Funky kinky love
Glamour, fun(k) and frolics are brought south of the river tonight in the form of the newly launched
Glamour comes in the shape of the venue, the pristine and slightly haughty White House (you can book tables and everything), and vocals from house diva Angie Brown. That's Angie (not Jocelyn or Kathy, who have both had big house hits, too), whose big-lunged vocals powered Bizarre Inc's 1991 classic rave anthem Playing With Knives. The funk is down to DJ duo The Loose Cannons, whose reputation for scattershot, funk-fuelled sets with a dirty undercurrent is growing as quickly as funk's tarnished MOR reputation of the 1990s has been restored. The Loose Cannons' star is rising rapidly, thanks to a combination of stellar DJ sets (Return To New York, Manumission) and acclaimed singles (Superstars and Handbrake). With an LP due early this year, catch them somewhere cosy before they're selling out superclubs.
Ross Allen's monthly showcase, Destination Out, is always worth checking. Allen A&Rs for Casual Records and obviously has an eye for new talent: Medasyn's The Battle (featuring Shystie and Lady Sovereign) emerged on the imprint. This weekend it's typically left field, with live performances from Sia, the Australian vocalist on Zero 7's debut LP Simple Things, showcasing material from her own forthcoming album. Then there's hip hop from The Platinum Pied Pipers, who can count Slum Village's Waajeed among their number. Hot 97's Nicci Cheeks DJs ahead of her release of Hip Hop Love Soul LP, a compilation of hip hop featuring Lifesavas, J Ro (Tha Liks), Peven Everett and Jurassic 5's Chali 2na and Marc 7, on Manchester's Fat City Records.
100% Dynamite had to be the only New Year club night in London raising money for charity. Not that this is a reason to go this weekend, merely an example of the kind of ethos behind the night. The Soul Jazz sound system (DJs Scott Bethell, Stuart Baker and Abi Clarke) simply play music they love - soul, funk, jazz, reggae, dancehall and latterly old-school ragga jungle, and it's got nothing to do with making money. Now that is a novelty in clubland, as is the night's complete lack of pretension and attitude. Worries in the dance? Not at 100% Dynamite.
333 recently launched a series of weekly Sunday nights with a live element, and this week it's the debut of Samurai Sessions, which will see Ninja Tune's finest in Shoreditch on a monthly basis. Kicking things off is DJ Vadim (Jazz Fudge), the British-born, Russian-influenced hip hop producer/DJ (responsible for Terrorist and Sarah Jones's Your Revolution), whose sets take in funk, breaks and hip hop. He's joined by The Herbaliser, aka Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba, whose blunted, cinematic hip hop sweetly combines instruments, sampling and rap. With as much of a penchant for Shakespeare and obscure Italian film scores as hip hop, it's anyone's guess what Jake and Ollie will play. But that's half the fun.
Tonight, Kinky Funk, The White House, 65 Clapham Park Road SW4, 9pm to 2am, £5 before 11pm, £7 after. Tel: 020 7498 3388. Tube: Clapham Common Sat, 100% Dynamite, Electrowerkz, 7 Torrens Street, off City Road EC1, 9.30pm to 3am, £5. Tel: 020 7734 3341. Tube: Angel Sat, Destination Out, Cargo, Kingsland Viaduct, 83 Rivington Street EC2, 8pm to 3am, £6 before 9pm, £10 after. Tel: 020 7739 3440. Tube: Old Street Sun, Samurai Sessions, 333 Old Street EC1, 8pm to 4am, £5. Tel: 020 7739 5949. Tube: Old Street
