Programme Manager's Highlights June 2010

>> Whichever way you turn and whenever you turn on the TV you can’t get away from it. But we don’t want to switch off when the World Cup comes on! At the Arts Club we’re big fans and regular players (on the astroturf pitches under the Westway) and have had many memorable football moments in the club. So we’re all geared up for the football circus. The tournament kicks off on Friday June 11, but it’s the next day when the excitement reaches fever pitch in London. It's England’s first match of the World Cup! At the Arts Club we’ll have four big screens, table service and unrivalled post-match entertainment in the shape of legendary Bristol City fan DJ Derek.

It’ll be a World Cup and Sweet Memory Sounds All-Day Special, starting in mid-afternoon in time for the Argentina v Nigeria clash at 3pm, which should be a tasty prelude to the first England game, against the USA (as if you didn’t know) at 7.30pm.
We’ll be carrying on after the games with the inimitable DJ Derek back at his favourite London club. The offside rule may still flummox some of us, but you should know how Sweet Memory Sounds rolls by now: Derek brings his extraordinary collection of ska, soul, funk, reggae and dancehall, adding his Bristolian twist to JA toasting to get everybody happy, and Adam Callan rocks up with funk and rootsy R&B rhythms too. A brilliant finale to a marathon session.

 

>> World Cup and Sweet Memory Sounds All-Day Special // Saturday 12 June // 2.30pm-2am // £8 in advance from www.bigwheeltickets.com, £10 on the door

>> For our regular World Cup Offers click here


   


Afrikan Boy at Secousse last September

>> Secousse World Cup Afro Special! // Friday 4 June // 7pm-2am // £6 before 11pm, £8 after

>> live: Afrikan Boy, The Hackney Empire //
decks: DJ Edu, Secousse Sound System feat Radioclit, Vamanos, A.J. Holmes & MC Kastro

 

 

>> Secousse get into the spirit properly on Friday June 4, resenting a World Cup Afro Special as they celebrate the first time that ‘a World Cup been held in a continent with so much awesome music.’ Secousse hand-pick some of the UK's hottest African artists to bring you an unmissable party to kick off the tournament.

The amazing Afrikan Boy has rocked Secousse before with his unique blend of hip hop and Naja Grime flavours and he’ll play exclusive tracks from his long-awaited new album. Also on stage are the brilliant Secousse resident band, The Hackney Empire, bringing their tropical nu electro high-life good-time vibes to whip up the crowd.

Rocking the dancefloor with African heat will be Radio 1xtra's legendary DJ Edu (Destination Africa) joined all of the the Secousse Sound System featuring Radioclit, Vamanos, A.J. Holmes, Mo & MC Kastro. If you want kwaito, coupé decalé, high-life and kuduro African jump-up party action you’ll be in the right place, and there’ll be exclusive limited-edition Secousse T-shirt give-aways from those nice people at Puma too.

 

>> Communion has had a sensational Spring, and not just here at the Arts Club. They’ve launched their record label with superbly-reviewed nu-folk compilation and EPs, expanded the Communion club network to Sydney, Australia, and hosted double-whammy Communion events over the May Bank Holiday Sunday and Monday.

As Communion co-host Kevin Jones explains, each of their club nights, whether in Brighton or Bristol, Dublin or down under, is modelled on the same approach that they established here at the Arts Club. ‘We like to really jam-pack the line-ups, we don’t want to put just a couple of bands on per night, we want to give people value for money…

So successful have they been that Communion and their artists are in demand at festivals throughout the summer, so their last party before the autumn will be on Sunday June 6.
Expect an all-star line-up of seven bands and artists from Australia’s Philadelphia Grand Jury (who’ve been compared to Talking Heads and The Eels), to indie folk outfit Amber States and the hotly-tipped Alice Gold

>> See our exclusive interview with Kevin Jones here

 

Alice Gold

>> Communion // Sunday 6 June // 6pm-1am // £8, £5 concessions before 10pm, then £10, or £7 in advance by pre-ordering tickets from Music Glue (you need to sign up first)

>> live: Philadelphia Grand Jury, To Kill a King, Pete Lawrie, Jamie Ley, The Staves, Alice Gold, Amber States // decks: Chess Club, DJ Jam and guests

 

 

>> In case you missed it, here’s what Time Out’s Kate Hutchinson had to say in a feature on cocktail clubbing. ‘For cocktails with a real rock ’n’ roll edge, though, the Firewater Club on Tuesday 25 has the tearaway credentials. It’s the brainchild of the Notting Hill Arts Club’s bar manager Julian Bayuni, who’s also a member of Gary ’Libertines’ Powell’s band, The Invasion Of..., who’ll be playing there live. This time they’ll be going for a Mexican theme as the West London Tequila Mafia rock up to cause havoc at the mixology taster session (you see where this is going…) and spike your drinks with plenty of sizzling spice.
Who knows what kind of abstract expressionist painting your T-shirt will end up resembling after moshing about, cocktail-in-hand, to their rock, blues, jazz and soul beats. Suddenly to rock out with your cock out has a whole new meaning.

>> Firewater Club //25 May // 8pm-2am // Free to Firewater Society Facebook members, bar community & Wedge card holders

>> Everybody’s Talking At Me was ‘born to attract music lovers, hip shakers, night owls and risk takers. Part party, part blog, part town-crier, part filter, Everybody’s Talking At Me is a wild beast of an idea that will break down your (de)fences and drag you through the fields...’
It’s a bold claim, especially from a new club night which is set out as an antidote to overkill, a response to ‘the blur of bull’ and hype that’s coming at us every day.

At this new session Disclosure and Lixo (GetMe!) drop fat doses of the finest filtered sounds from dance to dubstep around live sets by bands which represent the (best) state of play on the field of live dance music, each of them striving to offer something different and inspiring, something that represents the riot of music we have all grown up with. Scarlet Harlots, Ignug and Arts Club favourites No Fixed Abode let rip on stage at the launch night.

 

>> Everybody’s Talking At Me // Sunday 30 May // 6pm-1am; £5, £3 concessions

>> click here to buy tickets

 

 for previous Highlights, please click here