CLUBS listings

g; hactflle

iSCotIands top drum 'n’ bass night is to undergo a major change. finds out why. '

Name Manga.

Age Two in January next year (with Grooverider guesting).

Occupation Scotland’s leading -— and longest-running regular drum 'n' bass club.

Aren't there any other drum 'n' bass clubs in Scotland? Of course there are notably Urban Flava in Dundee and Phar Out and Elements in Glasgow but they either haven‘t been around as long or don't have the same commitment that Manga has shown.

What's so good about Manga then? Well, a few top nights with the cream of UK talent - Roni Size (with Reprazent live), DJ Hype, Krust, Die, Ed Rush, Peshay have helped the cause a little. What style of drum 'n' bass do they play then? it tends to be the harder end of the spectrum, aka ’jumpup' and 'hardstep’ , although the first part of the night does showcase the more commercial stuff. Basically, there's none of that dreamy, wishy washy, coffee table LTJ Bukem-style nonsense. Manga goes for the real, ruff, tuff tearin’, hip hop influenced underground drum 'n' bass/jungle, full of monstrous boombastic basslines and fierce explosive beats.

So what's new then? They’ve decided to move from being fortnightly to monthly in order to keep each night special.

When does that start then? The relaunch is on Friday 3 October when they'll have special guest DJ 55 with them. But, even better than that, Manga will be heard live for two hours between 10pm and midnight on Radio One's One In The Jungle show.

And after that. what's next for Manga? DJ Zinc is up in October and Ray Keith, Kemistry & Storm follow later in the year. They've also been endorsed by the company behind the famous Manga animations, so they'll be promoting exclusive films. Both residents (G-Mac and Kid) are currently producing and remixing material. Then there’s the Hogmanay party at La Belle with various Scottish drum 'n' bass clubs involved.

I Manga relaunch as a month/y club at La Belle Ange/e, Edinburgh on Fri 3 Oct. The club is live on Radio One's One In The Jungle show lOpm-midnight. Doors at 9pm.

76 THE LIST 26 Sep—9 Oct 1997

GLASGOW CLUBS continued

I Dance Cafe at The Venue. 7.30—10.30pm. £4.50. Ceroc modern jive classes to chart, swing and soul. Beginners welcome.

I Depth Charge at Bar Booshka. 8pm—midnight. Free. Deep and funky American house from the Jackal.

I Elements at Trash. llpm—3am. £4 (£3). 1 Oct and fortnightly. Glasgow’s newest drum 'n’ bass night evolving at great pace with residents Kemal and Rob G of First Contact. Stevie and Tania at the helm. Drinks promos.

I Fab at Reds. llpm—3am. £3 (£2). Groovy garage and club classics. Drinks promos.

I Flex at The Velvet Rooms. 10.30pm—3am. £3 (£2). New regular Wednesday night from DJ Tchico, playing soul. ragga. funk reggae. swing and hip hop in Room One plus happy house, garage and classic dance in Room Two.

I Go West at Cleopatra’s. lO.30pm-—2.30am. £2 (£1 with ticket). A mainly student-orientated bill of fare.

I Ground Control at Jet. llpm-2. 15am. Kevin Dillon and Norden of the Ground Control sound system take up residency here every week for the finest hip hop and drum 'n‘ bass night in the West End. Drinks promos.

I Havana Noche Caliente at Los Borrachos. 8.30pm—midnight. Free. Hot and busy Latino/Spanish night with the finest upfront salsa. merengue. flamenco from DJ Jazz.

I Jengaheads at The Living Room. 9pm—midnight. Free. Lazyass hip hop sound track from the Jengaheads (Paradise island) with a special Jenga league every week. Drinks promos.

I Relax at Bar 10. 8pm—close. Free. Downbeat dance night with Juna and Romeo. Pre-club.

I Stefan 8r Grant's Excellent Evening at The Asylum (Caledonian University Union). 9pm—2am. Free. Party music from four decades.

I Sticky Fingers at The Attic. 10.30pm—3am. £2 (£1). Gerry with indie and retro sounds. Drinks promos.

I Wednesday Night Fever at Lime. llpm—3am. £3 (£2 with matric card). Fresh 'n' funky 70s and 90s disco with DJ Ray Davren. Drinks promos.

GLASGOW THURSDAYS

I 21 st Century Leisure Lounge at CCA Cafe Bar. 9pm—midnight. Free. 2 Oct and fortnightly. Moog modulating. breezy bossa pop. electro lounge lo-fi sleaze and exotic cocktail jazz from your host DJ Mingo-go. 2 Oct. Patrick Pulsinger (Vienna) guests. He‘s a techno bod. but tonight will thrill with an easy listening set.

I 4th Dimension at Brel. 8.30-1 lpm. Free. Andy Young playsjazz, Brazilian. soul. fusion and funk. Drinks promos.

I Audio Psy-phi at Sub Club.

I [pm—3am. £3. New night from Phar ()ut‘s Paul Cawley replacing Red Cell. embarking on a voyage of hip hop. drutn 'n' bass and generally music with the funk. I Big Karn 5 Party Night at Bennets.

l 1.30pm—3am. £3 (£2). Kam Dunbar with 80s. 90s and loads ofcamp nonsense. Drinks promos.

I Bomb at The Velvet Rooms. l().30pm—3am. £6. New night of soul. rap. R&B and swingbeat.

I Bloomers at Cleopatra's. 10.30pm—2.30am. £3 (£2 with ticket). Mainstream.

I Casino at Blackfriars Underground. 8pm—midnight. £1 before 9pm; £2 after. Northern soul pre-club.

I Casino Royale The Arches. Next event 30 Oct.

I Chief at Trash. llpm—3am. £3 (£2). New night of antics with DJ Rory (formerly of Cop and Chopper) in Room One with classic house and future anthems and Graham in Room Two with his indie/party mix. Drinks promos.

I Club Barbarella at Strawberry Fields. 9pm—3am. £3 (9ptn—midnight. £1.50 after). Indie. pop and psychedelia with

CLUB REVIEW ,

Elements 1 Glasgow: fortnightly Wednesdays at Trash, 1 lpm—Bam, £4 (£3)..

Door policy Laidbackt random searches o'nly.

Clientele‘Friendly beautiful people. Music A 50/50 mix of tech step and jump-up jungle.

Atmosphere Warm and inviting. Bar promos Selected bottled beers f 1, vodka and dash £1.50.

Elements has now been on the go for two months and word has quickly

Spread of its all-round fabulousness. The

idea behind the club came about after DJs Rob'G, Kemal, Tania, Swift‘and Stevie put on a one«off jungle night at Glasgow's QM Union.

On that night they deliberately played a combination of harder beats with

more jazz-influenced drum 'n‘ bass, and "

got a phenomenal response. This prompted the collective to think about putting on a regular jungle night that would appeal to hard step devotees as well as newcomers to the jungle scene. Club organiser and resident DJ Stevie

Name: James Anderson

Age: 21 .

Occupation: Sound Engineer Describe Elements: 'steaming bliss'

comments, 'lt's all very well trying to be underground but the problem with most underground clubs is that they‘re half empty. This night is an attempt to navigate between the two extreme positions of seeing jungle as either an art-form, or as something that has been totally commercialised.’

Recent appearances by Aphrodite and Doc Scott at the club were widely discussed, but the residents-only nights at the club are equally tantalising.

As soon as you enter this club the atmosphere hits you. The bass is running like a current all through the place, and the UV light are picking up white T-shirts and Shoelaces in the crowd. The small room is hot, smoky and buzzing with conversations

and movement.

The organisers are putting on a night comparable to any in London, while only ever charging £4, even on guest nights. However, the club needs to attract more punters or the night could go under in the near future.

'If more people don't come to the residents' nights then we're finished,’ admits Stevie. ’We’re not in this to make money, but right now we're not even covering our costs.’ So while Ganja Crew’s DJ link will be appearing at the club in the near future, don’t wait until then to go and have a blinding night out. (Sarah Lowndes)

live bands until midnight.

I Cop at Archaos. l0pm—3am. £4 (£2.50). Busy student house night from DJ CJ and Vance. ‘Turn up. get down. cop off.’ Drinks promos. Tam Coyle ‘The Fuzz‘ does his indie/pop/kitsch stuff in Betty‘s Mayonnaise. which is part of the Archaos complex.

I Cul De Sac Cul De Sac Bar. 9—1 lptn. Free. Mark Ryal from Aquaplanet and Redcell with an underground dance warmer. Drinks promos.

I Dee Jays In Disguise at Variety. 8pm—close. Free. Hatch and Jilkes of Knucklehead with a dubby mix of new dance and techno. Pre-club.

I Donkey at The Cathouse. l lpm—3am. £2 (£1.50; free before I 1.30pm). lndie/grunge/industriaI/chemical beats rock on a darker tip than The Cathouse‘s other ni rhts. Drinks promos.

I Flash ack at Fiddlers Court. 9pm—midnight. Free. Deep house and drum 'n‘ bass from JP and the Future Engineers.

I Free Flow at Glasgow School Of Art (downstairs). l()pm—2am. Free. Jazz/funk/soul indie night with host Alan Rutherford. Drinks promos.

I Harder at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut (downstairs bar). 9 Oct and fortnighly. 9pm—midnight. Free. Righteous roots and dub.

I Helter Skelter at The Venue. 10.30pm—3am. £3 (£2.50). The Venue is back up and running for more mixed-up. student orientated music. with retro tracks next to contemporary indie from Gordon Tennant.

I In Tone at Bar 10. 8pin—close. Free. Paul Cawley from Phar Out with a weird underground pre-club experience.

I Irregular at The Apartment. llpm—3atn. £2. New ttight from Jim

Hutchison of acid house and funky techno. Guaranteed to be a winner. Drinks promos.

I Loveshack at Fury Murry‘s. 10.30pm—3. 15am. £5 (£3). Fine indie house and disco sounds in two rooms. Drinks promos.

I Natural Selection at Lime (formerly The Cotton Club). llpm-3am. £3 (£2). lain Fitzpatrick with funky dance and indie. Drinks promos.

I Orange Peel at Jet. l lpm-3atn. £4 (£3). Deep house and techno with residents Dan and Chris. Future guests to be announced.

I Passion at The Velvet Rooms. 11pm—3am. £3 (£2). DJ Skutl playing soulful grooves. mellow hip hop and sexy swing from Busta Rhymes to Marvin Gaye. A groovy alternative to student nights. Drinks promos.

I Reds llpm-3am. £3 (£2). A night of classic disco. peppered with the best contemporary house and garage. Drinks promos.

I Rumble at The Garage. 1 1pm—3ant. £3 (£2). Cardow and Ross with an exceptionally busy night ofcharty dance faves. cheap drinks and drunk students. Snogtastic!

I Stefan 8: Grant Go West at The Bedsit. ()pin—lam. Free. The Wednesday night Asylum posse with party tunes.

I Wanna Play? l0pm—3am. £4 (£2.50 with matric card). Student night featuring Kevin and Scott (Tunnel weekends) and Lisa. playing a mix ofclassic house anthems plus treasure hunts and wheel of fortune. Drinks promos.

I X-Rated at The Asylum (Caletlonian University Union). 9pm—2am. £2 (£1). Chart and dance in the main room with DJ Ray plus indie and live music in Room Two.