2010 - A Soul Buggin' review

So is it really that time already?! I dunno about you lot but 2010 has flown by in a flash for me and I can't quite believe we've reached the end of the year in one piece but just one look outside at 'snow-carnage Britain' and its well and truly confirmed - we're most definitely knee deep in December. It is at this time of the year where I like to take a moment to look back at the previous 12 months and take a moment to collect my thoughts on all the parties, music, adventures, good times and reflect on just what the devil happened in 2010.

Our humble little Soul Buggin' night has, on reflection, had a pretty belting year all in all clocking in a total of 12 parties (with one more to go before the years out) that has seen some firing dj sets, amazing dancefloor scenes and plenty of all round tom foolery down at the Moog bar. We kicked it all off back in deepest darkest January with three friday night parties in succession with Paul "Mudd" Murphy and Mark Rayner, the Northern Comfort guys from Manchester in February and Derby heads Atjazz & Clyde in March (streamed live over the net via webcam too).

Before we knew it we had wrestled our way out of the winter and spring was upon us so we decided to throw an all dayer on Easter Sunday and invited over Basement Boogaloo's Nick Shaw as well as John Buckby and Ed Challands for a big dust up. Unfortunately 'the sarg' Shaw couldn't make it (personally I still think he bottled it) but alas the night was a monster with a dancefloor going for it at 9pm which is pretty unheard of in Moog and didn't stop until I attempted to clear the floor with the Fania Allstars.

We thought one party in April wasn't enough so come the end of the month we asked local lad Ex-Friendly to pop on down with back up from Nottingham lad Ben Aylward who was over from Australia for a few weeks where he now resides.

As May opened up us Soul Buggers were asked to DJ at the Nottingham Bar and Club Awards in the Pitcher and Piano alongside local web radio extraordinaire Alex Traska and special guests The Cuban Brothers. It was mighty strange DJing in a massive church but we made an occasion of it and donned our best threads and gave it to em inbetween the eyes, well kind of. Anyway, for some reason that still dumbfounds us we ended up coming third in the 'Best Independent Club Night' category which considering we're a small night that plays old fogey disco music to a predominately older crowd wasn't half bad when you look at some of the nights we were up against. Thank you all for those that voted!

With an extra spring in our step all eyes were now on our next bank holiday party at the end of May with Colin Curtis (his 2nd appearance for Soul Buggin'), Joe Buhdha and Daddio. We thought we might have a busy one on our hands after the previous Septembers scenes when Colin last came to town and we weren't wrong either. A fantastic all dayer with a superb crowd in attendance.

Come June we'd reached the half way mark of the year and had been thinking of moving our night to Saturdays as many folk were complaining they couldn't always come down due to work commitments etc so we thought why not as it made sense after all. Before all that though we wanted to go out with a bang on a Friday so we asked over Kev Beadle to come down to Moog and send us off in style and boy what a night. Seeing Mikey slapping the ceiling to Kyle Hall on the dancefloor at the end will be an image that will stay with me for a long time!

So after the decision to move the night to a Saturday had now been taken we thought sod it lets go full on disco for this one and who better to ask to provide the soundtrack than the Million Dollar Disco don himself Mr Al Kent. After a very long journey down from Scotland Al turned in a firing set and reminded us all why we really need to get up there to one of his own nights in the new year. Absolute fire.

With England's world cup campaign well and truly sodded up and now left in the shadows we turned our attention to the August bank holiday which was normally the time of year where Basement Boogaloo throw a massive party but as they'd all buggered off down south we thought we'd be cheeky and go for broke - could we turn in a THIRD storming bank holiday all dayer? We bloody well could and plans were put in motion for a rooftop BBQ with DiY nutters Osbourne & Woosh, Paperecordings head honcho Flash Atkins and balearic nutters Steve KIW and Dave Pickering. Right on cue the weather decided to balls it right up for us with crazy gale-style winds so we moved it all inside but that didn't seem to stop folks getting on the good foot. It got pretty messy but hey this was the last bank holiday of the year!

For September we thought as it's our birthday let's put on something special and we were dead chuffed when Simbad and Charles Webster both came down to rock the Moog turning in a fine back-to-back 3.5 hour set. It was proper ace and one of my favourite sessions of the year! I'd love to do some more back-to-back style sets in 2011!

The nights had now begun to get very dark and with halloween soon on our doorstep we threw caution to the wind and threw a fancy dress disco and invited Faze Action's Simon Lee over for the craic. With some very odd nutters descend on the joint (with my fave being that freak Ady in a dress) the night proved a bit of a belter.

November had been a pretty big month last year if you remember as we had previously had Benji B over from BBC Radio One so we thought we'd keep it large and welcome down Filthy Luka from the Horse Meat Disco collective. With a crazy turn out which in turn created some fantastic dancefloor scenes this one had to be one of the best sessions of the year for us and believe me, we've had some bloody good ones.



So 12 parties under out belt and 2010 is about to wave goodbye but hold on to your hats we ain't done yet. Saturday 18th December is our final shindig where we will no doubt be swishing about full of mulled wine and cider to celebrate not only Christmas but the past 12 months I guess. We'll be keeping it on a residents tip for this one but have also invited the guys from Feel Good Phonic to come down and throw some disco mince pies about. With a cheaper door entry of £2 it all kicks off at 9pm and goes on till god knows when this one should be a right laugh so come on down and raise a glass of Christmas cheer with us.

I'd just like to say, on behalf of all three of us I guess, many thanks to all our guest DJs, dancers, drinkers and droogs that came down to the Buggin' in 2010 and shook it all about. We've had a fantastic year and have some great plans for 2011 and we'd love you all to join us again.

Merry Christmas one and all and hopefully see some of you on the 18th

Mad love

Beane

;-)

Here's some of my favourite tunes that rocked the Buggin' dancefloor in 2010

01. Aloe Blacc - I need a Dollar | Stones Throw 12"
02. Brassroots - Good life | Do Right! Music 12"
03. Jamie Woon - Night air | Candent Songs 12"
04. Lone - Pineapple crush | Magic Wire 10"
05. Tensnake - Coma cat | Permanent Vacation 12"
06. Moodymann - It's too late 4 U & me | KDJ 12"
07. Funkineven - She's acid | Eglo 12"
08. Mark Ronson - Bang bang bang (Rhythm Plate remix) | CDR
09. Sam Sallon - You May Not Mean To Hurt Me (Leo Zero remix) | Fascinating Rhythms 12"
10. Kyle Hall - Kaychunk | Hyperdub 12"
11. DJ Asparagus - Funk for me | Gamm 12"
12. Clause Four - Can't you see? | Modern Soul 12"
13. Trus'me & Dam Funk - Bail me out | Prime Numbers 7"
14. Lindstrom & Christabelle - Baby can't stop (Idjut Boys remix) | Smalltown Supersound 12"

And some oldies...

15. Julia and Company - Breakin' down (sugar samba) | London 12"
16. Aleem - Release yourself | Nia 12"
17. Kim Carnes - Draw of the cards | EMI 12"
18. Fantastic Four - B.Y.O.F (Bring your own funk) | Atlantic 12"
19. The Chaplin Band - Il Veliero | Pierrot Records 12"
20. Sharon Redd - Beat the street | Prelude 12"

To hear all of my tunes of 2010 I'll be doing a special 3 hour radioshow on Sunday 19th December (1pm-4pm) over on www.myhouse-yourhouse.net

The freaks came out....

You know thinking about it, as long as I've been on this earth I don't think I've ever 'celebrated' halloween. I dunno why but just like the fireworks of November 5th (which incidentally happens to fall on my birthday) it's never really grabbed me, even as a young nipper. Maybe it was the fact that my mum scared the bejesus out of me with tales of getting kidnapped by dirty old men if I went out trick or treating as a kid or maybe it was my dislike of knocking on strangers doors begging for money (I much preferred the classic game of 'knock, door, run' as a youngster to be honest). Either way it never featured heavily on my radar despite the zillions of parties that go off.

Anyway, this year was the first time I got into the spirit as we decided to have a fancy dress halloween-themed disco down at our monthly Soul Buggin' session and welcomed over Simon 'Faze Action' Lee to the infamous Moog turntables. Last time he played in Nottingham was Basement Boogaloo a couple of years ago so it was great to welcome him back to the city. As per usual things started off slow as Wrighty and myself warmed up with the sounds of Theo Parrish, Willie Hutch, Black Science Orchestra, Frank De Jo Jo and that killer new Jamie Woon track "Night air" plus many more until various fancy dressed freaks and fruitcakes descended upon Moog. Simon Lee took to the decks and ended up turning in a heavy 3 hour set with fresh Faze Action pieces, special edits and disco bombs a plenty. Top stuff. Oh, and we still need to know what the killer italo thing was but he's keeping it a secret! Aarrrgh!

A big thank you to Si for coming over and a big up to all those that came down, especially those in fancy dress garb with a particular high five to the freakiest mother fucker of the night - Mr Ady Tasker who decided to come as, well I'm not quite sure but it was bloody scary.



So this month we've decided to keep it on the disco tip and invited Filthy Luka (aka Luke Howard) from the Horse Meat Disco collective to join us at our next Soul Buggin' party on Saturday 27th November. Since its humble beginnings London's Horse Meat Disco has become an institution on both sides of the sexual divide due in large part to its dedication and appreciation to disco music in all its forms. The weekly club night at The Eagle has become one of the must go to parties for disco heads from all walks of life and after a string of blistering international appearances around the globe as well as at our own homegrown festivals Glastonbury and Lovebox, the collective have proudly flown the flag for quality disco music higher than most.

We expect this one to be pretty mental as last time Horse Meat came to town a few years back there were proper roadblock scenes in Nottingham so we'd advise getting down early as it'll be first come first served on the door. Usual entry of £3 before 10.30pm and £5 after and it all kicks off at 9pm and goes on till 3am.



See you down the front!

x

Time for some chart action - here's what's floating my boat in November

01. Mark Ronson feat. Q Tip - Bang bang bang (Rhythm Plate remix) | CDR
02. Modern Artifacts - Droned / Flight (Africanz On Marz reworks) | Modern Artifacts 12"
03. Jamie Woon - Night air | Candent Songs 12"
04. Magic Wand Edits Volume 2 | Magic Wand CDR
05. DVA feat. Fatima - Just vybe | Hyperdub 12"
06. Fanfare - Gotham Odyssey (Volcov re-edit) | Unknown 12"
07. Womack & Womack / Steve Winwood - Conscious / Time & Space (Ashley Beedle re-edits) | Kat 12"
08. Lone - Raptured | Werk Discs 12"
09. Moodymann - It's too late 4 u and me | Mahogany 12"
10. System Status - Maybe You Should Bring Your Friends | CDR

Birthday hangoverrrrr

The aftermath of a big birthday party normally means some major hangover action for me that lasts well into the start of a new week, almost guaranteeing I'll be trying to scurry into some dark hole but surprisingly as I write this on a cold and gloomy monday morning I feel pretty good which must surely be a world first. If I'm honest I'm still buzzing from the Saturday just gone and refuse to let the extended hangover take it's deathly grip.

Here in Nottingham on Saturday 25th September our Soul Buggin' collective threw a big party to celebrate our 6th year in the game. It doesn't really feel like 6 years due to the sporadic nature of our early years of putting on nights but anyway all that was explained on here in last months ramblings. We were dead chuffed that our guests Simbad and Charles Webster came down to raise a glass with us and boy did we all celebrate. With a great crowd turning up in force come midnight Moog was rocking proper as Simbad and Charles played a blinding back to back set for the best part of three and a half hours. Dropping everything from deep house cuts, hip hop jams, latin shufflers, broken beat grooves, old school anthems, brass band covers (how good did that "Good life" version sound!?), lots of their own exclusives and even a splattering of drum and bass near the end we thought they well and truly smashed it. A massive thank you to them both for coming down to play but an even a bigger doff of the hat to all of you lot who came down and shook a leg. You created a fantastic little party that makes all the work behind the scenes worthwhile.



So here we are then. Slap bang knee deep in winter with it's dark nights and even darker mornings creeping in but we urge you not to get your grump on just yet because we've got a great session lined up for you on Saturday 30th October down at the Moog bar. As it falls on the weekend of halloween we've decided to throw a fancy dress-themed party for a bit of a laugh and we've invited down Simon Lee from Faze Action to come and get all scary with us. Now the state we've seen some of you lot get in at Moog before you probably won't need to dress up to scare the bejesus out normal god-fearing folk but for those that do decide to don your evil attire you'll get discounted entry plus you'll get a free drink on arrival as Dave is gonna boil up a nasty cauldron of his legendary potent punch to get you creepy.

I've been a fan of Faze Action since I stumbled upon the track 'In the trees' in the mid to late nineties that came out on that brilliant UK label Nuphonic and soon began collecting everything I could. It totally blew me away on first listen and their first album 'Plans and designs' that it featured on was a massive influence on me and still gets regular plays in my sets. Since that first album they've taken their show on the road with live performances at numerous festivals and events around the globe as well as some firing dj performances at the more discerning club nights out there. In the weeks leading up to the party I'll be playing some of my favourite Faze Action productions and remixes over on my weekly internet radioshow 'The Noodle Hotpot' (every sunday @ 2pm-4pm on www.myhouse-yourhouse.net) so be sure to tune in if you'd like to hear some of their back catalogue.

On the night itself the usual rules apply - 9pm till 3am with resident spooky Soul Buggers Wrighty, Mark and myself warming up proceedings (hopefully looking scarier than normal) and entry is £3 before 10.30pm and £5 after (but remember you'll get in for cheaper if you've pulled your finger out and got dressed up!)

We look forward to getting our freak on with you and I'll leave you with a little chart of heaters I'm currently feeling fresh from the box this month - some old, some new, some soon to drop.

x

Beane

October Chart 2010

01. Lone - Pineapple crush | Magic Wire 10"
02. Weegee (v) Young Lennie - Mircodots and moonbeams | CDR
03. Red Rack'em - How I program | Bergerac 12"
04. Juju & Jordash - Tattoo's island | Philpot 12"
05. Clause Four - Be the one | 12"
06. Quest - Smooth skin | Deep Mehdi 12"
07. Kyle Hall - Dances with a sun goddess | Wild Oats 12"
08. Maddslinky feat. Omar - Special | Tru Thoughts 12"
09. Agape - I&I (Simbad's voodoo remix) | CDR
10. Elizabeth Sheppard - Four | Freestyle
11. Lone - Raptured | CDR
12. Spook - Feel up (Salt City Orchestra remix) | Disorient 12"

Happy Birthday Bizness

So is that the end of the summer? Blimey that went quick didn't it? I guess I should of known better really than to tempt fate in my last blog entry singing the praises of the great british summertime, especially as we were planning an all day party up on the roof terrace at Moog. Before we knew it August bank holiday Sunday was soon upon us and as many decided to venture down to carnival in that big crazy old London town to indulge in a bit of 'how many humans can we get in one street' game (followed by the popular pastime of 'how long can I hold the contents of my bowel in before it starts coming out of my ears') back up here in Nottingham it was all go for our big Soul Buggin' BBQ. We knew it would be too good for the weather to behave itself and with the wind trying to do a silly impression of Hurricane Katrina we opted to do the whole shebang inside Moog. A slight shame but not the end of the world - this was going to be a 13 hour party after all - come 3am we probably wouldn't be able to remember the name of our mothers let alone worry about the bleedin' weather. We'd invited DiY nutters Osbourne and Woosh, Flash Atkins (from the mighty Paper Recordings stable) as well as balearic assassin of love Steve KIW to join us but also chucked on old Fun Your Ear favourite Dave Pickering who came down from Manchester and before the Eastenders omnibus had started we were off.

With enough kids in the afternoon at one point to nearly open a fully-licensed creche things started nice, serene and sensible before the sun called it a day, the BBQ got packed away and it was eyes down, no talking at the back, nothing in this game for two in a bed. No, we didn't just suddenly have a game of bullseye but more importantly get on the good foot and start raising the tempo as people started to pour in from their bank holiday pub crawls. Messiness ensued as usual and a huge thank you to all our guests but more importantly you lot who drank, danced, bantered and boogied. That's 3 massive bank holiday parties in a row! Superb!



I can't believe we're slap bang into September already. It only feels like a few months ago that we had the legend that is Colin Curtis come over to celebrate our birthday last year (and how big was that session!). I've been doing some calculations to try to fathom exactly how old Soul Buggin' is and if we want to be all proper about things it turns out that this month we're six years old. SIX?! How the hell does that work out? Well come with me on a magical little journey through the dirty kebab-strewn streets of Nottingham for the back story....

Back in 2004 I'd decided to call time on my monthly Noodles night down at Bar None as all manner of madness was going on (another story in itself!) but times were changing for me as I'd just come out of a crazy relationship, was feeling a bit lost, felt extremely thirsty for free beer but most of all really liked the idea of locking down a proper weekly residency to play out the thousands of records I had collected but never really played out. Luck would have it that a random encounter with a bar manager (who I'm reliably informed was probably on drugs at the time) offered me a weekly spot at Bar Humbug (just off Friar Lane, Market Square) and I gratefully accepted. Running every friday night for 5 hours each week we consistently pulled in some great crowds who didn't like the idea of fighting in Walkabout but rather sup away with the sounds of Roy Ayers, 4 Hero, Jazzanova, Jill Scott, MAW and Moodymann pumping into their lugholes. It soon became apparent that this session needed a name, a theme and some branding so I came up with the concept of Soul Buggin'. A name that everyone in the bar kinda liked and after all, it seemed to fit in well with the venue.

A year soon passed and I was on fire. More drunk than ever on free booze, wearing the best threads, perving on anything that couldn't run away but more importantly was buying enough music each week to sink the titanic - I simply couldn't wait to play all this heat out at the weekend. Then disaster struck - with no warning I was told the bar was being sold. Ok I thought, this might not be the end of the world, I might be able to stay as all bars need a DJ right? Yes, all bars do unless your a strip club. Bugger. With the surreal experience of playing one last night while the strip club was open (next level mentalism) I was soon out on the streets and Soul Buggin' was homeless.

All was not lost though as a few months later fellow soul heads Wrighty and Mark A (who I'd randomly met through, erm, Norman Jay's message board some months before) put together the idea of forming a collective all based around a website where we could host mixes and the like. It seemed like a good idea and before long we were off messing up the internet with our musical nonsense with aplomb. As the years passed we decided to put on some one off bank holiday events coupled with a few christmas parties down at The Snug Lounge (once even challenging local disco lords Basement Boogaloo to a dust up) and also started a monthly residency at The Loft. Soon bad luck was to strike Soul Buggin' down again with yet another closure (I was starting to feel jinxed by this point) but as one door closes, another opens as they say and so it did. Enter the Moog.

I guess the rest is history you could say. Over the past two years at moog we've invited a long list of DJs to play with us from local spinners Red Rack'em, Fran Green, Alex Traska, Daddio and stacks of others through to DJs from afar such as Benji B, Domu, Kev Beadle, Colin Curtis, Al Kent, Mudd, Atjazz & Clyde, Scrimshire and so many more. Now as we celebrate our 6th year we thought we should do something special and go big style.

So on Saturday 25th September down at Moog, Newdigate Street here in Nottingham we've invited Simbad (Marathon Men / Raw Fusion) and Charles Webster (Presence / Miso Records) to help pop some party poppers with us. Both DJs are well respected not only behind the decks but twiddling the knobs on the various fine productions they touch and you won't really need me filling you all in on their individual sparkling careers - you lot are a pretty clued up bunch!

Kicking off at 9pm and going through till 3am (and due to the limited capacity) we recommend you get down early for this one and reserve your place on the floorboards (plus it's cheaper entry - £3 before 10.30pm / £5 after). Moog is a very intimate place after all but we kinda like that and always proves to be a great party.

We look forward to raising a glass with you to celebrate our birthday!

x

Beane

PS - On Sunday September 19th I'll be broadcasting a 2 hour tribute to our guests on http://www.myhouse-yourhouse.net at 2pm where I'll be selecting my personal favourite productions, remixes and edits from both Simbad and Charles Webster to get us all in the mood for the following Saturday. The show will be available as a download incase you miss it here >> http://www.beane.podomatic.com

"Sun Sun Sun Sun Sun"

A few weeks ago our humble little Soul Buggin' soiree decided to have a bath, comb the old barnet, pull its socks up, put on some nice slacks and hop on over to our first Saturday night residency at the Moog bar. After a good 18 months or so of doing some smashing Friday nights we'd talked about moving for a while and July 31st saw our re-launch party as we welcomed the man behind the ace Million Dollar Disco nights Al Kent as our guest. Strangely, the people who complained that they couldn't come to Soul Buggin' on fridays due to work etc actually decided, rather perplexingly, not to show but that didn't matter a jot. With loads of new faces deciding to come down it turned out to be a great little party with Al firing on all cylinders laying down special edits and string-drenched percussive bombs a plenty. Many djs claim to play disco these days but very few actually REALLY play disco so it was a pleasure to hear a true ninja at work! Big ups to those that came down and got down on the floorboards and a special thank you to Mr Kent for making the long tortuous train journey down from Scotland to Nottingham. All those that missed it, well, we did warn you. We shouldn't really have to tell you that disco is about actually dancing and sweating, not posting youtube clips up on facebook!



So in this country we do have a tendency to moan about a lot of things and what with the usual world cup and wimbledon woes well and truly over (blimey how bad was that?!) one thing I think it's safe to say is that we can't really grumble too much about the old weather this year. Being as skint as Shadrach Dingle in Emmerdale's Woolpack boozer on a saturday night, this summer has meant I've missed out on the usual croatia shenanigans and UK festival adventures but the pain has been somewhat dulled by the blinding summer we've had so far. These past few months the suns decided to smile on us for a change and I'm loving every minute of it. So, to nervously tempt fate we're deciding to throw a big all day 13 hour bbq up on the roof terrace of Moog on Sunday 29th August. For the past 5 years it's been almost traditional to get proper wonkered at either the Backyard Boogaloo or Boatyard all day events (at The Nags Head or The Canal House respectively) but this year they've decided to take a year out so we thought we'd step into those very big boots after hosting two successful big bank holiday parties earlier this year in April and May. We've only got small feet but for this party we've pulled in some big guns....

Ben Davis aka Flash Atkins is the man behind huge labels like Shaboom, Blaktrax and more importantly the legendary deep house label paperecordings which pretty much changed the game completely in the mid-nineties. Having djed all over the bleedin' shop for the best part of two whole decades from The Ministy of Sound, Plastic People and The Sub Club and beyond you may remember him from last years Bobstock event but for those that missed him we've invited him back to Nottingham.

Joining him on the day will be local luminaries Osbourne and Woosh from the DiY party collective. Those in Nottingham shouldn't really need any introduction to these guys other than you can take it from us they bloody well know what they're doing when it comes to laying down serious tunes.

Backing up the rear (oo-er) will be wobbly residents Wrighty, Mark A and myself but we've also asked Brighton's most balearic export Steve Keep It Wheel to come up and make sure I don't play too many dodgy 80's re-edits.

We'll be kicking things off at 2pm upstairs and will be going through till 10pm when afterwards we'll all bomb downstairs till 3am to get our groove on good and proper. It's a freebie in the day with a small £3 charge for those that decide to come down afterwards. It's also worth a mention that kids are very welcome till sunset so no need to book in that expensive babysitter.

Oh and don't worry if the weather decides to get it's grump on, we'll just stick two fingers up to it and leg it inside with our sausage sarnies.

We look forward to seeing some of you nutters at the end of the month!

x

Beane

PS - It's our big birthday next month and we want to tell you who we've got booked but we can't yet for fear of you having a heart attack and we need you all nice and healthy for bank holiday. All will be revealed soon!

Saturdays were invented for disco after all...

Last weekend we were very honoured to have Kev Beadle come over and grace the decks at our little soiree here in Nottingham and christ on a custard cream it was a sweaty one. With temperatures soaring throughout the day we knew we were in for a hot one but by the time Kev started to hammer out killers tunes one after the other no one was quite prepared for the heat that ensued both on and off the decks. Already well known for his long running mighty dj sets at the legendary Southport Soul Weekender we were blessed with everything from Dimitri From Paris edits of Harold Melvin and The Bluenotes, classic detroit monsters from the likes of Underground Resistance and even that new killer version of "Still in love" by Navasha Dayo. A solid 2 hour set that flew by which is always the sign of a good selection. Many thanks to Kev for making the long trip up to Nottingham and all you lot that came down and danced your socks off. When Mikey starts slapping the ceiling you know your doing something right.

So with all that madness still buzzing round our heads like those bleedin' vuvuzelas in South Africa, here at Soul Buggin' HQ we're gearing up for re-launching our humble little party on Saturday 31st July at Moog. We've decided to switch days from Fridays to the last Saturday of the month as we felt as ace as the Friday sessions were, we wanna go all out with the glitterball and bring disco back to Nottingham on the big old Sataaadeee. Surely that's what the day was invented for in the first place right? I've got no idea who came up with the concept of the weekend - it may have been some sort of God or it may have been a flying teapot I don't really care - what has been rather concerning lately is the lack of good soulful dancefloor nights on a Saturday here in Nottingham. While some like it there are many that aren't necessarily into the crash, bang, wallop 'lets smash the flying electro fuck out of it cos the kids love it' attitude that sometimes seems oh so prevalent in Nottinghams late night venues. With a zillion bars bringing up the rear (and to be fair, we've got some great ones in this town that do supply some great music) we should really be re-focusing on the important stuff, namely dancing. More specifically dancing to something you bloody well like. It's better than any exercise you can ever partake in because you can do it sober or completely off your nut, you get to meet like-minded mentalists and if your lucky and do some fancy knee drops or half-steps you might even pull as apparently how you dance is how you have sex. Lordy. Either way, it's win win everytime (as long as you don't try a knee drop halfway through playing hide the sausage if you do pull).



So it is with great excitement that we welcome one of the true flag bearers of the glitterball Al Kent to our Soul Buggin' re-launch party at Moog. To give you a full bio on this man would be ridiculous as I'll be here till christmas but as resident of the storming Million Dollar Disco night that has put on parties in Manchester and Glasgow (which in turn has played host to fine selectors Rahaan, Faze Action and Dimitri From Paris) he’s been djing himself all over the country from the Southport Soul Weekender to The Sub Club and beyond for donkeys years. With huge productions under his belt such as the Million Dollar Orchestra album “Better Days” on BBE Records he’s also a dab hand at the disco re-edit having turned in many a dancefloor bomb as The Brown Brothers. So hot on the heels of his recently released “Disco Demands 5” compilation we welcome a true purveyor of the disco to our relaunch party.

Support comes from the usual hairy residents myself, Wrighty and Mark A with doors opening at 9pm. Get down early to get in cheap (£2 before 11pm - £4 after) and if the weathers nice shoot your chuff up onto the Moog roof terrace, it's bloomin' lovely up there.

We look forward to shaking a leg with you!

Beane

x

PS - Keep your eyes peeled on this blog and our facebook page for information about our big end of summer all day BBQ session @ Moog on bank holiday Sunday 29th August. Details coming sooooooooon.

Bank Holiday smash upppppp

So what exactly is it about bank holiday sundays in Nottingham? I still can't put my finger on it but they always seem to be pretty mental and down at Moog on the 30th May it proved to be no exception as we welcomed the legend that is Colin Curtis, old rock city head Joe Buhdha and local jazzman Daddio to join us for another one of our Soul Buggin' all day parties.

As always things started off serene, calm and collected as the roast dinner massive chilled to tunes supplied by myself and fellow residents Wrighty and Mark A before the sun decided to go to bed and the dancers decided to get on the good foot. With a great crowd consisting of a lot of new faces turn out in force, come 9pm those floorboards at Moog were getting a good old stomping as nuff classics mixed with old and new grooves were getting thrown around with sheer lunacy.

All in all it was a great night and by all accounts you lot looked like you enjoyed it. Many thanks to our guest djs on the day. Here's some pics of the night.











So, with our livers still crying out for a visit to rehab and our knees still slighty worn out we ain't done just yet as all eyes look to our next party on Friday 25th June as we welcome long running Southport Soul Weekender resident Kev Beadle. Where to start with Kev!? Well, as one of one of the longest-running resident djs and main musical consultants for the Beat Bar at the legendary Southport Soul Weekender Kev Beadle is no stranger to putting together eclectic soul sets and is one of the weekenders true unsung heros having worked with just about everyone under the sun. Alongside his numerous residencies and worldwide dj appearances he also holds down a cracking weekly radioshow on www.solarradio.com where he regulary pushes the musical boundaries showcasing innovative future sounds deeply rooted in soul and jazz. Whether it be some new broken detroit techno jam or a little known dusty boogie joint his selections always inspire but more importantly make you want to suddenly get on the good foot!

This is one DJ that we've been looking to book for a few years and are happy to finally get him up to Nottingham. This will be our last friday night before we move to Saturdays which we'll be giving you more information on soon.


Love and hugs and I'll leave you with 15 tunes that I'm feeling at the moment.

x

Beane's June 2010 Chart

01. Aloe Blacc - Dollar / Take me back | Stones Throw 12"
02. System Status - Planet X | CDR
03. 80's Ladies - Ladies of the eighties | Soul Jazz LP
04. Cal Gibson - Witcha dubman | CDR
05. The Hundred In The Hands - Dressed In Dresden (Kyle Hall Remix) | Warp 12"
06. Ron Basejam - For the people, by the people (Ashley Beedle remix) | ISM CDR
07 Disco Deviance Presents: The Revenge Edits - Lost In Music / Shack up | Disco Deviance 12"
08. Deep Space Orchestra - Trust skynet | CDR
09. Seahawks - Keep On Growing / Omega Beach | Captains Log 12"
10. Seahawks - Astral Winds / High Tides | Static Caravan 7"
11. Williams - Confused Arp Disco | Love Triangle Music 12
12. Various Artists - PH Edits Vol. 1 | PH Edits 7"
13. DJ Day & Miles Bonny - Learnin' to fly | CDR
14. Johnny Mathis - Gone, gone, gone (Kenlou edit) | White 12"
15. Weather Report - River people | CBS LP

Disco's revenge!

As some of you may already be aware, here in Nottingham each year the cities pubs, clubs, promoters, staff and general sauce monsters all come together to celebrate the cities nightlife in one almighty piss up. It's been going a few years now and last Monday the big event was held at the Pitcher and Piano bar in the centre of town. As mentioned in my last blog by some strange act of madness Soul Buggin' was entered into the "Best Independent Club Night" category. We were up against some pretty big players and didn't really expect to do that well but I was personally chuffed that on the night we managed to take 3rd prize which considering we're not really a student night (c'mon - the average age of our punters must be somewhere in the 30's!), play music that kids don't really 'get' and generally do it all for a bit of a laugh ain't that bad is it really. Disco may not be such a dirty word here after all!

Anyway, we were also honoured to be supplying the music for the night (and after party at Brass Monkey) alongside MHYH's Alex Traska and The Cuban Brothers. I'd never been to one of these events before so it was nice to dust off the old whistle and flute and raise a glass to Nottinghams nitelife which if truth be told has taken a bit of a battering of late with all these closures and takeovers. The night ended as usual in some god awful late night takeaway shop with me nearly knocking myself out running into a glass door but I'll save that story for when I next see you.

So, with a renewed confidence in our step all eyes turn to our summer bank holiday party @ Moog on Sunday 30th May. Our last all dayer was pretty special so we thought sod it lets do another and this time we've invited the legend that is Mr Colin Curtis. Those of you who reached our birthday party in September will remember the scenes this man brought to Moog so it is a pleasure to have him back. On the day he'll be doing two different sets - an early doors and peak time one - so it'll be well worth your while getting down early. If that wasn't enough incentive then we've also got old rock city head Joe Buhdha and jazz dance mover and shaker Daddio supplying the sounds. Backing up that little lot will of course be the usual rag tag bunch of hairy residents Wrighty, Mark A and myself. We roll from 4pm and it's a freebie before 9pm and only a mere 200 pence afterwards. Should be good un we reckon.

On that note I'm gonna do one but before I depart breaking news has just come into the Soul Buggin' HQ. No, it's not regarding some slimy posh tory boy but infact something much more entertaining all about a very important appointment. Soon Soul Buggin' will be moving to the last Saturday of the month (rather than friday) so now we really can go hell for leather and let rip. Saturdays were invented for disco anyway weren't they?

Peace and grease

x

Beane

April tings...

Well, have you recovered from the monstrous Soul Buggin' vs. Basement Boogaloo party yet? No we haven't properly either. A fantastic 11 hour party that started sensible and serene but then got all kinds of wobbly. Nick 'the sarge' Shaw sends his apologies for his no show as unfortunately his serious work commitments dictated he couldn't attend. A real shame but rest assured the disco sexual psychopath will return soon. Special thanks to our other guests on the day John "I am the law" Buckby and "Evil" Ed Challands who both played blinders.

So just around the corner here in Nottingham are the Bar and Club Awards at The Pitcher and Piano and would you adam and eve it our little Soul Buggin' soiree has been nominated in the "Best Independent Club Night" category. We think someones been on the wacky backy again but we ain't gonna argue as we think we're worth it. We may be small, a little wobbly on the feet and smell of booze occasionally but we have thrown some belting parties these last 12 months so if you've got a spare minute (and of course you like what we're doing) could you pop over to the site and drop us a vote in? Would be much appreciated! We'll also be in charge of the music at the awards themselves on Monday 10th May alongside The Cuban Brothers and local web radio godfather Alex Traska so it should a be a right old knees up. Here's the website to cast your votes: www.nottinghambarawards.co.uk

Right - what's up next then? Well Friday April 30th see's us back at Moog as we welcome special guest Ex-Friendly to the turntables. He's been been dabbling in all manner of leftfield beats now for 15 years or so and has recently been knocking out some damn fine soul re-edits that have caught the ears of many worldwide. As he gears up to release his new solo album expect to hear some exclusive little specials! Go have a listen on his sound cloud page for some heat: www.soundcloud.com/ex-friendly. We’ve also invited Sydney-based Ben Aylward over to spin some sun-drenched flavours as he returns back to the Notts bronx after causing havoc down under for the past 2 years. Lord knows what the sunshines done to him but one thing we can confirm is that he's pumped up for this one big time. Advance warning - this one could get saucy.

Keep your eyes peeled to this page over the next couple of weeks where we'll be giving you more info on our big summer bank holiday party in May. We'll tell you now, it's going to be a special one.

See ya'll soon

x

Beane

Christ it's another Derby invasion!!!

Springtime is upon us! So let's not muck about in March....

If you cast your mind back to last August you'll remember we hosted a little Nottingham launch party for the new DUCK album which had just been released upon the unsuspecting world courtesy of some of Derby's finest producers through the M8MC Music label. We were fortunate to have some of the albums contributors come over and play at Moog but one artist who unfortunately couldn't make that night was Atjazz. I've long been an admirer of Martin Iveson and if truth be told I was a little gutted he couldn't make it.

But all was not lost. A plan was hatched. Fast forward to March 2010 and we've been lucky enough to twist the arm of Clyde (M8MC Music boss) to return to Moog on the promise he kidnaps Atjazz and brings him along for the ride! Friday 26th March is the date we've locked down where we'll be welcoming those deep electronic Derby souls to Soul Buggin' and we'd love if it you could join us for what will be a rare opportunity to see both Atjazz and Clyde on the same night here in Nottingham and all for nowt too.

As a bit of a warm up for the main event on my radioshow this coming Sunday (21st March 2pm-4pm on www.myhouse-yourhouse.net) I'll be pulling out some of my favourite productions and remixes from the pair that I've been lucky enough to collect over the years. Some classics mixed in with some lesser known tracks you may or may not not have heard of before. The show will be available to listen again should you miss it over on my podcast page (www.beane.podomatic.com)

Don't forget doors open at 9pm on friday and as per usual we'll be going through till 3am.

See you down the front

x

Beane

Spring-flavoured Soul

Dunno about you lot but how nice are these lighter nights? As we stick two fingers up to winter I can't wait for some long overdue sun round these parts. With our first party of the year now under our belts all eyes begin to focus on the impending spring.

Dotted up and down the country we've heard of many nights like ours - small intimate affairs for the more discerning soul heads that are disillusioned with the musical tripe most places churn out - and one such night that caught our attention was Northern Comfort up in that big rainy city Manchester. Why? Well over the past few years they've been booking some top draw guests in the form of Mr Scruff, Al Kent and Trevor Whateva but have also been asking DJs to come and play who we've also put on at our own little shindig such as Colin Curtis and Domu. With a guest list like that we thought we had to have a word and were delighted that residents Rob D and Andy Vee accepted our humble invite to come and play at Soul Buggin'. Everyone knows it's the residents of these great little nights that are the true heroes of the scene and we're looking forward to them showing us how it's done Manchester stylee.

Doors open at the usual time of 9pm and we'll be going through till 3am. This ones a freemasons so those feeling the pinch you ain't gotta worry about nowt. Oh and don't forget, bung 4 of you in a taxi from town and Moog will refund your fare (upto £4).

So we look forward to seeing you on the Friday 26th February but before then have a listen to Rob D's mix he did for us. It's a cracker

Download here >> http://soulbuggin.podomatic.com/

New year, new decade

Blimey where did it all go eh? So much seems to have happened over the last 10 years since I moved to Nottingham at the turn of the century that sometimes I have to pinch myself that it's been so long. Club nights seemed to have come and gone, new venues have opened while old ones have imploded, many record shops have shut up shop, DJs have started to play things called MP3's and kids are now into new genres called 'Donk' and 'Dubstep'. Makes you ponder on just what the next 10 are going to throw up don't it?

So where do we go from here I guess should be the next question as we enter the next decade. As musical trends, styles and fashions pop up and disappear almost as quickly as they start these days I guess you've got to just do your best to focus on the things you love within this crazy scene we label 'dance music'.

Here at Soul Buggin' it's business as usual this weekend as we open up the new year with our first party of 2010, inviting Paul "Mudd" Murphy and Mark Rayner to that beloved late night den of filth that is Moog. For those not aware, Mr Murphy is guy behind the rather splendid Claremont 56 label that for years has been putting out some fantastic left-of-centre-disco-not-disco balearic-style sounds. With each release normally super limited many have escaped my clutches which is mainly down to the fact that (a) I'm too bloody lazy to get my arse in gear to purchase them quick enough and (b) the disco beards are on them these days quicker than Janine Butcher on Archie Mitchell's last will and testament. Joining Paul will be Mark Rayner who gears up to release his new label Perfect 10 on the unsuspecting world. I was fortunate to be given some exclusives and dropped one of these tasty morsels on my weekly sunday radioshow last week. You can listen again here: www.beane.podomatic.com

We kick things off from 9pm and go on through till 3am. It's a freebie so get down and shake off the excesses of the christmas period. Oh and grow a beard and bring a notebook. That goes for you too ladies. It might be one of those sessions.

Until next time

x

Beane