Secretsunglasses

What more can you say?

Eric Duncan interview

There's a great interview with Eric Duncan on the ever reliable Cosmic Disco blog which you should definitely check out.

Eric, who makes up one half of the notorious DJ duo Rub n Tug, certainly has a few stories to tell! The interview jumps from his early days in LA at school dances, through to acid-fueled trips to San Fran, loft parties in NYC, hooking up with Thomas Bullock and Harvey, right through to his current production work with Still Going and as Dr Dunks. There's also a potted history of the four stages of hip hop...

Whilst you're at it, you should also check out Rub N Tug's Beats In Space takeover from a couple of weeks back.

Dissident Jukebox

Dissident Records has been a constant source of inspiration for us over the past couple of years, with tracks from the likes of Casionova, Photonz and the incredible Invisible College by Gatto Fritto making our playlists since we started doing parties.

On Sunday, we were lucky enough to DJ alongside Dissident mastermind Andy Blake at Secretsundaze. For anyone who didn't make it down, he's put together this special 7" only mix, taking in some of the mellower, more obscure tracks in his vast collection.

Download the Dissident Jukebox mix here.

Dissident Jukebox

Dissident records has been a constant source of musical inspiration to us, with a series of utterly blinding tracks that have had heavy rotation at many of our gigs. Notable example for you to track down come from Casionova, Photonz, and of course, the seminal Invisible College by Gatto Fritto.

On Sunday, we were lucky enough to DJ alongside Dissident Mastermind Andy Blake, at Secretsundaze (more on that to follow). For anyone who didn’t make it down, he supplied us with a little 7” only mix that takes in some of the mellower, more obscure tracks from his vast collection.

Download the Dissident Jukebox mix here.

Gay Bar, Gay Bar!

There once was a boozer in Angel called The Warwick. A few years ago we popped in for a Guinness one Saturday afternoon and asked if the jukebox was free - as in gratis, not 'is it available to use'. We were told it cost cold hard cash money. To which we (being cheeky chaps) asked them to put on a mix we'd recorded the night before; the mix went down okay and we blagged a gig after chatting to the owner, a fine figure of a man named Daniel. After a couple of infrequent gigs we got to know Dan better and grew to call him a friend. One day he gave us a bit of black and white photocopied paper with the address of a place on Ahmhurt Rd, Dalston on it and told us he was starting a night and it was going to be called Disco Bloodbath.

My gran could probably tell you what happened next, and unless you have been living under a rock (or maybe not living in London) then you should know too. In a nutshell, Disco Bloodbath went on to become one of the biggest and best nights in town thanks to their pink basement, excellent booking policy, loyal crowd and particularly the residents' excellent selections month in month out. The venue was aptly called Passion, now sadly defunct as a club space, having reverted back to being the Caribbean restaurant it happily existed as in its previous incarnation.

Perhaps less well known is that after selling The Warwick, Dan Bloodbath (as he is now commonly referred to) had been looking for a new venue to open. After searching high and low he has found the perfect place in the form of Dalston Superstore.

Located at 117 Kingsland High St, it is not so far from the hallowed dancefloor of Passion. It is an amazing space with a long upstairs bar, lit by an impressive skylight and with music courtesy of full DJ set up. While downstairs there is a basement perfectly suited to intimate late-night shindigs, one wall of which is painted Passion pink! Whether this new establishment will become Disco Bloodbath's new home remains to be seen, though I'd bet against it given the size limitations are outstripped by sheer disco demand. Last weekend it was host to a secret gig by Bugged Out's Erol Alkan which worked really well (for those who managed to get in!) this probably being a good model for them to follow.

The place is a massive success and really is a breath of fresh air in Dalston. [This is metaphorically speaking of course; the idea of 'fresh air in Dalston', an environment where vaporised chicken grease constitutes a % of the atmosphere, is surely a paradox.] Furthermore, in addition to catering for all matters of the rave, it is going to be a place where people can go for a coffee in the afternoon and Dan hopes to get a fully functioning kitchen up and running. Art installations and other creative quips are also getting the green light. Knitting club, girls?

Best of luck to Dan, (and Dan 2 and Mikki Matt); join the fan page on Facebook >here< and tell them The Cosmic Truth sent you to receive a half-price Screw Against The Wall!

Weekend Report

Friday -
We played music (some bits old, some bits new), at The Old Queen's Head on Essex Road, Islington. This was the opening night of Ben 'Bloodbath' Pistor's new and infrequent upstairs session. Was great to see a load of our mates down there and thanks for the invite down Ben. Finally, apologies to the South African lady who was in the market for some electro. Wrong place, wrong time, love.

Saturday -
Represented on the floor at the Loose loft party - aurally satisfied (oo er) by Dolan Bergin and the Loose allstars. Followed by a shuffle in the Disco Bloodbath basement listening to Erol Alkan.

Sunday -
Wandy had us playing at his monthly party 'Detour', so sending thanks to him and his crew. My money is on the name of the night deriving from the Karen Young track (albeit spelled the traditional way) but forgot to enquire. Good excuse to post The Cosmic Truth anthem anyway!

Secretsundaze Pics (Or: "Wonk Holiday")

SECRETSUNDAZE OPENING 2009

Dust off your sunglasses....

OK, so everyone knows that the first sign of Summer is not the clocks going forward, nor is it the first BBQ on the park, or indeed the smell of Hawian Tropic - its Secretsundaze opening party! We've been going to James, Giles & Kristophe's little shindigs since it first started on the now defunct top floor of 93 Feet East, so its a pleasure to have been asked to host the back room of their 2009 opening party. Big up to Dan and Claire over there too.

Check >here< for a nicely written piece that appeared on Resident Advisor recently on the guys.

When it comes to putting on a party these Cambridge ex-pats know what they are doing, constantly raising the bar when it comes to production, programming and hosting acclaimed events worldwide - but this Sunday sees them in thier spiritual home of East London (albeit South East this time)! We've been told first hand that the venue is something special and we can't wait.

Details:

Sunday 3rd May

THAT (formerly The House & Terrace),

338 Boord Street,

Greenwich,

SE10 0PF

Outside

Giles Smith - 2pm - 6pm

Move D - live - 6pm - 7pm

Brothers' Vibe - 7pm - 10pm

Melon - 10pm - 1am

James Priestley 1am - 4am

Upstairs
The Cosmic Truth

Nicholas L Balfe & Dickie-C - 10pm - 4am