From: Jon Freer (jon-freer_at_excite.com)
Date: 2005-05-29 19:37:06
Club Review: Keep It Unreal, at the Music Box, Manchester, Saturday 7th May 2005.
Mr. Scruff aka Andy Carthy served his DJ apprenticeship via gracing all manner of Mancunian dancing affairs over a number of years. Scruff’s service to spinning records was rewarded near to the turn of the decade, when he was given the opportunity to start Keep It Unreal, a characteristically individual affair, which the tea lover runs on his own terms. His all-embracing attitude to picking music to play, fun loving productions and quirky doodling has seen Carthy’s dancerie appeal to a cross section of the public. Scruff is now in a pretty unique and enviable position, where he sells out venues all over the world on his name alone. The fact that students in their droves have embraced Scruff means that the crowd at ‘Keep It Unreal’ doesn’t truly reflect Carthy’s admirers and leans heavily towards younger devotees. The selfish behaviour by some of the crowd on the dancefloor means that some music lovers stay away, even though they enjoy the music played by the surprisingl!
y
tidy one.
Carthy is the antithesis of the superstar DJ, on this occasion bedecked in a ‘Mr. Scruff’ t-shirt, celebrating the re-release of his debut album via London’s zany Ninja Tune imprint. A down to earth, friendly and ego-less music obsessed fellow, Scruff obviously puts a huge amount effort into his pre-gig musical homework. Few other deck technicians would have fifty or so people on the dancefloor by twenty past eleven, wiggling their hips to obscure jazz records and responding to Pharaoh Saunders’ “Gotta Have Freedom” with whoops of delight. Depending on his mood, the records Carthy plays changes quite markedly from one month to another, but certain staples remain constant and it’s pretty much guaranteed that you’ll hear groovy jazz, sweet soul, mind-losing dub and posturing Hip Hop at a Scruff session. This night at KIU saw Carthy play a few discoey tracks and throw some energetic Latin numbers at the eager crowd alongside the usual fair. The last hour saw him lay on the
smooth US garage vibes thickly, with treats including Ruffneck featuring Yavahn’s pleading “Get It Right” and Kenny Bobien and Ann Nesby’s uplifting “Spread Love”. The Scruff success story is inspiring one and shows that you can achieve goals in life without having to compromise, if you’re willing to put in the effort.
Jon Freer(jon.freer_at_gmail.com)
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