clubs
PROSUMER
Studio 89, Cardiff
Fri 13 Dec
Monthly-or-so Cardiff club cult Studio
89 is having its final night in Wales this
month, after two years spent bringing
some revered guests here to spin deep
house and disco to a youthful crowd.
This is the first time it’s been featured
on this page. Why, I hear you cry? Firstly,
their events tend to get announced around
the time we’re putting the magazine to
bed; secondly, when Studio 89 started,
it was pointedly secret and thrived on
word of mouth. Over time, they became a
little less circumspect about its location
(behind an unassuming door on Westgate
Street, underneath Wok To Walk which they
generously call a “gourmet noodle bar”),
but as they seemed perfectly happy with not
being featured, we’ve tried to concentrate on
people that actually wanted coverage.
Prosumer, making his second Cardiff
appearance following a Boxing Day date
with Backroom a few years ago, definitely
deserves to be shown love. Bear-bearded
and Berlin-based, he’s resident at the
city’s esteemed Panorama Bar club, and
has more of an affinity with techno than
most of Studio 89’s headliners. You can,
however, expect his set to be deep and
considered, emphasising the soul inherent
in the best club tracks, and tracing lines
from the Detroit/Chicago originators to
more recent keepers of the flame. If you
have a means of reaching this, do so.
Tickets: sold out. Info: studio89cardiff@
hotmail.com (NG)
BUZZ 42
TIME FLIES 20TH BIRTHDAY PARTY
The Globe, Cardiff
Fri 31 Jan
We could, of course, fill this page and indeed a good portion of the issue with the thick timeline Time
Flies has cut through Cardiff’s clubland since 1994. This prehistoric writer still has his first TF ticket
(Queen Street’s Astoria, May 1995 with Alistair Whitehead and Angel) but it was 16 months prior that
proceedings began.
“I remember the sheer excitement of the clubbers coming into the Coal Exchange as it’s a magnificent
venue,” says the night’s creator, Henry Blunt of the first event. “I was watching them file in from the
balcony. We had arranged double-decker shuttle buses to ferry punters from Cathays and the city
centre down to the docks, and the buses were packed. Having already set up the Spice night with Dave
Jones and Gareth Evans at Cardiff University Students Union, I realised there was a gap in the market
for a new night for non-students. The Coal Exchange was secured as a venue, and Tempus Fugit (later
to become Time Flies) was launched. I was very much inspired by other early house nights like Cream
and Renaissance, but particularly Back2Basics in Leeds. What I wanted to do was create a branded
night out that Cardiff and the rest of Wales could be proud of.”
That was then, and this is now. With tickets already almost depleted for this party –which features
X-Press 2 [pictured] and Graeme Park – the juggernaut rolls on and shows no signs of slowing just yet.
“I honestly didn’t think the night would last more than a few months at the time,” explains Henry,
“so to be promoting the 20th birthday feels like quite an achievement. I’ve lost count of the number
of special nights we’ve staged over the years, but I was thinking quite seriously about making it the
last ever Time Flies. But I’d get bored I think, plus my co-promoter Jason King talked me out of it.
My daughter will be 18 in 10 years’ time, and she has expressed an interest in taking over the family
business. So I’ll just have to keep the party going ‘til then!”
Tickets: £15. Info: [email protected] RYAN HEEGER
DJ DEREK
The Moon Club, Cardiff
Fri 27 Dec
Having been awarded an OBE
(Outstanding Bristolian Entertainer) at
his last ever outdoor event this summer,
Derek Morris continues to wind down
his performances with his final Welsh
date, and what is being described as his
retirement set.
“I will miss the performance side of things,”
says Derek, “and the atmosphere and the
reaction I get from people when I play the
music I love. I just can’t believe I have made
a living and a career out of being a DJ. I
never really set out to be a DJ but it’s been
amazing. I won’t miss having to stay out ‘til
3am most nights though, I’m getting a bit
old for all that. I’m going to enjoy travelling
around without gig commitments, and to be
honest I need a break.”
Playing exclusively black music originating
from the 40s through to the present day,
Derek’s sets are a fusion of ska, reggae,
dub and funk and have been heard far and
wide, including Glastonbury and Bestival.
“I have started to slip in a few nonreggae tunes into the mix,” he explains,
“especially the more funky side of things,
and the crowd reaction has been amazing.
I think for my last set I will mix in a few
tunes I have never played out before, and
a bit of everything I love. I never decide
what to play before I go out so anything
could happen!”
Tickets: £5. Info: info@
thefullmooncardiff.com (RH)
DETROIT SWINDLE
Memorex / Deep Inside @ Clwb Ifor
Bach, Cardiff
Fri 13 Dec
There’s a clue in the moniker chosen by
tech house duo Lars Dales and Maarten
Smeets, because although they perform
as Detroit Swindle they are actually
Amsterdam born and bred. Not that it has
or should harm their career any, such is
the quality of their output that also takes
heartfelt inspiration from soul, disco,
funk, hip-hop and jazz.
As relative newcomers to the scene, their
2012 debut Starvin EP was picked up by
Poster and Huxley via their London Saints
& Sonnets label, which also has tracks by
D’Julz and Deepchild to its credit. Since
then they’ve been bashing out quality
singles as fast as the punters can lap
them up, including for Berlin’s Dirt Crew
imprint. The Nothing Else Matters, Creep
and Guess What EPs all followed last year,
while this year’s The Passion and Break
Up To Make Up are also worthy of your
interest prior to this evening.
Lars and Maarten also at pains to highlight a
rare USP in acknowledging Motown as one of
their main influences, in particular Marvin
Gaye, and “contemporary interpretations of
classic soul tracks with melodical grooves,
jazzy chords and bumpy basslines.”
Also at the top of tonight’s flyer is Parisian
Ron Costa, the Potobolo label owner and
techno DJ with his roots i ???????????????)Q????????
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