From: Jon Freer (jon-freer_at_excite.com)
Date: 2005-12-07 12:27:13
Jon Freer’s Club Reviews: Eyes Down w/ Jazzanova.
Friday 2nd December at the Roadhouse, Manchester.
With a slightly more grown up style than many of Manchester’s other promoters, Eyes Down’s earnestness doesn’t come at the expense of great parties. Daring playlists from residents Jon K and Kelvin Brown alongside boundary pushing guest bookings have brought the downward starers enthusiastic crowds. Eyes Down’s attention to those clubbing home comforts, such as a clear soundsystem and letting just the right amount of people into the venue, has helped tailor the basic Roadhouse to their needs.
Jazzanova appreciate the benefits of playing for promoters with an open musical mind and thus understand the Eyes Down ethos of playing a diverse mix of music. This sextet of production dons and record deck operatives hailing from Berlin initially caught the hearts and minds of many music collectors when their premier compilation of re-rubs and overhauls dropped in 2000. Since then, the crew have released a number of productions alongside their arguably stronger reinterpretations. Many releases saw the light of day via the sadly missed JCR imprint and the over-productive Sonar Kollektiv label, which recently unleashed a second compilation of Jazzanova remixes. Rarely touring as a group, this return to Eyes Down saw Jürgen von Knoblauch represent the German outfit on his own.
Prior to Jürgen’s deckside exploits, Kelvin spun a set of warped Soul, strong Broken Beat, pumped up Techy House and more, to an approving crowd. It was a little bit of a struggle to get across the dancefloor, but there was certainly enough space to move with the music. Mr. Brown’s set was received warmly by his audience, and it encompassed tracks such as the Supremes urging “Come into My Life” and the stoned key stupor of “No Demons, No Majik” from Theo Parrish and Duminie DePorres. Jürgen Von Knoblauch followed, somehow managing to move from fat House numbers to excitable Latin numbers and jumpin’ Broken Beat to slouching Soul cuts, with the greatest of ease. This meant that there were many stop start moments in his set, but this didn’t prove to be a problem, as it gave listeners the chance to catch their breath. Highlights included Jazzanova’s crushing overhaul of Status IV’s riled “You Ain’t Really Down” and a stripped down revision of Leela James’ gorgeous “Music”.
After ending 2004 with the final gathering at the now in limbo Band On The Wall, this admirable event saw Eyes Down sign off for 2005 in style.
Jon Freer’s Club Reviews: Electric Chair…A view from the backroom.
Sat 26th November 2005 at the Music Box, Manchester.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in the full-on hedonism of the main room Chair experience, due to the electrifying atmosphere, a flood of visiting spinners and predictable yet glorious House and Disco focused sets from the mighty Unabombers. This November date, falling a month after an ear-bleeding Krivit sweatfest and pre-dating their end of year gargantuan event by four and a half weeks, gave Luke and Justin the opportunity create musical mayhem in the mainroom all night. The pair provided the musical essence of the Chair to an grateful, if modest-sized crowd, dropping cuts such as Teddy Pendergrass’ eager “The More I Get, The More I Want” and KDJ’s enthralling “I Can’t Kick This Feeling When It Hits” on an improved soundsystem.
The strength of the mainroom experience can make it difficult to prise oneself away from the main throng, negotiate the bar and journey to the curtained backroom, but it is certainly worth the effort. This poky yet charming room is home to Mr. Dependable, Kelvin Brown, and on this bitterly cold November evening, he was joined behind the turntables by Swedish production powerhouse Beatfanatic. Kelvin prefers evenings at the Chair when he has the backroom to himself and thus can flex his musical muscles fully, but having guests appear alongside him on occasions, adds considerable spice. On this occasion, it was bitterly cold in the backroom up until the early hours, but Mr. Brown warmed those dancers brave enough to venture out back with cuts like Marvin Belton’s evocative “Bleed To Be Free” and a host of mind warming soul-based cuts. By the time Beatfanatic took over, a rise in temperature from the greater number of bodies that had entered the club combined with the
imbibing of alcohol, meant that more clubbers found the backroom hospitable. Beatfanatic played a number soul-kissed tracks that wouldn’t have sounded out of place in the mainroom, alongside a few more energetic bangers. High points were airings of Donna Allen’s buoyant “He Is The Joy” and the downright nasty “A Bit Patchy” from Switch. Kelvin took things a little housier late on, treating a swelling backroom audience to Kem’s distraught “Without You”, as remixed in fine sax licking style by Moodymann, and Cricco Castelli’s infectious “Life Is Changing”. This night provided a welcome reminder of why the Chair has two rooms!
Jon Freer(jon.freer_at_gmail.com)
*Website: www.mosoul.co.uk.
*Freelance journalist.
Publications include -
Keep On Magazine
Blues & Soul Magazine
City Life Magazine
Blowback Magazine
Rant Magazine
cratertech.com
pitchadjust.com
manchesterunderground.com
beyondjazz.net
mundovibes.net
deephousenetwork.com
skansen.no
radiozerogravity.net
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