Expect more updates!

So now the winter night are here I will be updating this blog more with possible reviews on nights out around London and the UK. I love writing about nights and days out that I have experienced although my bethmay blog is probably more wish and fashion based.

My New Home - Peckham Labour?

As the 2nd debate was on last night i took it upon myself to check the Times Online and see who was running in my new area. Since moving to London, i have noticed that the area in which i live in (East Dulwich) is actually classed as Peckham. Predomanantly Labour voters, this area is one of the most deprived areas in South East London. The area oa Walworth, Camberwell, is targetted for being one of the most notorious areas in London, with Albylth Estate being subjected to poor amenities and horrednous effects on the neighborhood. As i get the number 12 bus from Pckham Rye Common, its a frightening experience, especially when i have to sit on the bus for 60 minutes from Oxford Circus to Peckham. It runs through Camberwell and Elephant and Castle, which in itself is a run down area. Only 1% of voters are conser vative with 3% voting Lib Dem.

In contrast, my home Farnborough in Hampshire is 98% Conservative and only 1% Labour. It is hard to place residents in Peckham inot a box, but what i have witnessed seems to be imigrants who do not work and are living in social housing. Facts from the Times Online shows that 60% of redisdents are Afro Carribean and 40% of these live in the social housing estates. It is hard not to get frightening when walking down peckham Rye, especially after getting home from work at 8pm/. I have a 6 month contract on ym flat, and although i love it, i feel i may need to live somewhere more West or move East or North.
I have been thinking about my local constiuancy rather than the country as a whole as i feel where i am located is in need of a lot of work. Estates that are run down next door to million pound houses, its hard to comorehend how the other half live but let a;lone when they are only detached by 1 brick wall. Who thought that building up was better for the city? More people in one area, all on the 12 bus and crushing me to death. It was only last week that a woman pulled out a knife on the bus and declared war on an inocent bystander. The police took 15 minuites to get to the bus, where in that time someone could of been hurt.

Elephant and Castle needs to have more police patrolling the streets. Everytime i get on a bus i wonder about if i will be safe.

Walking aroujnd Angel and Stoke Newington, i felt very safe. Please, can we put safety first?

HAHA

Just 4 hours is the time it took for Conservative part leader, David Cameron to hit back with his version of 'stuck in the 80's'
While mooching around London i have seen many posters of the two parties fighting it out.

The conservative party have got Saachi and Saachi advertising agency on board for their campaign. I believe its interesting and quite refreshing to see wit and sarcasm coming from the Tories. Using oposing manefesto's to launch attack is wise, yet it is also about reaching out to the 'Silent generation' who is you and i included. I am pretty much in limbo about the pro's and con's of each party - any would say anything to win a vote. With Tories being 39% of voters choice (2% above Labour) its a close call, and i believe every vote counts. I am voting Tory this year. Moan all you like, i am not a protagonist, siff iron board wanker - i am just up for 'change'.

Who will you be voting for?

The Big Chill 2010

The Big Chill.
I love it, it is by far one of the best festivals i have ever been too. For those who want to escape the carnage that is Reading or Leeds, this is your best bet. Of course i enjoy a heavy rave untill 5am with mad hatters bouncing around the Big Tops, and beer being thrown in my direction, if uninvited...But what The Big Chill offers is so much more.
While you try to negociate with 14 year olds at reading, the big chill has offerings of maturity. The days are filled with Jazz and Funk from Mr Scruff's tea room on the lake, which also plays 1920's music from its speakers. Fairy stall's and enchanhted gardens are located in the valley's where you stumble across poetry readings on stages no bigger than your dining room table. Buses and floats escourt flowers and cider aroun dthe fields in a  beautiful manner, much like santa on his at Christmas. Children run around with bubbles and flowers while parents graze on the grass sipping on ice tea and smoking sheesha. It is one of the great things of the big chill, everything is civilised when it needs to be. Cue 10pm and things get a little darker and messier, which is apropiate at that time of day. After bonobo and Quantic who blew me away i was given a bollocking by Annie Knightingale and Krafty Kutz. This also followed ORBITAL and Basement Jaxx on the mainstage. This year, MIA is headlining with Massive Attack which will be amazing. Last year i got press pass but instead of trying to blag it this year, i bought a ticket. Its that good, i acually spent the money and bought a bloody ticket.

Melt! Is going to be a marathon of dance sweat and tears which will be followed by a mellow 3 days in the Heredfordshire downs, chilling with a cuppa and bopping to Fourtet and Massive attack. It is not a fairy land of magic but it comes close...

After starting of in 2005, the festival has grown so much. It has increased capacity by a further 10,ooo this year with better acts and a higher priced ticket. Think Bestival 5 years ago - only 20 thousand people, a small island in Hampshire that has now balooned to 45k and still on a small island in Hampshire. Lets hope the Big Chill doesnt get greedy now - yes you have to increase the price, but keep the 'mainstream' out and let them go to Reading.

Linds - TORTURE!

Did anyone see the Lindsay Lohan documentary on BBC3? I must say, she is a very good actress. I dont know if the twitch she had was due to the flies in India or the fact she hasn't had a recent hit of anything recently? Is this a great way of Linds trying to get some 'good press' before she brings out a new film or album? The star travelled to india to 'report' (i say report...) on children trafficking. She visited local children and they told her how they were beaten, raped and made to work 15 hour days with no break, to which lohan screeched in an inperdenant manner' Oh my god really?' while wiping away tears - which were non existant. Her ability to promote herself even became lothing after a girl who had just dicsussed how she was trafficked when she 12, asked 'what do you do?' linsday then replied ' i sing and act' (oh and take crack, smoke some weed and actually mess around with lesbians, actually i was in 1 good film about 12 years ago...)
She pretended to care, cry and even give a view on the tafficing. She reported from the comfort of her hotel room and her car which she moaned about. He even had the cheek to say ' God it stinks'. For someone who is trying to 'redeem' themselves, this was was not a fair deal. I could watch this documentary with anyone else and witness carnage and sympathise with the children and the volunteer. Linsday just had to jump out of a car and see around 3 hours a day of the torture. Volunteers would of camped out and helped, got involved. Instead she clung to her nostrils while hoping for some magical white powder to enter.
Her lips were on show remarkably - only for short amounts of time, as they were still swolen and she looked like she was chewing the inside of her mouth.

BBC3, you fail me.

Bobobo

I adore Bobobo. I must admit, i always thought after seeing 'him' at The Big Chill in 2009, i thought it was a 'them'. Bobobo is a 1 piece who generates beautiful ambient sounds through dj'ing. I love his new video which is directed by Steve Glashier. Andrea Triana has vocals on the epic and beautiful 'EyesDown'.
The single has hint's ofd Burial's atmopsheric beats and two step. The soft vocals from Andrea add honey to the water, smooth and sweet. I cant comprehend how many times this song has been on repeat as i sit marking at work. My evenings are graced by beauty as i await the festival season, full swing soon i hope. I will be checking where Bonobo will be touring this year, i cant wait to see him again.

Genius.

Burial - Kill me?

Danaeo? AND Burial? I couldnt quite get my head around this when i first heard ti. I have alweays remembered Danaeo as being the 'party hard' type/ his first solo single which was as interesting as Shakespear's twelth night made me think how Burial could have possibly reinvented a talented, yet niche singer? The track which is as dirty as your boyfriends shorts after football makes me want to get angry, right now. Knee's bent and arms gathering dust, this moody piece with the soulful voice of Danaeo actually works, just a little. Remember Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris? We all know that Dizzee sold out to the mainstream so he could make it bigger, Danaoe has been doing his 'thang' since the 1990's where parties in the summer sun would be clapping out an extreme about of 'summer choons' and now he has gone all moody? Burial himself is a class act, his first album which gave me shudders took me into a slight state of depresssion the first time i heard it. All that was right in the world was no wrong and all i wanted to do was sit in my room and ponder the breaks and beats that he made me listen too.  F;ash forward 3 years and i must admit, its still his moodyness that has me captivated but Danaoe makes it a little bit more bearable, for me anyway. Think chase and status and 'Pieces' - i doubt that choon would of been as much of a commerical hit if it wasnt for Plan B -who has now switched to soul and high pitched tones.

Whatever i moan about, i still have it on repeat. 10 times.

Audio Bully's - Hello garage?

The Future Belongs To Us -

Alice in Wonderland is all over the shop - films, posters and dark tales thanks to the ever grundgy Tim Burton. Did he use Audio Bully's as his muse? The single The Future Belongs to Us, ever so slightly dark at the begining with warped breathing that could have been taken from the grave. Two step beats that remind me of the garage union that once was the 1990's, i now believe that garage is making its come back - ever so slightly. Little inkling's it is on its way back haver hit me since i have been investigating more into the wacky world of Audio Bully's and Hervé. The constant  'clicking' of swithcing beats and synthesisers have turned dance music into a broader Hyrid - trumpets, saxaphones and keyboards all combined - i get a slight sense of Quantic's essense about 4 minutes in - an 8 minuite masterpiece of breaks and buildups.

'Cut the mid-range' - very true. Down we go again, garage two step and warped synths. Audio Bully's have got a little darker, and i like it.

The Coronet Friday -Review

The Bloody Beetroots only British gig for the last thousand years blew mine and everyone else minds away on Friday night in the spacious yet sketchy Coronet in Elephant and Castle. The pill popping crowd that usually collate on the dancefloor laden with glow sticks, were replaced by skin headed tatood men that reminded me of a crowd you might see throwing fists at Lamb Of God's tour.
Covering Refused's 'New Noise' the moshing commenced as i stood with my back against  the melting brick wall. Refusing to give me an interview for the simple reason 'We dont do interviews" i found it highly un-suprising that these gimp mask laden msucisans were any bit sociable. Throwing hands and what looked like goblets of fire into the crowd the ecleptic thudding of the drum's threw everythign into turnmoil.  For a stage that had just graced Hervé and Mylo, was now a bloodbath of angry rock fans.

Hervé who i expected to play the last set to a minimalistic Mowgli, would of proven better all round. Teasing us with drop's of the Proxy's - So Raven was one of the most intense, drawn out experiences of the whole night. Flitting between the smoking area and the main room became exhausting after waiting a good 2 hours to hear some pounding base. Suprsiingly, the crown of the night had to go to Kissy Sell Out. After an epic yet scaring experience of The Bloody Beetroots, Kissy took to the crowd with an array of old school Garage, Dub Step and Dance. Proving to be the legend that he is, he treated the crowd to some Queen and Michael Jackson before teasing us again for the second time in one evening with the epic Proxy.  Feet were off the ground and arms were in the air as he persued to move the thuds of feet into a frenzy. Overlooking the crowd from the sidelines glow sticks returned, leaving the leather jackets and the tatoo's at the door.

Entering the early morning slot Mowgli took to the turn tables to deliver some gorgeous and aromatic beats that were easy enough to sit and discuss politics with over Sunday lunch. Being 3am and drawing a close, Mowlgi got the crowd pumping again with his view on the swine outbrak, Tamiflu. Off the album  'Paris to London' this joyous track was uplifting and interesting with subtle female grunting vocals and synthsiszers. 4 minutes in a drop that was a little anticipated revived the crowd, bringing them back down from Kissy Sell Out's performance.

Located upstairs in a bare yet pumping room, visuals were tyhrown together on the sidelines with a DJ that had mroe fidget than feet could have perscribed. His enthisatic stance made the ever dwindling crowd give the last leg value for money. Missing Does It Offend You Yeah? was one of the lowest points of the evening - a pub in East Dulwich has itself to blame, Strawberry Beer and a range of nibbles stopped me movig quickly.

Filled with a varied crowd and msuical tastes, beats were best pumped through Kissy. Disspointingly Hervé didnt impress and Mowgli was too chilled for the last leg of the shopwstopping night. Bloody Beetroots were Bloody mad, but again, Their first eevr UK Live show - no wonder they went for it.

Together @ The Coronet - London

An ecleptic night of Techno, Electro, Dance and 'Fidgit'.

Head on down. Sick venue, amazing lasers and a good crowd.

Friday 19th March

New Blog

So i have made another blog; mainly to accompany the fashion side i enjoy, but to show bloggers and interact with writers in and around London. I have a great interest in Fashion but also music and culture, so have set this blog up to showcase images and interviews i have with people.

My first stop: A possible interview with Mowgli on Friday at the Coronet in Elephant and Castle. If not, i will find someone else to chat.