preview CLUBS

CLUBS

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Nowadays, there's more to clubbing than just a DJ, strobe and a dancefloor. Weird and wild aerial performers are giving a whole new

meaning to getting high. ‘-.".'-:.:::3: Rory Weller

Behind the seenes at (ilasgoxt‘s :\reltaos. there is something \'et'_\ strange going on. It you l’ollott' the central stair \xeli up. past the tlitllt‘t‘l'ltltll‘. l‘L‘}tlllti lllL‘ \ill) l‘tll' and tut'ther tlp‘.\‘;tt'tls over the heating duets and into the tool ol‘ the l‘uilding. _\ou'll lind the hide- ottt or Sarah .lean ('ou/ins. Bruee l.oekarst and Jonathan Campbell. Scotland's most dedicated eltth employees.

Within this warren ol~ rooms. tunnels. seurr} holes and trap- tett metres aho\e the LlllllL'L‘liltttli'. the} create lltt‘ spee- taeular aerial perl‘ormanees that ha\e heen \rehaos‘ trademark sinee it open-ed. On their custom— huil: rigging the}. appear as odd and \tonderlul ehataeters. emerg- ing into the smoke. ligltts and thumping heats dressed as thing ninja hugs. sijratl-surl'ing lilx'is impersonators. deep sea explorers. hungee~iumptng angels and just plain hi/arre shit.

it\ a \e:) \\ end e\istenee. no one ever knou's we‘re here.’ sass troop leader Sarah .lean (’ou/ins lt'ottt her lotts produt‘tion hase. ‘We spend all hours ot' the da_\ and night ‘.\ttt'l\ltlg. hut the eluhhers just see us eoming out tor the or ten minutes ol' glory. tnueking around a tth eonVentions in an uneonxentional plaee.‘

The trio ha\ e heen ‘.‘.llll the eluh sinee It opened three )k'ais ago and ha\ e heett littll lllll'. stnee the reopening last September. nit\ing tip tradi- tional tireus teehmtjues \xith hill on eluh escess. Although

\ltitit's,

other l'ls' eluhs ma} have some sort ol aerial pet'lot‘— tttattee going on. ('ou/ins

hehexes the .\l't‘lt;ttts set up is h} lar the hest in the etttlltl_\. She trained at the prestigious l’al;te_\ tl_\ing trape/e sehool in Paris and then went on to he direetor ol tntenstxe training at the ('ireus Spat'e in London helore deeiding to get haek into perl'orinanee

'lt's the hest gig ol' m_\ lile.‘ she sa_\s. ‘Stelan King tthe ouner oi :\rehaost has quite h_\ .teeident ereated the perteet space lor aerial pet't'ot manee \xork: _\on‘\e got people direetl} underneath you. reall}

‘lt's the best gig of my life, Archaos is the perfect space for aerial performance work. I've never been quite so close to an audience before, especially one that is so up for enjoying themselves.’ Sarah lean Couzins

The Archaos Aerial Performers: mixing beats. bungees and high-flying ninja bugs

ett_io_\ing themselves and people on the haleon)‘ at the same height as you. Which isjust great t‘or interaction. l’xe never been quite so elose to an audience hel‘ore. espec‘iall} one that is soup l'orenios'ing thetnseltes.‘

(‘ou/ins has also heen training the eluh daneers. \'\ ho pre\ iousl)‘ thre\\' shapes in cages. to pertot'm on eahles hanging trotn the side ol the root. However. when and the rest ol het‘ prol'essional troop perl‘orm. it‘s almost entirely \\llll()lll sal'ety lines or harnesses satet}' eotnes from aerial understanding. teehnique. strength and eomntunieation. Sure. they’ve taken a l‘ew knoeks eotning ittto eontaet \\llll .1 speaker staek at high speed let-t one nast)’ hruise» hut nothing serious.

Hut \xould ('ou/ins go to the kind ot‘ supereluh \tl‘ieh Archaos unashamedly is‘.’ ‘It it had its in it.' she laughs. helore getting hei'sell read} to pertorm to Judge .lules‘ thumping house heats

sllt‘

The Archaos Aerial Performers can be seen Thu, Sat and Sun at Archaos, 25 Queen St Glasgow.

Club news

AN ALL-GIRL DJ line up is rumoured for the new club starting at Wilkie House in mid-February. The club will take over the monthly Saturdays slot left vacant by the departure of Fuzzy Instinct and Gail Sellars will be one of the residents.

lN-DEMAND RECORDINGS are due to release ’Tell Me' by The Soul Renegades feat. Colin Farmer in February. It will include remixes by one of New York's founding fathers of house, Dave Camacho. March will see the debut release from C.I.D. Records, The Super Human Coliseum by The Pesky Varmints.

GLASGOW BAR AIR ORGANIC are teaming up with the lengaheads for weekly snowboarding escapades. Buses will leave Air Organic (36 Kelvingrove Street) every Sunday from 10 January at 7am, heading off to wherever the best powder is. The trip costs £30 which includes board, boots, bindings and bus, but not your clothing or lift pass. There is a reduced rate of £16 for people with their own gear. On your return to the bar, exchange your lift passes for free beer and cheap hot food from an extra warming ’Hungry Heads' menu and have your aching joints massaged by the Jengaheads' lush breaks and beats. Money must be paid at least three days in advance. For details ring: 0141 564 5201.

WANNA BE A DJ? Newish Glasgow club The Temple are offering aspiring 015 the chance to get a warm-up slot beside some the biggest names in the business on their Thursday night Ascendance. Send in a fifteen minute mixed tape of uplifting, vocal house to Andrew Grant at The Temple (193 Pitt Street) with your contact details.

Craig Smith of The Soul Renegades

7—21 Jan 1999 MUSTW