From: Jon Freer (jon-freer_at_excite.com)
Date: 2005-09-13 20:46:36
Club Review: Tweak and Under The Stairs present Quentin Harris at the Attic, Manchester, 10th September 2005.
Tweak began their events in Manchester with a series of bumpy House outings with big name DJs at North, before opting to forsake this style of music for a more soulful approach and deciding to take their parties elsewhere. Meanwhile, UTS have always favoured a classy soul-kissed sound, cutting their teeth with a monthly residents focused event, which began at Scubar and then moved to Fat Cat on Deansgate Locks. Working together seems to be a good move for both parties, combining UTS’s musical outlook with Tweak’s ability to bring in celebrated underground names. The first fruits of the collaboration was an event in Liverpool, where Body & Soul’s re-edit master Danny Krivit and spiritual don Joe Claussell played at Nation. Just over a month later, the visit of NY House golden boy Quentin Harris to the Attic marked UTS and Tweak’s first collaborative venture on Manchester soil.
Modifications to the décor in the shape of curtains suspended from the ceiling and a liberal sprinkling of netting alongside the installation of a crystal clear if perhaps slightly too deafening Blacka soundsystem helped the railway-arched Attic become an excellent space for this party. Dancefloor focussed lighting that changed in time with the music and powerful air-conditioning reinforced the idea that Tweak and UTS took the desires and needs of their DJs and punters to heart. This brought out the best in a receptive crowd, who danced to the soul-emanating housefloor grooves until the very end of the night. UTS DJs Tom Lynch and Chris Feinmann provided a stylish soulful warm up, and the records they played gave Harris an ideal launchpad for his set. Highlights of Chris and Tom’s shared musical endeavours included Laid’s pummelling “Punch Up”, Slow Supreme’s dazzling “Granada” and a pumped up refix of the Detroit Experiment’s uplifting “Think Twice”.
Detroit Hip Hop head turned NY House grandmaster Quentin Harris has seen his fortunes take a serious upturn off the back of a number of blistering productions, remixes, and an electrifying CD mix for the recent Southport Weekender compilation. Affiliated to the legendary Shelter club and label, Harris has honed his own distinctive production style, where direct beats, pointy keys and exhilarating string arrangements play an important role. As a DJ, Quentin’s musical performances focus on this type of hard-edged soul steeped House, and it came as no surprise that the animated NY based deck operative’s set at the Attic stuck to this template. Drawing heavily from his own work and that of likeminded artists, Harris treated his audience to a three-hour session of direct, gratifying House music. The awe-inspiring “Let’s Be Young” and “You Can’t Have New York”, which features the quick-witted Monique Bingham on vocal duties, were the most outstanding tracks from Quentin Harris’ ow!
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studio ventures. Storming records from other artists came in the form of KB’s captivating “El Musica” and The Fog’s frustrated “Been A Long Time”. The inclusion of “French Kiss” by Lil Louis, with its punishing synth arrangement, unwavering beats and throbbing bassline reveals Quentin’s musical influences and how he has updated this vibrant style for 2005, putting his own slant on a classic House sound.
After this successful opener, future joint parties from Tweak and UTS have a lot to live up to.
Jon Freer(jon.freer_at_gmail.com)
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