Lasers bounce off chrome. Fingertips tease apart scraps of Rizla. “Got any water?” Feels like Freshers week. Smells like teen spirit. It is Fabriclive.

Herbal Friday night. Shy FX the Digital Sound Boy is inside. Outside the queue’s manageable. Big beefy bouncers greet us. “Yeah. Jo’s guest list.” She appears at the door. “Alright B. You’re late.” It’s rammo in the main room. Vibes are supercharged. Industry headz appear and dissolve in the throng. Inside the DJ box – no wristband necessary, Roni Size packs away his laptop. Breakage spins tunes. Navi’s voice syncopates. Shy circulates. Tie-dye T-shirts hug multicultural bodies rebounding in heavy b-lines. Speakers bear down on the groove corner. Loki raps, “All crew muss big up.” And Bryan Gee pours champagne. Heads, shoulders, minds all grooving. Two bredahs one dreaded, one shaven move their limbs dancing Wu Tang stylee. Opposite the DJ box, Breakage’s afro covered head floats in the flat screen above all our heads. The air’s Herbal. And Bryan Gee pours champagne. **

PRODUCERS

Pendulum blew up as All Crews was going to press. They’ve been riding high ever since. Crissy Criss: “There’s definitely a change in the music with people like Pendulum changing the sound. They do techy, commercial, rocky, jump-up; all combined into one track – pretty amazing. Producers are upping their game. G Dub have blossomed. Flight’s championed many, many producers whose turn it is to shine; notably Marcus Intalex, D Bridge, Amit, Logistics and the whole Cambridge posse.

Chatting with L Double: “Production is on fire. Producers are getting to understand the whole computer thing. When it all kicked off it was all musical equipment. But now it’s all soft sims and soft samplers. A lot more music manufacturers are getting on board making software versions. There’s a lot more access to equipment nowadays. New producers coming in are like, “Raas! This music’s difficult.” It’s not just that we’re fussy. But we’re getting so much well made music, that you got to come with something good to get in that record box.”

On the downside, there have been complaints about producers making beats using clichéd sounds that they think will sell. Origin’s DJ Massacre appreciates hearing tunes by producers who love music, rather than those who try cashing in on the latest catchy sounds. “Twisted Individual made that ‘waw, waw’ sound and everybody jumped on the bandwagon. I don’t know if it’s more about money nowadays. Flight agrees: "There was a phase where I was getting so many samey tunes of the liquid variety. It was almost like 'liquid by numbers', but the music’s got much more interesting over the last 12-18 months."

Jho Oakely of the Echo Location agency agrees. "I don’t know how anyone can describe the music as ‘same-y’. There’s so much of it and it’s so different. You can get tunes that sound like Pendulum or Sub Focus but that’s just kids being inspired. In that process of making tunes they’re learning. Perhaps too much makes it onto vinyl. Some should stay as ideas or DJ tools." True. Fresh produces a ton of tunes that he’s not releasing. He’s not satisfied they’re ready. One of the most original and biggest tunes around has been TC’s & Jakes’ ‘Deep’ with its quirky Ian Dury-esque vocals. Promoting ‘Deep’ Jho’s press release read: "If you don’t get it, play it again”. On Radio One Fabio & Rider did. Annie Mac and Zane Lowe caned it…

All Crews Update
Knowledge Mag

Some backstory: Pandora is an offshoot of the Music Genome Project, which was formed in 2000. The initial idea was that the characteristics of individual songs could be described and encoded. Pandora takes this pool of information and turns into a recommendation service and streaming music service. The first 10 hours are free, it never plays commercials and then it's $36 US dollars a year.

So instead of reading music magazines, hanging around obscure punk stores and so forth, I can sit at the end of a broadband connection and use the recommendation system. You start the process by creating a station based on a track or an artist. Create 'A Certain Ratio Radio' and the service throws up a track by Cybotron -- on the basis that they share 'prevalent use of groove, trippy soundscapes and many other similarities identified in the Music Genome Project'. Ahem.

It is a little hit and miss, but then taste in music is very individual. Seeding with the Cocteau Twins and Lali Puna results in drivel. 'Two Lone Swordsmen Radio' throws up some cool stuff like To Rococo Rot, only occasionally veering into Ninja Tune cheese.

So far, putting in the band Numbers produces the best results. I get to hear bands for the first time like Asobi Seksu, Melt Banana, Deerhoof and The Organ.

Best of all, it then begins serving up classic tracks by The Fall & Talking Heads.

Whoops. Back to square one again...

This 3, 000 capacity event will undoubtedly sell out as organisers stuck up on exotic performances of awe and wonderment and promise electric atmosphere to tingle your senses to say the least.

This is a luxury party set up with accommodation ranging from traditional camping to tipis, beach huts or double decker bus. Guests could also book a tent to be erected and in place on arrival. Pampering doesn’t stop here as one can swim in open-air swimming pools (complete with electric palm trees), enjoy game of croquet or to be a guest of honour in specially commissioned geisha house between many other titillating attractions including oddly satisfying glowing field of Electric Corn.

Richard Mauger, co-founder of A Rum Do, says: "We'll be making sure that at every opportunity people are comfortable. At the event, people will always have somewhere to sit and relax, from parasol shaded seats outside in the daytime, to cozy, clean lounges where relaxing horizontally doesn't mean getting your back covered with mud."

Festival will showcasing for the first time in UK electrifying fun masters Jingu in what promises to be a visual feast of electric fireworks (staying up as long as desired as opposed to traditional ones) and other electric mesmerising installations

There are three main stages: the Saddlespan open air stage, the Crystal Palace Spiegeltent (a ballroom of mirrors, stained glass and waited tables) and a huge double peaked tent, Madonna’s bra, hosting live music and acoustic sets during the day, and DJs, top comedians, and cabaret performances in the evening. Music will focus on breakbeat and hip hop from artistes such as Bugz in the Attic, Babyhead, The Nextmen, Ben Westbeech, MC Wrec, Quantic, and Skitz, Kid Carpet, Rodney P, Toxic Sound System and one and only DJ Mr Scruff.

In cabaret, the emphasis is on fully produced shows, including comedy from the likes of Rufus Hound and Alex Horne.. Saturday evening is Showtime and extravagant or (even vaguely flamboyant) garb is invited, but not expected.

A RUM Do will also reach for the metaphysical with The Paranormal People to explore the space where everyday normality is torn apart and bizarre visions of ultimate human potential are exposed.

A Rum Do has been fortunate to secure the rogue yogi, Sheshah, and the breathless Underwater Man, both of whom will execute logic-defying achievements. Rogue yogi Sheshah is the last living descendant of Sheshal, the Brahmin of the Air, who first demonstrated his levitating ability nearly two hundred years ago in India.

Before an awestruck audience, the yogi will float almost four feet above the ground, completely unsuspended, as a sitar plays calmly in the background. By contrast, and in an exploit that far exceeds the achievements of the great Houdini, Underwater Man - capable of sustaining normal body and brain functions under water for extended periods of time - will be submerged into a locked, clear Perspex tank of water and will remain there voluntarily for a full half hour, without any tell-tale bubbles or air tubes. This is the first time this feat has been attempted in the UK.

The keys to A Rum Do's success are meticulous planning and organisation. Richard Mauger continues: "Essentially, we want to make the festival a self-indulgent experience, rather than a survivalist one. There's been a lot of careful, intelligent thinking behind our production - it goes far beyond sticking bands in a field and just asking them to do their thing. We have very high production values and a strong love of comfortable surroundings AND we really love a good party!"

Tickets are £85 for the full event with day passes available from £35.
Accompanying children up to 14 years old will get in free.

Full info and line up
Press inquiries

If you log on to www.knowledgemag.co.uk/remixcomp you will l find that Don Jon has seperated all the audio samples you’ll need to get going on the remix, leaving the rest of the process in your hands. Knowledge felt it was best to start everyone on a level playing field to give them a chance to peek into your warped minds to see how well you can mutate the basics into a mind bending new version.

So if you think you can transform the old elements into a brand spanking new track then you could be in with a chance of getting a one-page interview in Knowledge and your remix featured on the cover CD before 2007. It really is that simple.

There are a few nuggets of information to bear in mind before you spend hours slaving away in front of the comptuer:

Firstly, you can use as little or as many of the included audio parts as you like but remember they are all copyrighted so don’t go incorporating them into your own music as if the Knowledge security team find out, they will hunt you down and drop kick you into next week.


It also goes without saying that it has to be suited to Knowledge so shelve any plans to make that techno / polka crossover track you’ve always dreamed of doing.

The winner is likely to be someone who embellishes the vibe of the original well.

Finally, make sure you send the completed remix via AIM (Aol Instant Messenger) to ‘kmagremixcomp’ or on CD via snail mail before the 31st September 2006 to

Remix Competition
Knowledge
1 Trafalgar Mews
London, E9 5JG

The winner will receive a one-page interview in Knowledge plus have their remix featured on the cover CD before 2007.

"It's nice to be able to boost someone's confidence and give them props in a respected magazine," adds Don John "The Bastard", in a distinctly un-bastard-like tone. "That's what this competition is all about."

Knowledge Mag

Dress for Rio and dance your way into a wired world of gravity defying aerialists, top bands, circus oddities, lovely ladies and dapper gents. Dust off your throw-back slacks, unpack your fancy hats, step into your dancing shoes and await a night like no other.

The program of entertainment, running from 10pm until 3pm, will begin in the streets, a la Hackney Mardi Gras, with an almighty sound clash between the thirty-two piece Carnival Collective and the fourteen piece Balkan Brass Band Orkestra Du Sol. These two huge bands will join forces in Town Hall Square and parade into Hackney Empire to battle it out.
Then the night will go on to feature: Cosmics (ska supergroup, original members of Lee Scratch Perry’s band); Stamford Hill Gun Club (DJ set), playing a sexy mix of Brazilian beats and accompanied by an inverted guitar player hanging from the ceiling; Divine Acts, a Hackney based dance group featuring ballet dancing stilt walkers; Layla Rosa (Shunt trapeze performer); Flybionic, a triple rope routine in homage to Dolly Parton; and a festival finale from Russ Jones, world music DJ legend.

The seating will be taken out of the auditorium to transform it into an 800 capacity dance venue. And being Lost Vagueness, the night offers blackjack and roulette for fun in The Casino - an elite den accessible only to those in evening wear.
Leila Jones, co-producer of Lost Vagueness, comments: ‘It’s spicy, it’s Brazilian, it’s crazy, it’s carnival, it’s a wonderful mixture of music and performers and, like the rest of the Spice Festival, it celebrates Hackney. We’re looking forward to a hot, hot night.”

All guests are required to come dressed to the bananas. This is carnival.

Please note that because of space restrictions, there will be no Changing Room at this event.


Tickets cost £15 (concessions £12) plus booking fee from the Hackney
Empire box office on 020 8985 2424 or at www.spicefestival.com

The next Lost Vagueness event will be the Glorious Twelfth Hunting Party at the Coronet, Elephant & Castle, London on 12th August 2006.
www.lostvagueness.com

“The Spice Festival is a two week event, 9 – 12 July, 2006, celebrating the diverse talent and culture of Hackney and the East End. It is an independently produced festival. All events feature artists based in Hackney and it is promoted and organised by people living and working the borough. It’s a bit like a farmer’s market of culture – local produce that’s tasty and good for you. The fourteen day festival will feature over sixty events, in twelve venues, spanning the genres of music, art, comedy, drama, fashion, film, clubbing, literature, food,
cabaret, puppetry and dance.

more info on Spice Festival

Following sudden departure by AEGLive (one of Lost Weekend major financial backers) frantic negotiations ensued to secure a financial package to re-finance the festival but it came to no avail.

Lost Weekend organiser Roy Gurvitz said: "We were devastated when AEGLive told us they were pulling out. It was completely unexpected that they should leave us in the lurch like this at the 11th hour. We felt especially sorry for the artists and the ticket holders who were looking forward to a fantastic substitute to Glastonbury. We tried our level best to find alternative finance and we came very close but it's important to ensure a fair deal for our ticket holders. In the end, with so little time, it became clear that the right thing to do was to cancel."

For those who were planning to have a ball in the castle and now are left pondering what to do, there are forthcoming events that will come with the hallmark of Lost Vagueness quality.

The next Lost Vagueness event is on 14th July at the Hackney Empire, London.

And then it will be The Glorious 12th Hunting Party on 12th August and on 28th October the Halloween Horror Show at the Coronet (Elephant & Castle, London), which may feature artists listed for the Lost Weekend.
According to Roy Gurvitz talks are being continued with Zutons and New York Dolls about featuring at next Lost Vagueness events.

Kick on Lost crew!

If you have purchased your tickets already don’t panic as organizers promised full refund via agencies, which have sold them.

Tickets refund pls go to www.lostweekend.org

Main agencies:
AEGLive
Access All Areas

Over the years, Lost Vagueness events have picked up a reputation for being the most anarchic and culturally twisted location at the festival, a place where performers and guests languish together in the warped decadence of the surroundings.

The festival scene’s best kept secret will be pitching up for three days this June at the impressive home of the Earl and Countess of Devon, Powderham Castle, to bring fans all the lavishness that has come to be expected from the UK’s finest burlesque outfit. Confirmed headline acts so far include the Zutons, Julian Cope and the New York Dolls, plus all the favourite LV acts, performers and characters to host a weekend of Vague style decadence.

Other attractions this year include the legendary Lost Vagueness Ballroom in a 3,000 capacity big top, with dressed up decadence, live music, cocktails and cabaret. There’s also the 50’s style American Diner; the Chapel, complete with sexy nuns and almost-legal marriage ceremonies; a VIP piano bar; the inimitable Slip Disco, with flashing dance floor and guest DJs; and the Casino, with strict dress code, champagne, burlesque and comedy cabaret.

This is an ideal opportunity for those who were planning to go to Glastonbury this summer and will miss out as festival has been moved to next year. More to the fact, Michael Eavis (founder and organiser of “Glasto”) recommends Lost Weekend as the best option to all disappointed fans.They would need to hurry though as Lost Weekend is run on limited capacity of 10 000 places for a full 3 day event or futher 5000 for a final day of the festival on Sunday June 25th.
Tickets went on sale on Wednesday this week.

Lost Vagueness is remarkable in that it has literally evolved from pallets to a palace, in an evolution spanning over 18 years. The precursor to “Lost Vagueness” was a series of small surreptitious venues, hidden away in the madness of Glastonbury Festival and going back as far as 1986.
Lost Vagueness the casino was born in 1998, as a theatrical human backdrop to a small cabaret venue, visible only through glass behind the bar.
In the year 2000, people were astonished to stumble across a full casino, ballroom and restaurant, where you had to be dressed in evening-wear. This was in stark contrast to the muddy wastelands of the rest of site that year.

By 2003 Lost Vagueness had been well and truly found, with the field proving so popular that it had to be closed for heath and safety. This made it the first and only field to be closed, due to overcrowding, in 35 years of Glastonbury Festival history.
Year 2004 brought new additions including; The Big Brother Caravan, The Freak Show, The Launderette, The Meccadonalds Venue and Sculpture Park by The Mutoid Waste Company.

Lost Weekend tickets are on sale from Wednesday 24th May and are available from the 24-Hour hotline: 0871 230 9855 or online @
www.lostweekend.org

More info on Lost Vagueness

Past reviews of Lost Vagueness events

Lost Vagueness 2005

Lost Elephant Ball

The golden era of Old Skool is to be celebrated with you; the raver young and old deciding on who were the best DJ’s, what were the best record label and club & rave of that time and who is still doing it best nearly 20 years on?
No doubt this event concept will cause many a debate and heated discussion as everyone has their own view on old skool and what it means to them.
Some people think of illegal warehouse raves around the M25 others think of acid house/house /hardcore & jungle breakbeat and even some people think of speed garage as old skool but we are predominately talking about the magic era of 1990 - 1993 just before the happy hardcore/jungle split, when the scene was one & peace love & unity was true to form.

The politics on the dance scene can often spiral out of control and everyone is entitled to their point of view - but the love for the scene will always remain strong in every true ravers heart!
Whether you are a new raver to the old skool scene or you have been clubbing & raving 15 years or you are a DJ/MC/Producer/Promoter/ or run a record label or radio station no doubt you want to have your say/rant/moan/ or even praise on this matter!
So here is your chance to put in your 2 penny worth!

If you think we have missed something or someone on the nominations or you want to nominate yourself as a DJ or MC or you just want to give us your feedback good or bad
email us - we want to hear your views!

Please note - some DJ's/Mc's & artists from back in the day no longer want to be associated with 'old skool’ - (since they either don’t play it now or prefer to focus and be known for a more upfront music genre). This applies to people like Grooverider, Goldie, Hype, Zinc, Carl Cox, LTJ Bukem, Guru Josh, Prodigy etc.
All of which do not play old skool and have not for some time now - but if you still want to vote for these artists you can still put their names forward & do so and if they win we will do our utmost to twist their arm to play a specially prepared old skool set!
So get voting now and come and celebrate the line up you choose at one of London's most original old skool venue's -KOKO (formerly Camden Palace) on Bank Holiday Sunday 28th May

Voting Disclaimer
Email confirmation of your vote is required along with your details etc to help eliminate any cheating or bogus or non-existent email addresses etc
Also your computer's IP address will be logged and time of voting to avoid spamming of votes.
Text votes are auto added to the results - one vote per category per mobile phone number.
Voting ends 21st May 2006 - and the lineup you create will be announced on 22nd May 2006

VOTE NOW
www.oldskoolawards.com

When you first walk in the shop, be honest. Go straight up to the counter and say, "Excuse me Mr. Recordshopman I have only recently purchased a set of turntables and I would like to buy some music. Can you help me out?" It’s that simple. Well it might be.

What is most probable to happen is something like this...
The moment you walk through the door you will immediately walk out again. The first thing you will notice about record shops is that they are very noisy places. If you have tinnitus or are hard of hearing don’t go into a record shop. In fact if you have tinnitus or are hard of hearing you should not be learning to DJ. Actually, if you don't have tinnitus and you are not hard of hearing then this is a good time to start avoiding record shops, DJ's and the like. None of these do the ears any good.
So, you take a deep breath and enter the shop once more. What you have inside is hard to describe to the innocent. There will be a counter. For the purposes of this article we will call this 'the counter'. Behind and in front of the counter will be lots and lots of records. We will call these the 'tunes', also known as the 'toons' and sometimes 'choons'. This is where the problems start. Somewhere behind the counter, very very rarely in front of it, will be the 'man.' Now this is the person that needs to be dealt with in order that you can walk back out the door with some tunes in your hand. It sounds simple but for the unsure insecure or unaware it is not. The 'man' will have lots of names but for now we will just call him DJ Brian.

To buy a tune you usually need to listen to it first. That is unless you are very lucky and have the rare ability to 'read' vinyl without touching it. To listen to a tune you will have to talk to Brian. Now Brain will have a slightly different language from what you may be used to. You wont be able to ask him a simple question like, "what do you recommend," or "can I have listen to some new stuff." Things aren't that easy. He will screw up his face and start asking lots of lots of confusing questions Words such as techno, house, remix or even gabba might pop up. Don't be scared he's not going to hurt you. Also, don't be thrown, at the end of the day a record shop is a very simple place. It is a shop full of music; don't let anyone make you believe otherwise.

Just say your not too sure what style your into at the moment, but could he give you a selection and you will let him know what tickles your ear buds. Brian may smirk or frown but worry not you are on safe ground. Now take your wobbly tower of vinyl over to one of the turntables. Choose well; avoid the one that has headphones covered in ear and dreadlock wax. Also avoid the deck that looks like it belongs in a Lego house. It will probably have a wheel on the side you have to turn to start it and may have an exhaust at the back. Once settled, check there is a needle/cartridge on the end of the arm. Brian will find it very amusing if you don't notice this old trick.
The secret of record shopping is not to buy everything. Even if you have all your Christmas/birthday/bank job money in your pocket, do not be tempted to buy all the music that you hear. Most of it will be shit, or at the very least not very good. One of the first skills a DJ must learn is spotting and recognising good, quality music. Forget beat matching, spin backs, slip mats and back flips if you got shit music you will be a shit DJ. End of story. Something that some people out there need to have pointed out to them.

A good idea for your first few expeditions is to limit yourself to just buying one or two tunes. However good the others sound leave them alone. Force yourself to make a choice. With practice you will know within two seconds if a track is for you or not. To start with you will probably find yourself listening to the whole thing. That’s ok, enjoy it. Tap your foot, close your eyes and reach for the lasers. Just be careful when you start hugging the people next to you. Some may not appreciate this too much. However you can guarantee Brian will be rolling around the floor.

There you are, you have made your choice. Take those you don't want back to the counter (never, ever leave them by the decks). Hand over your chosen, pay the requested amount, take the proffered bag, thank Brian and walk out. Whatever you do, do not get sucked into going for a hike on the flyer mountain by the door. This is reserved for partners who foolishly accompany their loved ones record shopping. There you are outside in the fresh air, listening to the ringing in your ears, with a strange feeling of satisfaction and self worth. All you have to do is repeat this several times, over many years and you might make it. You never know you might end up on friendly terms with Brian and he might end up inviting you to one of his mate’s squat parties. Don't. One thing, I can guarantee is that you will go home and mix those first two tracks from one to the other until the needles wear down. Choose carefully because they will be going around and around in your head until your dying day.

© Antony Lopez

The big news is that psytrance and breaks - two of the most vibrant underground dance music scenes in the UK are about to launch STIR:
a brand new night from Nano Records and Breaksday.

As the organizations responsible for bringing psytrance and breakbeats respectively to the UK’s Glade Festival, these dudes are now priming a brand new sonic bomb, in the shape of the country’s first ever indoor psytrance and breakbeats crossover night

So if you are looking for a pre-Glade fix, check out STIR - to be held at the Renaissance Rooms in Vauxhall, London on Sat May 13th.

This is the unique combination and is born out the successful blending of the two genres at the Glade Festival and featuring big names on both scenes; namely on the Breaks Floor:

Rennie Pilgrem & Chickaboo, Hybrid, Dreadzone Soundsystem, Aquasky, Pendulum, Diverted & Diverted & 30Hz & Baobinga.

and on the Psytrance Floor:

Tristan, The Commercial Hippies, Allaby, Zen Mechanics, Ans and Edoardo

Plus making it 3 stages, ID SPIRAL presents a chill out, featuring:

Pathaan, Slack Baba, Nagual Soundsystem and Liquid Djems.

STIR follows on from the successful merging of the Breaks and Trance crowds at last summer’s festivals creating an indoor festival vibe, with two banging dance rooms supported by 2 other tripped-out areas, plus an outdoor chill, a markets space and lots of colourful nutters for a pre summer hit of festival feeling.

“There aren’t many genres that can successful co-exist these days but after the awesome vibe of the Glade we realized that these were two tribes that definitely weren’t going to war”. – Rennie Pilgrem

NANO RECORDS
Nano Records is one of the biggest names in the global Psy Trance scene and has been promoting psytrance parties all over the planet since the year 2000.
Aside from presenting psytrance at The Glade Festival and Glastonbury, the Nano crew have been instrumental in producing the now legendary Zambia and South Africa Eclipse parties, as well as the annual Origin Festival, South Africa’s premium Psy Trance 3 day gig. If there is anything that springs to mind about Nano events, it is simply the quality of production

BREAKSDAY
Breaksday started life as an idea by scene stalwarts Rennie Pilgrem, Pippa of TCR/HUM and Biff from Functional to help put Breaks on the map by putting on an awesome line up of producers and DJ’s to show what a vibrant and varied scene it has become.
The first Breaksday event was at the Winter Music Conference in Miami and they’ve followed that by having an enormously successful Breaksday tent at the last 2 Glade Festivals featuring the largest line up of Breaks DJ’s ever on this planet

"There’s not been anything like it before on that scale… Make sure you can say you were there for the first one."

Stir it up!

more info at www.stir.uk.com
full listings

By launch we mean that all of the elements will be working correctly. Praise the mullah for that!

Also it means end of holidays for Jam Gorilla who is hibernating at the moment and assessing unknown facts about human nature.

There would be fun and everything we can pack into Jacks - and since some of us remember happy vibe of years ago we will strive to do our best to emulate mood of older days.
Da is all. Let’s celebrate…

Will be spinning da old magic, innit?

Details below (just in case you didn’t notice)

Baboon - Bubble Jam website launch

Venue:

Jacks
7-9 Crucifix Lane
London Bridge
London SE1 3JW

Opening Times: 10pm-late

Entrance Price: £10 on the door,

Music Type:

Full on psytrance, funky house, tech house, acid old skool, acid house to celebrate completion of transition from one media to another.

Line-up:

Psychedelic Room
(uplifting, full on psytrance)

Xfader (Jajo)
Betty Bop (Elluminate)
Carlos Santan (Wildthings)
Kristian (Transient)
Marchello aka Cimi (Free Spirit, Neurobiotic Records)
Indigo Woef (Indigo Children)

Funky Room
(funky house, tech house, acid old skool, acid house)

Greg Prism (Clockwork Prism)
Jonty (Clockwork Prism)
Aztek (Teethout)
Tequila (Planet Angel)
Disco Patrick (Planet Angel)

Visuals and projections - Extra-Dimensional Space Agency
Punkvert dudes cannot unfortunately make it being somewhere else at the same time. Busy bees....

Lasers by Visual Reality

Fluffy, fluoro-trippy deco by Tombalina (Indigo Children)
& Flying Piglets massive

Lights by illuminating luminaries, atmosphere full of oxygen etc…
Burlesque and cabaret acts by artists featuring “The Dames of Burly-Q" Subterfuge Cabaret to delight you with a surprise act"
plus various spontaneous acts from Bubble Jam crew
plus bar serving chai, cakes, desserts, pukka soup, tea & coffee all night.

Miaow!

Info Lines:

0207 7040 143 - Jacks
07766485 426 – Baboon

E-Mail: editor@bubblejam.net

Web Site: www.bubblejam.net

Soulclipse Festival is organised by IndigoKids,party organisers who have a history of chasing eclipses across the planet combining with their passion for organising trance parties. Their goal for this festival is to ‘unite the tribes’ and throw a major 7 day event set amongst some of the most beautiful countryside that Turkey has to offer, ‘Soulclipse’ will be one of 2006’s major trance parties, you have been warned.

The music will predominantly be psychedelic trance but spread over two sound systems and the party will feature all types of music with a huge international line up of DJs and live acts to keep you dancing solidly for the duration of the event!
The full line up is yet to be announced but to give you a taste the live acts will include: Hallucinogen aka Simon Posford (Twisted) and one half of Shpongle, Protoculture (Nano), Eskimo (Phantasm), Rinkadink (Alchemy), Son Kite (Digital Structures) Wizzy Noise (Harmonia/Exposure) X-dream (Boshke Beats)Atomic Pulse(BNE) and DJ sets from Eduardo (Neurobiotic/Sonica Festival) Paul Taylor (Spun), Pena (Flow) Sally Doolally (Plastik Park) and many more! Keep checking the website for more as the event unfolds!

The festival is set to take place at Paradise Canyon, a site that has been secured on the path of the eclipse and is situated in a national park located on the banks of Koprulu River. 25km North and South of Paradise Canyon lie some of the most famous archaeological ruins in the world; Aspendos and Selge. This part of Turkey is also known as the ‘Turkish Riviera’ due to its mild weather with fresh water to swim in and plenty of room for camping the site will accommodate thousands of travellers from all around the world!

To help you get on the right vibe, in February New Wave Radio will be hosting a month long Soulclipse special featuring a live show with guest mixes from some of Soulclipse artists, interviews and plenty of give aways, for more info visit New Wave radio

Soulclipse A Total Solar Eclipse Festival

27.03.06 – 02.04.06

7 days and 6 nights

Koprulu Canyon River National Park, Antalya, Turkey

DJS live: Hallucinogen aka Simon Posford (Twisted) and one half of Shpongle, Protoculture (Nano), Eskimo (Phantasm), Rinkadink (Alchemy), Son Kite (Digital Structures) Wizzy Noise (Candyflip) X-dream (Boshke Beats)Atomic Pulse(BNE) and DJ sets from Eduardo (Neurobiotic/Sonica Festival) Paul Taylor (Spun), Pena (Flow) Sally Doolally (Plastik Park) and many more!
Keep checking the website for more as the event unfolds!

Presale Tickets go on Sale in November. Check the Soulclipse website out.

Nearest airport: ANTALYA

More info/tickets: www.soulclipse.com

For any press enquiries
Evy Magoulas
evy7@botpenworld.com
newwave_radio@yahoo.com
Mob: 07775648163

Arts, Healing and Living. They have a web site that tells their story, www.unityworks2012.org, and no, it's not to do with THE OLYMPICS!!
Suffice to say it's worth a look, there are activities going on there ranging from Yoga classes to Herbal Medicine, Dance workshops and Fancy-Dress Balls, [bring yer own gown], they also have a great shout-cast radio show, which happens once a month or more, and is archived so you don't have to miss anything!

Part of a recent radio broadcast, comprises Godesses and Gods, hosted by Becs the Goddesse, and Paradox the poet.
Godesses and Gods is an astonishing multimedia mash-up, an array of wildly entertaining juxtapositions of talent and thought, heart and trans-political comment. In a former version, it was called Gods and Goddesses, hey plus ca change!!

G&G has been providing a stage and a forum for meaningful entertainment for three years, and has put on shows in London, Bristol, Cambridge and Brighton, as well as touring the country with appearances at Festivals from Glastonbury to The Big Green Gathering. With audiences ranging from 30 to 400, G&G is about the show happening, not trying to become an EVENT! Dahling!

And so every year there has been change; an organic shape-shifting that has allowed it to breathe the fresh air of new performers, new audience-communities and to avoid the sterility of "tradition", and expectation............. it's current form is as vibrant as ever, and the recent show at Unity Works, on October 22nd was a delight. Ranging from full-on electro-eclectro, to comedians, Hoola Hoop balletic juggling, singer/songwriters, poets and DJs to new raw talent and conversationalist galactic agents, the show ran from 8pm until 2.30, performers on the floor with the audience as well as stage acts.

The key to Godesses and Gods is the focus each performer brings, by way of joy, and with that comes also a political awareness of the power of our joy, especially the joy we have discovered for our selves. Each to their hearts own, and all together.
Bio-diversity.

And by having a gentle laugh at the world of manufactured consent, that traditional consensus of AUTHORITY, a system of fear and repression which robs each one of us that succumbs, of that awesome joy, then the truth is confirmed. We all feel it, yet it goes unmentioned. Well SOMEBODY has to say it!

Unity Works says it. Gods and Godesses say it. Come and join in the fun!

Corneilius

"do what you love it's your gift to the universe!"

Haven’t you been recently plagued by emails from DJs (you never knew) or Promotions (you never attended) pleading or just begging to vote for them in such and such poll just on the base of their flyer? A bit tricky this one is, by all the accounts.

It is understandable for your friends to ask for your support. To be frank Judging by fair play standards sadly it is simply not honest and constitutes cheating to many but in case of complete strangers to ask for your vote is plainly unacceptable.

So please kindly stop polluting our mailboxes with your sneaky requests! Thank you!

This year DJ Mag Top 100 DJs Poll, however offers some hope in deciding who is really popular with the audiences worldwide as it appears to be 100% public vote. There is also a welcome addition to current poll.

Last year DJ Mag launched first ever poll dedicated to the visual scene as voted by a panel of industry professionals. But this year they are accepting nominations from the public.

To have your say in who should be in the Top 20 VJs simply e-mail a list of your Top 5 VJs, DVJs or audiovisual artists to vjscan@djmag.com.

Please note that only nominations with five different visual performers will be accepted – they won’t accept nominations with just one name, and definitely not nominations with the same name five times!

So here it is - your last chance to play a vital role in deciding the outcome of the this most important poll in dance music (apparently they say)

And hurry up as they close today!

Voting for VJ, DVJs? then click here

Voting for DJs? then click here

Haven’t you been recently plagued by emails from DJs (you never knew) or Promotions (you never attended) pleading or just begging to vote for them in such and such poll just on the base of their flyer? A bit tricky this one is, by all the accounts.

It is understandable for your friends to ask for your support. To be frank Judging by fair play standards sadly it is simply not honest and constitutes cheating to many but in case of complete strangers to ask for your vote is plainly unacceptable.

So please kindly stop polluting our mailboxes with your sneaky requests! Thank you!

This year DJ Mag Top 100 DJs Poll, however offers some hope in deciding who is really popular with the audiences worldwide as it appears to be 100% public vote. There is also a welcome addition to current poll.

Last year DJ Mag launched first ever poll dedicated to the visual scene as voted by a panel of industry professionals. But this year they are accepting nominations from the public.

To have your say in who should be in the Top 20 VJs simply e-mail a list of your Top 5 VJs, DVJs or audiovisual artists to vjscan@djmag.com.

Please note that only nominations with five different visual performers will be accepted – they won’t accept nominations with just one name, and definitely not nominations with the same name five times!

So here it is - your last chance to play a vital role in deciding the outcome of the this most important poll in dance music (apparently they say)

And hurry up as they close today!

Voting for VJ, DVJs? then click here

Voting for DJs? then click here

Since time immemorial or as long as I can remember, it was and still is a must for any self respectinghard house or hard trance addict to get wasted there on a Sunday night and be grooving till Monday 6am. (Sic!) Nice indeed, for those concerned, that is.
Playing there was always considered a privilege, bringing mark of respect and recognition in hard house circles. Just Groove is famous for another reason. Not everyone understands or appreciates hard house but the love of this superb, fast beat brings some very opposite characters together, hence Just Groove, was and still is a special place because meeting friendly groovy types, sometimes definitely off genetic pool, never bores.No wonder then that I was a bit nervous and apprehensive about going there to have a chat with Louise and Tony, 414 proprietors responsible for creating and sustaining this longest running night in London.
Tony is away on the business wiring some sound equipment but Louise is there and in good form, considering that we are meeting on Monday evening and the day itself is universally treated as a clubbing holiday to gather senses after the long weekend. My task is made much easier though by the fact that she is one of the most approachable club owners I know.
So here we are sitting up in a large, functionally furnished flat upstairs.The only pity is that there is no music drifting from downstairs and I haven’t got a chance to hear how much of it you can actually hear. It was a long-standing conundrum for 414 regulars wondering how can you actually lead a normal life above the club who for years brings on very loud and messy events. And hard house is especially good in creating a lot of wallop. Never mind that. Chance is lost. So sipping coffee and trying not to stain the first class carpet, I am beginning to inquire about the past.

The Beginnings

The exact date of the first Just Groove is not really known. Not that it is important but since it was 10 years ago no one is really sure about the details. It could be the end of May or beginning of June but by mutual consensus second week of June has been chosen as the birthday date. Sunday slot was occupied then by promotion called Freshly Squeezed. It was a hard-edged beats bash with Roosta and Rob Campbell playing as residents. Roosta was barely a teenager then and Louise nods – “Yeah, he was just a little bit, well he still is compared to Skol,” she laughs. “He’s been always polite with perfect manners and that scores a lot with me”, she adds. I couldn’t agree more. In all these years I never detected any sign of DJs disease in him and he remains one of the DJs who I have always time for. Anyway, back to the history… After Freshly Squeezed stopped, Just Groove rolled in as a predominately hard house night where Roosta and Skol were residents with Muzz joining them later on. It was also starting point for DJing career of Skol, and a distinguished career it is. Louise remembers how he used to borrow records from other DJs and go and play blinding set – as he still does play blinding sets. He is one of those spinners who were actually born with the rare skill of mixing. Louise continues; “Rob Campbell and Roosta were taking mickey out of him saying he was a DJ without a home… Tony said, “this could be your home”. And indeed “he never missed the slot in these long 10 years unless he was out of the country”. I remain impressed. That’s dedication indeed. It was also Tony who came up with the name, Just Groove. Louise continues -“because it was Sunday, end of weekend and what else were you supposed to do then. It was Just Groove for the party people, place to unwind and have a boogie”. In 1995 there were no other musical venues on Coldharbour Lane apart from the pub called Atlantic (present Dog Star) and nothing else bar reggae nights. Place was a bit desolate then and considered risky to venture. “When Just Groove first started, there were two types of people on Coldharbour Lane; 414 customers and 'undesirables' but you could tell them apart" - Louise laughs.
Club 414 was already a brand name on the London’s dance scene in 1995 and have proved to be extremely popular in techno and especially acid techno circles for hosting“ Nuclear Free Zone” on Saturdays. It has been running already for 15 years and it was a special place where you could rub shoulders with infamous 3 Liberators: Julian, Aaron and Chris and listen to some true, unadulterated techno. Indisputably 414 was a beacon of cutting edge, underground music in those days and they had dedicated following. But nobody was doing hard house parties then; besides hard dance term had not been invented yet– and it was an absolutely unique event and 414 were indisputably world leaders and pushing boundaries of the scene. (Polar Bear that eventually grew into Fevah and Strawberry Sundays came later for all concerned historians.)
There was never any special effort to promote this event – “Those days it was word of mouth, people bringing friends and spreading the word about the party. Everyone knew each other. It was big family of party people, family of clubbers. Everyone is different but they all were uniting at Just Groove – just winding down at the end of weekend. You know… just groove, easy… This is what made it quite different from other aggressive promotions. Back in the day it was the underground that mattered and word on the underground scene travels faster then any flyer will ever do”. So immediately they became immensely popular with the public and were packed to the rafters or more on Sunday nights. It was something natural and widely accepted to meet @ Just Groove and exchange all the news and gossip or stay silent and kick the floor. But we were always there till the morning light. Standing or not…

Music

Louise is quite forthcoming and brief here. “We are leaving it to DJs. They take their cues from the crowd - as long as the public likes what they play there won’t be any change in music policy – just hard pounding beats. No less”. It’s so simple to say but if you haven’t ever been taken to the different dimension by collective mixes of Muzz, Skol and Roosta then you never lived and you don’t know your hard house at all. Especially last two hours occupied by Skol and Roosta are simply manic, however, good old Muzz managed to upstage them several times.
Latest additions to residents could be Craig Mac whose partnership with Skol is becoming a fixture @ Just Groove.
“Very nice man” adds Louise. “We would love to make him official resident but that would leave only one guest slot and that would be difficult”. List of DJs playing for Just Groove over the years reads like who is who or who was who in the last decade of hard house and hard trance. The list is long indeed and some of the names are missing, as memory is such a fickle thing. So I attempt to name just a few and apologise for not including some players.
Mark L’Hat, Luke Brancaccio, Mazey, Rob Campbell, Alfie, Ian Betts, Marc French, Eamon Fevah, Hawkes, Greg Ferguson, Kev Walsh, Nick Irwin, Matt Clarke, Brendan, Billy Daniel Bunter, Craig Jon, Thermobee, Rupert, Matt Wilson, Grant Thompson, Andy Harkin, Latex Zebra, Red Cat, Mattie C, Mad Phil, Future Sound of Elvis, BSE, Ben Kakoshke, Simon Hill, Oberon, Karl Nicholson, Steve Morley, Mark Sinclair and others…

The Place

Unending popularity of Just Groove is easy to comprehend when you realise that Tony and Louise are dedicated party people themselves and were known in the past to open up 414 in case of emergency. “There was a party called Rage up in Heaven (Charing Cross) in 1994. It was on Thursday night and after the party, in the early morning we had a convoy of cars coming our way and they were asking if they could come back for a bash. So we opened. I worked in the bar and Tony was doing the door and we had a party till 6 in the morning. “
They got away with it but later they have to apply for a morning licence as emergency cases were having disturbing habit of happening every weekend. It was statutory 3am licence then and 414 were the first in south London to get 6am licence for Just Groove.
They were also the first to get after party licence until 9am. It was done for Milk infamous parties on Saturday mornings. Party environment indeed but hardly surprising since Louise, coming from large family of friends, knew a bit about partying in her time, she likes music full stop, and was used to being away from home since early age.
Her and Tony came to Brixton in 1984. It was 3 years after the Brixton riots in 1981 and no one knew what Brixton was going to do or which direction it should take.
The authorities were happy for anyone showing even vague interest in the area so they took a look, grabbed a bargain and settled down in old Tandoori restaurant.
That’s right. 414 Club was an Old Tandoori restaurant – that explains the spiral staircase- I mutter. It wasn’t destroyed in the riot but stayed derelict for over two year and consequently was absolutely devastated. “When we walked through the door first time it was kind of “Oh my Days!” reaction” - remembers Louise. Lots of hard work followed since then however 414 never attempted to pretend to be Buckingham Palace and for a very good reason.

“If you make the place too clean than you could make people uncomfortable and destroy the feeling of being underground. If you make a place too nice you risk taking out the atmosphere and vibe.
Back in the day when we were underground you couldn’t have it too nice because people would think it’s corporate entertainment and then we had a reputation to keep. As they say, you cannot please all the people all the time. But there are limits to everything so every Tuesday Mickey comes for a cleansing session. The carpets and floors are cleaned and he wipes all the walls down and polished all the mirrors and because we do it every week I don’t think anybody notices it” – Louise laughs.

Yet 414 stays the one and only place where a man can practise peeing and holding the door with one leg – good for your balance, innit? This is a legendary skill by now. Taking care of the staff is also absolutely essential to create that ‘home made’ feeling of 414. And Louise here has a tip for all concerned. “ If you want to know if the venue is good and friendly enough, look at the staff; if you see the same crew week in week out then the management must be all right.” And this is the duty she takes very seriously. She looks after her “boys”, read security and her “girls”, read bar staff. And under no circumstances will she allow liberty taking with her personnel. Saga – a resident doorkeeper from Sweden is another story and I admit to Louise that in all these years I haven’t evolved a skill to pass by her. Louse laughs at this heartily. “We are a small venue and we can ill afford to be overtly generous. She is a good girl and she is doing her job not letting everyone to get in. 'Sorry, you are not on the list, whoever you are.'" “She’s my sensible adult” Louise smiles.
Now I have a difficult question to ask as every music venue owner in UK had some “special” time with the passing of Barry Legg Law. Have they ever been raided by the police or shut by the authorities for some reasons? Now she is quite lucid and passionate. “Never. In all 21 years since we have been here.” As it transpires “we did a 7 year apprenticeship for the authorities as they couldn’t understand why there was never any trouble in the club. They thought it was free for all, well it was not actually but in the other aspects like no dress code and water bottle filling because of that there was never any trouble. That’s the secret. But after that time the authorities realised we were neither con artists nor drug dealers nor tax evaders. Finally it dawned on them that we were just business people. It was because we have that golden rule – behave yourself.”

The Vibe

I still vividly recall like it was yesterday; continuous 2 years of mad rushing at 4am from Fevah @ Tube to Brixton to catch last 2 hours of bangin’ on the weekend. We were never satisfied those days but Just Groove universally was the one to finish us off. Completely that is.
There were several good reasons for this unflinching support of our bunch of clubbers. Firstly it was a family-like approach to all of us, none being singled out for any preferential treatment. Top-notch security was there to protect us and not to hurt us. Besides this was Brixton and things happen in Brixton but 414 was a place where you felt protected and basically safe. “The idea behind things is firm but fair as we were getting all sorts of people at Just Groove” emphasises Louise. “I can’t be bothered with clubbing politics – we have seen people go, some of them have made it in life, some of them had not. Some of them have gone to have families but in the end of the day we are party people and we don’t have any specific regulation apart from behaving ourselves. That’s it. Period”.
It was indeed a passionate relationship between regulars and the venue. Take 414 logo for instance. Bearing in mind trademark rules DJ Alfie is officially own by 414 as he got its logo as a tattoo on his arm. Besides him Louise and Tony reserve exclusive rights to one female bottom and man’s back. “They were a couple from Sardinia who met at 414 and later got married. And they have tattoos done after the wedding”

It was relationship loyal to the end yet frivolous sometimes. Louise remembers - “On one occasion speaker caught fire, but the punters who were supposed to vacate the building, took their drinks upstairs and stay there leaving to the stuff to put it out. Well they were taken care of so why should they bother? - She laughs. They had power breaks in the past and again public refused to leave. “They were more then happy to have a break and wait for it to be fixed.” There were examples of people falling asleep in the club – sometimes behind the spiral staircase or in the DJ box. On the morning discovery they were given complimentary cup of tea and send home. Back to life I presume. After that staff have a habit of checking all around the building to make sure everybody managed to get home in the end.
And my God they were getting some surreal types: promoters, gladiators, biologists, genetics, biochemists, architects, archaeologists, lecturers, mathematicians, gangsters, dealers, Zulu woman folk, writers, lecturers and comedians. In short all sorts of people from nations that rambled around London. Chill out upstairs was echoing sometimes with more than a dozen languages conducting more or less coherent discussions.
On another occasion they had a group of Japanese musicians visiting Just Groove – and they enjoyed the night so much they have invited one of the regular DJs - Luke Brancaccio was given a task - to perform at one of theirs gigs in Japan during brakes. They turned out to be a big band in Japan and poor Luke was mobbed by fans leaving the venues and came back very happy with the experience, as being paid £200 for a slot was for every DJ. I will always remember Mr. Brancaccio for some other reason. Long time ago thanks to him I lost my contact lenses @ Dog Star on NYE and remained half blind through the night. But what a night it was, Hey!

Behaviour

“If you like the music, and this is all about music, then music should be your drug. What goes around comes around. If you haven’t got anything to say just shut up! Save your breath! If you are the party person then you enjoy your music, you enjoy socialising, meeting people, having a boogie. If you don’t see it that way 'then see you later. Bye...' " – quips Louise. It’s easy to say but in Louise’s case, age works in her favour.
But there are also some other tricks that she mastered to keep a lid on things in the club. It doesn’t happen very often, if it happens at all, to see club proprietor distributing football-like yellow or red cards between customers. I got one myself a while back for parking my trainers on the seat, very naughty of me, but tragically I wasn’t allow to keep it for safe keeping.
The rules are simple: yellow cards are for putting legs on the seats, talking back incomprehensively or general unruly behaviour.
Red cards are for sitting on plants on the terrace and violence. She gave few of them for that – however I have never seen any violence or aggressive arguments in 414 during all these years. I only saw Tony disposing of a drug dealer once and it was a lesson in Brixton psychology. Good to remember.
Another trick is tolerance and patience with customers. As she says - “you should never judge people by the way they look. If you take some effort to talk to people, you could find out that they could be interesting. It could be a language or some sociological barrier that prevents them from being fully understood. Arrogance and ignorance breeds bad vibe and intolerance and there is nothing worse than that.”
“It also helps to learn a few phrases from different languages in order to speak a proper word at the appropriate moment to control the misunderstanding or brewing trouble. We just provide environment - we are here to make sure that you enjoy yourself and you are all right” For those in the know they also prefer to educate people but beside that 414 is in the midst of thriving Rasta community with all the consequences to passers by.

‘There are as always side effects to running a night club and business altogether’ Louise adds. “ People ask us ‘How do you sleep’?”
Running administrative side of the club takes around 57 hours a week – including 17 hours over weekend. “But you can get used to that. We are party people.” Myself I know a thing or two about this nocturnal life. Your body clock changes and you just get on with it as many others in the music circle. Not a big deal. But owners have to be disciplined on Sundays since they have to start working on Monday on the office side of it. And it is a challenge indeed. It’s so tempting to come downstairs, and then it is so painfully difficult to leave. At this point Louise burst laughing and declares: “There are 3 things I won’t take responsibility for: losing your job, breaking up your relationship and children”
Stewart T is chosen example as he blamed her for losing his job because he couldn’t get out in time. So now you know and you have been warned.

Future

So what the future holds for 414?
Louise believes that 414 have to give back something not only to their customers but also to the community. So there are plans to make premises available from Monday to Thursday for ‘worthy and charitable causes’ e.g. especially looking after the youngsters in Brixton
They are also in the process of creating a recording studio – “watch this space” – Louise warns. “There is not much going on in Brixton at the moment and young people have nowhere to go to express themselves and get creative and ambitious. They might end up on the street otherwise. Same principle applies to creating opportunities within the industry. It has been only a couple of years that Coldharbour Lane has improved and still a lot or even more could be done. Tony and Louise want to continue as long as they can – it is up to the public really – but it is important that they live in the club.
Brixton is fantastically vibrant and multi cultured 24 hours society but 414 is more than just a nightclub.

Last 3 words?

“Just keep grooving”

__________________

Jam Gorilla

Since time immemorial or as long as I can remember, it was and still is a must for any self respectinghard house or hard trance addict to get wasted there on a Sunday night and be grooving till Monday 6am. (Sic!) Nice indeed, for those concerned, that is.
Playing there was always considered a privilege, bringing mark of respect and recognition in hard house circles. Just Groove is famous for another reason. Not everyone understands or appreciates hard house but the love of this superb, fast beat brings some very opposite characters together, hence Just Groove, was and still is a special place because meeting friendly groovy types, sometimes definitely off genetic pool, never bores.No wonder then that I was a bit nervous and apprehensive about going there to have a chat with Louise and Tony, 414 proprietors responsible for creating and sustaining this longest running night in London.
Tony is away on the business wiring some sound equipment but Louise is there and in good form, considering that we are meeting on Monday evening and the day itself is universally treated as a clubbing holiday to gather senses after the long weekend. My task is made much easier though by the fact that she is one of the most approachable club owners I know.
So here we are sitting up in a large, functionally furnished flat upstairs.The only pity is that there is no music drifting from downstairs and I haven’t got a chance to hear how much of it you can actually hear. It was a long-standing conundrum for 414 regulars wondering how can you actually lead a normal life above the club who for years brings on very loud and messy events. And hard house is especially good in creating a lot of wallop. Never mind that. Chance is lost. So sipping coffee and trying not to stain the first class carpet, I am beginning to inquire about the past.

The Beginnings

The exact date of the first Just Groove is not really known. Not that it is important but since it was 10 years ago no one is really sure about the details. It could be the end of May or beginning of June but by mutual consensus second week of June has been chosen as the birthday date. Sunday slot was occupied then by promotion called Freshly Squeezed. It was a hard-edged beats bash with Roosta and Rob Campbell playing as residents. Roosta was barely a teenager then and Louise nods – “Yeah, he was just a little bit, well he still is compared to Skol,” she laughs. “He’s been always polite with perfect manners and that scores a lot with me”, she adds. I couldn’t agree more. In all these years I never detected any sign of DJs disease in him and he remains one of the DJs who I have always time for. Anyway, back to the history… After Freshly Squeezed stopped, Just Groove rolled in as a predominately hard house night where Roosta and Skol were residents with Muzz joining them later on. It was also starting point for DJing career of Skol, and a distinguished career it is. Louise remembers how he used to borrow records from other DJs and go and play blinding set – as he still does play blinding sets. He is one of those spinners who were actually born with the rare skill of mixing. Louise continues; “Rob Campbell and Roosta were taking mickey out of him saying he was a DJ without a home… Tony said, “this could be your home”. And indeed “he never missed the slot in these long 10 years unless he was out of the country”. I remain impressed. That’s dedication indeed. It was also Tony who came up with the name, Just Groove. Louise continues -“because it was Sunday, end of weekend and what else were you supposed to do then. It was Just Groove for the party people, place to unwind and have a boogie”. In 1995 there were no other musical venues on Coldharbour Lane apart from the pub called Atlantic (present Dog Star) and nothing else bar reggae nights. Place was a bit desolate then and considered risky to venture. “When Just Groove first started, there were two types of people on Coldharbour Lane; 414 customers and 'undesirables' but you could tell them apart" - Louise laughs.
Club 414 was already a brand name on the London’s dance scene in 1995 and have proved to be extremely popular in techno and especially acid techno circles for hosting“ Nuclear Free Zone” on Saturdays. It has been running already for 15 years and it was a special place where you could rub shoulders with infamous 3 Liberators: Julian, Aaron and Chris and listen to some true, unadulterated techno. Indisputably 414 was a beacon of cutting edge, underground music in those days and they had dedicated following. But nobody was doing hard house parties then; besides hard dance term had not been invented yet– and it was an absolutely unique event and 414 were indisputably world leaders and pushing boundaries of the scene. (Polar Bear that eventually grew into Fevah and Strawberry Sundays came later for all concerned historians.)
There was never any special effort to promote this event – “Those days it was word of mouth, people bringing friends and spreading the word about the party. Everyone knew each other. It was big family of party people, family of clubbers. Everyone is different but they all were uniting at Just Groove – just winding down at the end of weekend. You know… just groove, easy… This is what made it quite different from other aggressive promotions. Back in the day it was the underground that mattered and word on the underground scene travels faster then any flyer will ever do”. So immediately they became immensely popular with the public and were packed to the rafters or more on Sunday nights. It was something natural and widely accepted to meet @ Just Groove and exchange all the news and gossip or stay silent and kick the floor. But we were always there till the morning light. Standing or not…

Music

Louise is quite forthcoming and brief here. “We are leaving it to DJs. They take their cues from the crowd - as long as the public likes what they play there won’t be any change in music policy – just hard pounding beats. No less”. It’s so simple to say but if you haven’t ever been taken to the different dimension by collective mixes of Muzz, Skol and Roosta then you never lived and you don’t know your hard house at all. Especially last two hours occupied by Skol and Roosta are simply manic, however, good old Muzz managed to upstage them several times.
Latest additions to residents could be Craig Mac whose partnership with Skol is becoming a fixture @ Just Groove.
“Very nice man” adds Louise. “We would love to make him official resident but that would leave only one guest slot and that would be difficult”. List of DJs playing for Just Groove over the years reads like who is who or who was who in the last decade of hard house and hard trance. The list is long indeed and some of the names are missing, as memory is such a fickle thing. So I attempt to name just a few and apologise for not including some players.
Mark L’Hat, Luke Brancaccio, Mazey, Rob Campbell, Alfie, Ian Betts, Marc French, Eamon Fevah, Hawkes, Greg Ferguson, Kev Walsh, Nick Irwin, Matt Clarke, Brendan, Billy Daniel Bunter, Craig Jon, Thermobee, Rupert, Matt Wilson, Grant Thompson, Andy Harkin, Latex Zebra, Red Cat, Mattie C, Mad Phil, Future Sound of Elvis, BSE, Ben Kakoshke, Simon Hill, Oberon, Karl Nicholson, Steve Morley, Mark Sinclair and others…

The Place

Unending popularity of Just Groove is easy to comprehend when you realise that Tony and Louise are dedicated party people themselves and were known in the past to open up 414 in case of emergency. “There was a party called Rage up in Heaven (Charing Cross) in 1994. It was on Thursday night and after the party, in the early morning we had a convoy of cars coming our way and they were asking if they could come back for a bash. So we opened. I worked in the bar and Tony was doing the door and we had a party till 6 in the morning. “
They got away with it but later they have to apply for a morning licence as emergency cases were having disturbing habit of happening every weekend. It was statutory 3am licence then and 414 were the first in south London to get 6am licence for Just Groove.
They were also the first to get after party licence until 9am. It was done for Milk infamous parties on Saturday mornings. Party environment indeed but hardly surprising since Louise, coming from large family of friends, knew a bit about partying in her time, she likes music full stop, and was used to being away from home since early age.
Her and Tony came to Brixton in 1984. It was 3 years after the Brixton riots in 1981 and no one knew what Brixton was going to do or which direction it should take.
The authorities were happy for anyone showing even vague interest in the area so they took a look, grabbed a bargain and settled down in old Tandoori restaurant.
That’s right. 414 Club was an Old Tandoori restaurant – that explains the spiral staircase- I mutter. It wasn’t destroyed in the riot but stayed derelict for over two year and consequently was absolutely devastated. “When we walked through the door first time it was kind of “Oh my Days!” reaction” - remembers Louise. Lots of hard work followed since then however 414 never attempted to pretend to be Buckingham Palace and for a very good reason.

“If you make the place too clean than you could make people uncomfortable and destroy the feeling of being underground. If you make a place too nice you risk taking out the atmosphere and vibe.
Back in the day when we were underground you couldn’t have it too nice because people would think it’s corporate entertainment and then we had a reputation to keep. As they say, you cannot please all the people all the time. But there are limits to everything so every Tuesday Mickey comes for a cleansing session. The carpets and floors are cleaned and he wipes all the walls down and polished all the mirrors and because we do it every week I don’t think anybody notices it” – Louise laughs.

Yet 414 stays the one and only place where a man can practise peeing and holding the door with one leg – good for your balance, innit? This is a legendary skill by now. Taking care of the staff is also absolutely essential to create that ‘home made’ feeling of 414. And Louise here has a tip for all concerned. “ If you want to know if the venue is good and friendly enough, look at the staff; if you see the same crew week in week out then the management must be all right.” And this is the duty she takes very seriously. She looks after her “boys”, read security and her “girls”, read bar staff. And under no circumstances will she allow liberty taking with her personnel. Saga – a resident doorkeeper from Sweden is another story and I admit to Louise that in all these years I haven’t evolved a skill to pass by her. Louse laughs at this heartily. “We are a small venue and we can ill afford to be overtly generous. She is a good girl and she is doing her job not letting everyone to get in. 'Sorry, you are not on the list, whoever you are.'" “She’s my sensible adult” Louise smiles.
Now I have a difficult question to ask as every music venue owner in UK had some “special” time with the passing of Barry Legg Law. Have they ever been raided by the police or shut by the authorities for some reasons? Now she is quite lucid and passionate. “Never. In all 21 years since we have been here.” As it transpires “we did a 7 year apprenticeship for the authorities as they couldn’t understand why there was never any trouble in the club. They thought it was free for all, well it was not actually but in the other aspects like no dress code and water bottle filling because of that there was never any trouble. That’s the secret. But after that time the authorities realised we were neither con artists nor drug dealers nor tax evaders. Finally it dawned on them that we were just business people. It was because we have that golden rule – behave yourself.”

The Vibe

I still vividly recall like it was yesterday; continuous 2 years of mad rushing at 4am from Fevah @ Tube to Brixton to catch last 2 hours of bangin’ on the weekend. We were never satisfied those days but Just Groove universally was the one to finish us off. Completely that is.
There were several good reasons for this unflinching support of our bunch of clubbers. Firstly it was a family-like approach to all of us, none being singled out for any preferential treatment. Top-notch security was there to protect us and not to hurt us. Besides this was Brixton and things happen in Brixton but 414 was a place where you felt protected and basically safe. “The idea behind things is firm but fair as we were getting all sorts of people at Just Groove” emphasises Louise. “I can’t be bothered with clubbing politics – we have seen people go, some of them have made it in life, some of them had not. Some of them have gone to have families but in the end of the day we are party people and we don’t have any specific regulation apart from behaving ourselves. That’s it. Period”.
It was indeed a passionate relationship between regulars and the venue. Take 414 logo for instance. Bearing in mind trademark rules DJ Alfie is officially own by 414 as he got its logo as a tattoo on his arm. Besides him Louise and Tony reserve exclusive rights to one female bottom and man’s back. “They were a couple from Sardinia who met at 414 and later got married. And they have tattoos done after the wedding”

It was relationship loyal to the end yet frivolous sometimes. Louise remembers - “On one occasion speaker caught fire, but the punters who were supposed to vacate the building, took their drinks upstairs and stay there leaving to the stuff to put it out. Well they were taken care of so why should they bother? - She laughs. They had power breaks in the past and again public refused to leave. “They were more then happy to have a break and wait for it to be fixed.” There were examples of people falling asleep in the club – sometimes behind the spiral staircase or in the DJ box. On the morning discovery they were given complimentary cup of tea and send home. Back to life I presume. After that staff have a habit of checking all around the building to make sure everybody managed to get home in the end.
And my God they were getting some surreal types: promoters, gladiators, biologists, genetics, biochemists, architects, archaeologists, lecturers, mathematicians, gangsters, dealers, Zulu woman folk, writers, lecturers and comedians. In short all sorts of people from nations that rambled around London. Chill out upstairs was echoing sometimes with more than a dozen languages conducting more or less coherent discussions.
On another occasion they had a group of Japanese musicians visiting Just Groove – and they enjoyed the night so much they have invited one of the regular DJs - Luke Brancaccio was given a task - to perform at one of theirs gigs in Japan during brakes. They turned out to be a big band in Japan and poor Luke was mobbed by fans leaving the venues and came back very happy with the experience, as being paid £200 for a slot was for every DJ. I will always remember Mr. Brancaccio for some other reason. Long time ago thanks to him I lost my contact lenses @ Dog Star on NYE and remained half blind through the night. But what a night it was, Hey!

Behaviour

“If you like the music, and this is all about music, then music should be your drug. What goes around comes around. If you haven’t got anything to say just shut up! Save your breath! If you are the party person then you enjoy your music, you enjoy socialising, meeting people, having a boogie. If you don’t see it that way 'then see you later. Bye...' " – quips Louise. It’s easy to say but in Louise’s case, age works in her favour.
But there are also some other tricks that she mastered to keep a lid on things in the club. It doesn’t happen very often, if it happens at all, to see club proprietor distributing football-like yellow or red cards between customers. I got one myself a while back for parking my trainers on the seat, very naughty of me, but tragically I wasn’t allow to keep it for safe keeping.
The rules are simple: yellow cards are for putting legs on the seats, talking back incomprehensively or general unruly behaviour.
Red cards are for sitting on plants on the terrace and violence. She gave few of them for that – however I have never seen any violence or aggressive arguments in 414 during all these years. I only saw Tony disposing of a drug dealer once and it was a lesson in Brixton psychology. Good to remember.
Another trick is tolerance and patience with customers. As she says - “you should never judge people by the way they look. If you take some effort to talk to people, you could find out that they could be interesting. It could be a language or some sociological barrier that prevents them from being fully understood. Arrogance and ignorance breeds bad vibe and intolerance and there is nothing worse than that.”
“It also helps to learn a few phrases from different languages in order to speak a proper word at the appropriate moment to control the misunderstanding or brewing trouble. We just provide environment - we are here to make sure that you enjoy yourself and you are all right” For those in the know they also prefer to educate people but beside that 414 is in the midst of thriving Rasta community with all the consequences to passers by.

‘There are as always side effects to running a night club and business altogether’ Louise adds. “ People ask us ‘How do you sleep’?”
Running administrative side of the club takes around 57 hours a week – including 17 hours over weekend. “But you can get used to that. We are party people.” Myself I know a thing or two about this nocturnal life. Your body clock changes and you just get on with it as many others in the music circle. Not a big deal. But owners have to be disciplined on Sundays since they have to start working on Monday on the office side of it. And it is a challenge indeed. It’s so tempting to come downstairs, and then it is so painfully difficult to leave. At this point Louise burst laughing and declares: “There are 3 things I won’t take responsibility for: losing your job, breaking up your relationship and children”
Stewart T is chosen example as he blamed her for losing his job because he couldn’t get out in time. So now you know and you have been warned.

Future

So what the future holds for 414?
Louise believes that 414 have to give back something not only to their customers but also to the community. So there are plans to make premises available from Monday to Thursday for ‘worthy and charitable causes’ e.g. especially looking after the youngsters in Brixton
They are also in the process of creating a recording studio – “watch this space” – Louise warns. “There is not much going on in Brixton at the moment and young people have nowhere to go to express themselves and get creative and ambitious. They might end up on the street otherwise. Same principle applies to creating opportunities within the industry. It has been only a couple of years that Coldharbour Lane has improved and still a lot or even more could be done. Tony and Louise want to continue as long as they can – it is up to the public really – but it is important that they live in the club.
Brixton is fantastically vibrant and multi cultured 24 hours society but 414 is more than just a nightclub.

Last 3 words?

“Just keep grooving”

__________________

Jam Gorilla

There are eyewitness accounts now being posted by attendees that give a fuller picture of what ravers were subjected to. This is a typical entry:

"Suddenly I saw the sight that disgusted me. A person whom I had met before was on the ground face first, 4 Reservists had their guns pointed to his head, and were handcuffing him. Their attack dog was mauling his: Shoulder, Neck and Torso areas."

This incident is reminiscent of the recent CzechTek free festival, where Czech police action resulted in a national scandal through violent action against ravers. Even the Czech President was moved to criticise these tactics.

There are eyewitness accounts now being posted by attendees that give a fuller picture of what ravers were subjected to. This is a typical entry:

"Suddenly I saw the sight that disgusted me. A person whom I had met before was on the ground face first, 4 Reservists had their guns pointed to his head, and were handcuffing him. Their attack dog was mauling his: Shoulder, Neck and Torso areas."

This incident is reminiscent of the recent CzechTek free festival, where Czech police action resulted in a national scandal through violent action against ravers. Even the Czech President was moved to criticise these tactics.

...From the publishers...

"We will be covering GK's GLOBAL GATHERING, CREAMFIELD'S where TARA REYNOLDS and PLUMP DJ's talked about their festival highs and lows and Wales very own Wakeboarding festival WAKESTOCK.

The first issue also includes interviews/news with up n coming DJ’s/producers ALED MANN, and promoters ELEVATE, THE CLINIC News sections, Label spotlights with the NU ENERGY COLLECTIVE, record reviews
+ much more..

BASS INSTINCT is a FREE magazine and can found in all good record shops from the 20th of July



If you would like your copy mailed FREE
please send email to:
killakrupromo@yahoo.co.uk

Be part of BASS INSTINCT!
we are also looking for contributors...
If you have what it takes to write record reviews, review club nights or distribute the magazine please email killakrupromo@yahoo.co.uk
www.clinic-underground.co.uk
or call 01492 535545"

...From the publishers...

"We will be covering GK's GLOBAL GATHERING, CREAMFIELD'S where TARA REYNOLDS and PLUMP DJ's talked about their festival highs and lows and Wales very own Wakeboarding festival WAKESTOCK.

The first issue also includes interviews/news with up n coming DJ’s/producers ALED MANN, and promoters ELEVATE, THE CLINIC News sections, Label spotlights with the NU ENERGY COLLECTIVE, record reviews
+ much more..

BASS INSTINCT is a FREE magazine and can found in all good record shops from the 20th of July



If you would like your copy mailed FREE
please send email to:
killakrupromo@yahoo.co.uk

Be part of BASS INSTINCT!
we are also looking for contributors...
If you have what it takes to write record reviews, review club nights or distribute the magazine please email killakrupromo@yahoo.co.uk
www.clinic-underground.co.uk
or call 01492 535545"

It's well organised and friendly, with several floor plans. The main space with the bar and food kitchen has generous seating; a space to dance on and a courtyard access which is well used, during the Summer months for juggling, poi and also has ample seating.

Off the bar are two separate levels. One exclusively decked with large tables where various children's activities are devised by the PA staff, as well as some of the parents, who volunteer their services, thus keeping the children well entertained with various activities such as costume-making, face painting, painting and organised games, etcetera, devised to keep the kids entertained, educated and motivated...and they are well busy during the day!

And as Angel told me:
"Our ethos for *Chilled* has always been to create a unique and alternative space for like-minded people, friends & families to spend quality time together, in an environment where they feel safe, comfortable and inspired to interact, play and create - whatever their age!"

"We work hard to get the balance of elements right and provide a range of activities from Holistic Health Workshops to Performers, Art, Crafts, Games & more! For me there's no greater pleasure than watching children and adults communicate and connect with each other on a one-to-one basis, as they play a game, make something or share food. We regularly see three generations of the same family, sharing a table. It's great to see everyone making friends, learning creative skills and having a good time. It’s what it's all about for me!"

And as Angel says, that is absolutely what you get, as this Sunday Chill is tailor-made for Clubbers with children and also those trance-addicts who've mellowed out and seek newer forms of interaction away from the smoke filled and banging environments of mayhem...
There is an upstairs chill out space with big sofas to sprawl into, with your mates, and back rooms used for individual and group healing sessions, especially Reiki, and are free to attend.

The highlight of the Sunday was Temple Hedz who delivered a good set and that started a surge of dancers to accompany them and the subsequent DJs rocked the place down till the end. A special mention to U-4-Ric aka Richard Morley, a fine Trance DJ who has set standards in the underground scene, for many years. He delivered a lovely mix of funky breaks and fluffy trance that brought back vivid and colourful memories of nights at Imperial Gardens.
That is usually what happens at a Planet Angel Chilled...as the day progresses, the music goes from ambient like trance and world beats to full blown trance for the evening session, which being a Bank Holiday weekend extended the license till 1am instead of the usual 10pm finish.

Finally, I asked Angel what plans they had for the future:
"We hope to continue to develop and grow *Chilled* to be all it can be, our main focus right now is to encourage more people (particularly unemployed and low income parents), to get involved - with their kids - and incorporate their ideas, improvements, workshops, games, activities and more!"

If you used to hang out at Spitz for "Loungeabout" or "Bingly Bongly" then this is a "chill" you will enjoy, with the same faces and the added bonus of interactive ness to occupy adults and children alike.

Le Mufti

Next Chilled is happening this Sunday at the same place

for more info click here

It's well organised and friendly, with several floor plans. The main space with the bar and food kitchen has generous seating; a space to dance on and a courtyard access which is well used, during the Summer months for juggling, poi and also has ample seating.

Off the bar are two separate levels. One exclusively decked with large tables where various children's activities are devised by the PA staff, as well as some of the parents, who volunteer their services, thus keeping the children well entertained with various activities such as costume-making, face painting, painting and organised games, etcetera, devised to keep the kids entertained, educated and motivated...and they are well busy during the day!

And as Angel told me:
"Our ethos for *Chilled* has always been to create a unique and alternative space for like-minded people, friends & families to spend quality time together, in an environment where they feel safe, comfortable and inspired to interact, play and create - whatever their age!"

"We work hard to get the balance of elements right and provide a range of activities from Holistic Health Workshops to Performers, Art, Crafts, Games & more! For me there's no greater pleasure than watching children and adults communicate and connect with each other on a one-to-one basis, as they play a game, make something or share food. We regularly see three generations of the same family, sharing a table. It's great to see everyone making friends, learning creative skills and having a good time. It’s what it's all about for me!"

And as Angel says, that is absolutely what you get, as this Sunday Chill is tailor-made for Clubbers with children and also those trance-addicts who've mellowed out and seek newer forms of interaction away from the smoke filled and banging environments of mayhem...
There is an upstairs chill out space with big sofas to sprawl into, with your mates, and back rooms used for individual and group healing sessions, especially Reiki, and are free to attend.

The highlight of the Sunday was Temple Hedz who delivered a good set and that started a surge of dancers to accompany them and the subsequent DJs rocked the place down till the end. A special mention to U-4-Ric aka Richard Morley, a fine Trance DJ who has set standards in the underground scene, for many years. He delivered a lovely mix of funky breaks and fluffy trance that brought back vivid and colourful memories of nights at Imperial Gardens.
That is usually what happens at a Planet Angel Chilled...as the day progresses, the music goes from ambient like trance and world beats to full blown trance for the evening session, which being a Bank Holiday weekend extended the license till 1am instead of the usual 10pm finish.

Finally, I asked Angel what plans they had for the future:
"We hope to continue to develop and grow *Chilled* to be all it can be, our main focus right now is to encourage more people (particularly unemployed and low income parents), to get involved - with their kids - and incorporate their ideas, improvements, workshops, games, activities and more!"

If you used to hang out at Spitz for "Loungeabout" or "Bingly Bongly" then this is a "chill" you will enjoy, with the same faces and the added bonus of interactive ness to occupy adults and children alike.

Le Mufti

Next Chilled is happening this Sunday at the same place

for more info click here

There are more interviews this time around, and as it was written in late 2004, it is very current in its outlook, referring to today’s scene, recently established DnB/Jungle artists, and he also makes reference to recent world events, such as the Iraq war, in his poem ‘It’s All Gone Pete Tong’.

Personally I’ve found All Crews to be very inspirational-I for one, am hoping to check out the DnB scene in Russia, having read that it’s just starting out there, and it’s as fresh and friendly as the dance scene was here, back in the late ‘80’s.

All Crews traces the origins of Jungle to the hardcore illegal rave scene of the late 80’s early 90’s, and goes through its history and development, including the influence of 80’s Jamaican Dancehall music. His sympathy with the underground dance scene comes across when he talks about the warehouse raves. Also, in his ‘personal diary’ he gives a vivid account of doing a DJ set in the middle of a road at a Reclaim the Streets party.

I think the author is very courageous, when he writes about race issues in the scene, and about the difference between DnB and Jungle. Both terms are still used, but the latter was associated with black culture, and unfortunately, violence. It took guts to write about the negative as well as the positive aspects of this scene.

The positive being the energy and originality of the music; the diversity of the crowd, and the fact it’s one scene where black and white kids mix; the fact that it’s home-grown, rather than a US or European import, and the fact that it’s spread around the world now. The negative aspects such as violence at raves in the mid-90’s, and the ‘closed shop’ element of hostility to outsiders to the scene, especially women, who want to make it as MC’s or DJ’s is talked about. It’s worth saying, however, that he also acknowledges the increasing amount of women involved as performers in the Jungle/DnB scene nowadays.

I like the fact he ‘named and shamed’ a DJ who still owes him loads of money!

There are a lot of DJ’s and MC’s profiled in All Crews, some established pioneers of the scene, and others just starting out. All Crews also looks at DnB on the radio, legal and otherwise; producers and record companies; record shops; promoters, and artists’ agencies, people who build the world’s best speaker systems… Plus interviews with some of the most important people- the ravers themselves.

And it’s entertaining; some of it made me laugh out loud, like the quotes from DJ Hype, and some great stories of things people will try in order to get into raves for free, such as one about a group of 12 travellers trying to blag into a rave, who all fell out of a generator that they were intending to use as a Trojan horse! Is that story for real?

Whether you’re new to the scene, and want to know the names to check out at raves, or whether you’re a seasoned raver who’s been around for years, but with a few gaps in your knowledge, All Crews is essential reading. Also, it’s a good size book to skin up on ;0)

Minnie Mouse.

Available in good record shops, and from http://www.knowledgemag.co.uk

There are more interviews this time around, and as it was written in late 2004, it is very current in its outlook, referring to today’s scene, recently established DnB/Jungle artists, and he also makes reference to recent world events, such as the Iraq war, in his poem ‘It’s All Gone Pete Tong’.

Personally I’ve found All Crews to be very inspirational-I for one, am hoping to check out the DnB scene in Russia, having read that it’s just starting out there, and it’s as fresh and friendly as the dance scene was here, back in the late ‘80’s.

All Crews traces the origins of Jungle to the hardcore illegal rave scene of the late 80’s early 90’s, and goes through its history and development, including the influence of 80’s Jamaican Dancehall music. His sympathy with the underground dance scene comes across when he talks about the warehouse raves. Also, in his ‘personal diary’ he gives a vivid account of doing a DJ set in the middle of a road at a Reclaim the Streets party.

I think the author is very courageous, when he writes about race issues in the scene, and about the difference between DnB and Jungle. Both terms are still used, but the latter was associated with black culture, and unfortunately, violence. It took guts to write about the negative as well as the positive aspects of this scene.

The positive being the energy and originality of the music; the diversity of the crowd, and the fact it’s one scene where black and white kids mix; the fact that it’s home-grown, rather than a US or European import, and the fact that it’s spread around the world now. The negative aspects such as violence at raves in the mid-90’s, and the ‘closed shop’ element of hostility to outsiders to the scene, especially women, who want to make it as MC’s or DJ’s is talked about. It’s worth saying, however, that he also acknowledges the increasing amount of women involved as performers in the Jungle/DnB scene nowadays.

I like the fact he ‘named and shamed’ a DJ who still owes him loads of money!

There are a lot of DJ’s and MC’s profiled in All Crews, some established pioneers of the scene, and others just starting out. All Crews also looks at DnB on the radio, legal and otherwise; producers and record companies; record shops; promoters, and artists’ agencies, people who build the world’s best speaker systems… Plus interviews with some of the most important people- the ravers themselves.

And it’s entertaining; some of it made me laugh out loud, like the quotes from DJ Hype, and some great stories of things people will try in order to get into raves for free, such as one about a group of 12 travellers trying to blag into a rave, who all fell out of a generator that they were intending to use as a Trojan horse! Is that story for real?

Whether you’re new to the scene, and want to know the names to check out at raves, or whether you’re a seasoned raver who’s been around for years, but with a few gaps in your knowledge, All Crews is essential reading. Also, it’s a good size book to skin up on ;0)

Minnie Mouse.

Available in good record shops, and from http://www.knowledgemag.co.uk

The first Glade festival is in fact a first in many ways; the first outdoor festival of pure electronic dance music held in the UK; 3 whole days of electronic musical delights, commencing midday Friday and ending at 6pm sharp Sunday night, good timing for us poor souls who have early Monday mornings to deal with. Set in a private 2,000-acre estate near Reading, Berkshire, the area is a nature reserve, set aside for dragonflies, the only one of its kind in England I understand (another first for Glade?). Woodland paths lit up with fairy lights, leading us to the Enchanted Forest where the true magic of the Glade festival was in abundance.
What an appropriate setting for a festival of this kind, what with the Dragonfly label being one of the early driving forces of the trance scene.

With 7 stages of the very best in dance music, the Glade festival has surely rivalled those such as Boom, Samothraki, Shiva Moon to name a few, and has put the UKs growing outdoor party scene finally on the international trance-party map. Yeah, really, 7 stages of different electronic music. Thats certainly something for those other promoters to think about, most of whom manage merely a main stage plus chill-out/world music stage. Very ambitious for a first time full marks to the Glade crew yet again.
Starting with the main stage hosting the live acts including The Egg, Eat Static and Squarepusher and a DJ set from the well known superstar DJ Timo Maas, then on to the Breaksday stage, the largest 24 hour gathering of Breakbeats held to date (another first!). Then there was the Sanco Panza stage, those up-for-it party guys who bring their Rio-style house party vibes to outdoor gatherings such as boat parties and the annual Notting Hill carnival.
Two stages were dedicated to those psychedelic groovers, the Origin stage (brought to you by the masters of South African trance parties) hosting our favourites like Talamasca, Jumanji and Protoculture and DJ sets like the mighty 4 hour set brought to us by Ans, one of the four main men of the Glade festival. Ive seen Talamasca play so many times and yet he never fails to impress me with his unique style of driving psy-beats sampled with growling guitars.
Every night the Origin tent shut at midnight to the dismay of the crowds who then had to move to find pastures new, such as the 24 hour Liquid Stage with the usual London party scene favourites such as Liquid Ross, Liquid Elf, Metaphase etc.
Other stages to look out for were the Cactus Pit Roadshow, housey tunes with a nice bar lounge setting, great escape from the rain, should we have ever needed it. Then off to the very end of the site where you would find the Solar Chill, set in a tranquil field of carved mushrooms, staging tranquil tunes and beautifully haunting melodies from the likes of Kaya Project and Tripswitch.
Other amenities included a 24 hour massage and healing area near the beautifully tranquil Solar Chill stage, the usual fluoro and ethnic clothing/jewellery stalls, even a plant and flower stall, cafes, food stands bringing an assortment of global nosh for carnivores and veggies alike. Even the usual English summertime showers held off, with the exception of a small downpour early Sunday morning whilst many were still curled up in the sleeping bag. I was quick to join the mass exodus from the fields into the Liquid Tent at that point. Fortunately though it was all over in minutes leaving a fresh and clear day to be enjoyed.

© Eli Saikadeli

more photos here
http://www.gladefestival.com
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stephen.adam/Sketchies/glade.html