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emand and supply
Has dance taken up the DIY ethos kick- started by punk? In Demand Recordings' CRAIG WOOD seems to think SO. Words: Jim Byers
‘I can remember watching programmes about The Sex Pistols when l was wee.‘ recalls Craig Wood of Edinburgh‘s independent house imprint In Demand Recordings. ‘and seeing Malcolm McLaren and thinking he‘s the one I want to be — the guy who has all the ideas and is in control and setting his own agenda.‘
The 27-year—old Wood has been setting his own agenda with admirable determination recently. He is the perfect example of how the dance music scene in this country has changed lives. Like Terry Farley or Ashley Beedle before him. he has channelled his love of football.
lifestyle.
fashion and music into a realistic career instead of
just a lifestyle.
Wood is part of a small band of people in Scotland working hard to rid the country once and for all of its perceived ‘Scotland The Rave' tag through the promotion of quality underground music. He currently promotes two club nights in Edinburgh — Solefusion once a month at The Honeycomb and Underground Demand fortnightly at The Gallery. He also has a hand in the monthly Urbansole at Tin Pan Alley in Glasgow. In the meantime. he acts as an agent for Solefusion/l'rbansole resident Craig Smith and runs the In Demand Recordings label. which has three releases under its belt. a fourth in the pipeline and a fifth imminent from Chicago‘s Roy Davis Jnr.
Wood spent five years working in an office before going to college to study first Arts Management. then
Wood is the perfect example of how the dance music scene in this country has changed lives. Like Terry Farley or Ashley Beedle before him, he has channelled his love of football, fashion and music into a realistic career instead of just a
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Craig Wood: forging a career from his favourite sounds
Media and Cultural Studies with Human and Professional Communication. Following that. he completed a short Dance Music Management course in London. Wood‘s big break came with the launch party for In Demand Recordings at Solefusion in April last year. In what turned out to be an inspired move.Wood negotiated to bring Matt Jam Lamont and The Tuff Jam Experience to the club. The combination of quality London garage and a live PA was a massive success. Solefusion has gone from strength to strength ever since. with Wood taking responsibilty for its promotion and pushing its claims for national and international recognition.
While he would be the first to admit that his In Demand empire has a long way to go. Wood‘s many enterprises are moving along nicely. despite the difficulty of working outside the London-based scene. ‘I hate going on about being Scottish.‘ he says. ‘I don‘t feel particularly Scottish. I‘m just a person. same as any other person from any city. I could be from Leeds or London but I‘d still be doing the same thing.
‘Being Scottish can work to your advantage though.‘ he admits. ‘lt‘s a novelty — certainly with the Londoners. A lot of them think that Craig (Smith) is the only garage DJ in Scotland and I‘m quite happy for them to think that. even if it is rubbish.‘
Smith’s career is certainly on the up at the moment as a result of his involvement with Wood. He has played twice at Back To Basics in Leeds and is about to play in London for the first time at the highly respected Garage City. He has also been asked to contribute a track to the soundtrack of the forthcoming film of Irvine Welsh's Acid House.
He may never outgun (‘ream or the Ministry but Wood and his various In Demand enterprises are proof that quality music is alive and well in Scotland. He has taken a risk in pursuing his dreams. Respect to him — and to all those like him — for taking that risk.
See Clubs listings for details of Solefusion, Underground Demand and Urbansole.
clubs
Hshngs
Regular weekly clubs plus one-off
events are listed by city, then by then alphabetically by title. (In
day, s
will be listed, provided up-to-date
details reach our offices at least
seven days before publication. Clubs
listin s compiled by Rory Weller Ellie arr.
and
GLASGOW FRIDAYS
I The Ark at The Tunnel. l0.30pm—3am. £6 (£4). One ofThe Tunnel's key nights
of high glam splendour. with possibl
y
Scotland‘s top hard house DJ Michael Kilkie joined by Scott Mackay in Room One. plus Duncan Reid and Simon Foy in
Room Two. Early drinks promos. I Bar 10 8pm—close. l‘ree. Stevie
Donaldson and guests getting the weekend
off to a hot and sweaty start with thei
hard house/funky techno mix. Pre-club.
I Club Apt at The Apartment.
llpm—3am. £7. DJ Alan Ronald with
housey big beats for a dressy crowd. I CIub X at Club Xchange. llpm—3
£5 (£3). Gay. Happy house and nu-NRG
at this gay venue. Drinks promos. I Exotica at CCA Cafe Bar. 9.30pm—midnight. Free. Andy Divin
e of
the Glasgow School ofArt Divine Sound System for eclectic laid back beats. Pre-
club.
I Freestyle at The Asylum downstairs
bar (Caledonian University Student Union). 8pm—lam. £3 (free before
l0pm). DJs Kenny and Bone dropping
breaks. beats and future funk.
I The Herbaliser at The Sub Club. llpm—3am. £7 (£6). 21 March only. Ninja Tunes' The Herbaliser returns bigger and better with a full live set. DJs Paul Cawley. Alex Horton and (
plus )llie
Teeba DJing at this night presented by
Phar ()ut. See Phactfile and Hitlist. I Human Nature at Lime. llpm—3
£4 (£2.50 with matric card). DJ lan with
funky dance. Drinks promos.
I Ice at Archaos. llpm—3.30am. £5 A night of deep garage and house frt Gareth Sommerville (Yip Yap). Stev Middleton (Sole Music) and Geoff (Archaos). Paul Traynor with hip ho swing. etc in Room Three. Up Yer Ronson returns on 2! March.
I Katch at The Cathouse. l lpm—3a
(£4). ie
P.
m. £3
(£2/free before I 1.30pm). Three floors of
rock with drinks promos.
I Kung Funk at The 13th Note (ground floor). Spin—midnight. Free. The former Soundclash and Sonora DJs with phat
jazz beat cake. hip hop and extreme leftfield drum 'n' bass. I Love Bug at The Garage.
l0.30pm-3am. £3 (£4). DJ Graeme with an eclectic mix of good time party tunes.
Drinks promos. I Mean Street at The 13th Note
(basement). Spin—midnight. Free. Rock
‘n‘ roll revolutionaries. Pre-club.
I Misshapes at Cafe Qudos (Queen Margaret Student Union). 8.30pm—2am.
£2.50 (£2). Indie. jangly guitar stuff. I Open at Glasgow School ofArt.
l()pm—2.30am. £6.50 (£5.50/£4 GSA students). The trance techno meisters celebrate a year of hard partying with an extra special bash featuring the fantastic
DJ ()beron. GK Machine. Dubware Sound System. Loco and Dubmissio Side attractions include guest drumn
and performers. shiatsu. aromatherapy
and muchos fun and games all night. I Orange Peel at The Asylum
(Caledonian University Student Union). l0pm—3am. £3. DJs Dan. Chris and Nick
with hard dance and techno.
I Parklife at The Arena. 10.30pm—3am. £4 (£3). Glasgow's first and foremost
Britpop night playing classic
dance/pop/indie/retro/soul sounds from
the 60s to the 90s. Drinks promos all night. I Phar Out at Glasgow School ofA
fl.
l()pm—2.30am. £3. Deep dub and drum
'n' bass. Resident DJ Paul Cawley is joined every week by guest DJs.
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21 Mar-3 Apr l997THE LIST 65