Name Alex ‘Omar S’ Smith aka Omar S aka DJ Snotburger
Occupation: DJ/Producer
What’s the lowdown? Omar S is one of Detroit‘s hottest exports. He is the Henry Ford of underground. slightly avant garde techno and house. He is either producing or recording it for his own FXHE records or indeed Spinning tunes all over the US and Europe.
How did he get into the music game? A self taught musician, from an early age he tapped out tunes on his keyboard. learning as he went along. However. he wasn‘t exactly playing chopsticks. he learned how to master the electric ivories by playing along to house anthems like ‘Jack your Body’ and ‘Can you Feel It’?'. He then went on to become a DJ playing his first gig at one of Joe Claussell's clubs in Manhattan. He continued to mess about with keyboards. recording and producing in his bedroom until 2001 when he put out a test press on his own label. The track was the now highly sought after ‘Omar S 001'.
What happened next? It's the stuff of musical fairytales. Upon hearing the track. record store owner/DJ Rick Wilhite asked Omar it he could take all the cepies he had on him to sell in his store. When Omar went back to collect his money from the sales of the record. who did he bump into in the shop but none other than superstar DJ Theo Parrish (now a regular collaborator). Parrish was so impressed with the track he encouraged Omar to produce more. Responding with ‘Omar S 002' and ‘Omar S 003'. his career as a producer took off at warp speed. Today he is one of the most sought after producers/DJs around.
(Sandra Marron)
I Omar S DJs at Subculture at the Sub Club, Glasgow, Sat 7 Jul.
MIDORI.
30 THE LIST 5- 19 Jul 2007
HOUSE. BREAKS SUGARBEAT IN THE GARDENS Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, Fri 13 Jul
When SugarBeat started in Leeds in 2000, it wasn’t intended as any sort of major new career move for the sometime Utah Saints partnership of Jez Willis and Tim Garbutt. The duo, who were described as ‘the first true stadium house band’ by The KLF’s Bill Drummond back in their early 90$ period of prominence, were just looking for somewhere to play the kind of music they liked to an appreciative crowd. ‘We never set out to be Cream or anything,’ says Garbutt. ‘It was always just an excuse for us to put on DJs we liked.’
Held every week at Arthur Baker’s Elbow Room in the city, SugarBeat has nevertheless taken on more of an event-level profile since it began, with the duo’s two- year-old residency at Edinburgh’s Cabaret Voltaire
T EOHNOI HOUSE THE BASEMENT The Soundhaus, Glasgow, Fri 6 Jul
Organic clubbing is alive and well in the form of the Basement. a night dedicated to house. electro and techno at the Soundhaus. The event literally started in a basement in the Southside of Glasgow and has grown into a club night to be reckoned with. As Alison Hood. promoter of the Basement. explains. ‘It started out as after parties in my basement but became so popular that we moved forward into club land. We were originally doing club nights for charity in the Universal but the nights became so popular. and the enthusiasm and vibe were so great. that we soon moved to the Soundhaus and became one of their busiest nights.’ The Basement has stayed true to its roots in that it is a place for local DJs to show their skills on the wheels of steel. It is very much a home- grown night and Hood is keen to keep that vibe. ‘What makes the Basement unique is the friendly. up-for-it party crowd and the regular themed nights which helps put the fun back into clubbing.‘ she says. ‘Our emphasis is on “party”. and when people come for the first time they soon feel part of the family and want to come back.‘ Each month is a different theme and to celebrate two years of keeping it real. the Basment's second birthday bash features a circus theme. Hood says of this night of fun. 'Feel free to come dressed as a clown or a showgirl or show your juggling ball
skills.‘ (Sandra Marron)
stemming from an earlier date as Utah Saints at the Liquid Room. ‘We met Sarah [David, manager of Cabaret Voltaire] when she booked us for Snatch when she was working at the Liquid Room,’ says Garbutt. ‘She liked what we did, and told us we should give her a call once she’d opened her new place’. Since then, SugarBeat has been one of the Cab’s flagship clubs - it’s the Utahs’ third franchise, alongside nights in Leeds and Bristol.
This month’s SugarBeat will be a particularly special occasion, with the night being taken outdoors to a thousand-capacity tent in Princes Street Gardens, as a tie-in with the Rat Race adventure sports weekend. Garbutt’s looking forward to the event, a far cry from the sweaty and atmospheric Cab, particularly as the evening’s special guest is breaks king Krafty Kuts was one of SugarBeat Leeds’ very first guest DJs.
(David Pollock)