When in Rome

I recently visited the beautiful city of Rome, a city rich with history and culture. It has the great Colosseum which has stood for thousands of years. It is home to some of the greatest thinkers the world has ever seen. Walking through the isles of the Sistine Chapel is a marvel in itself. I was in awe, amazed, that such a wonder had been created so many years ago.

There is so much rich culture in this city and it permeates through its night life.

During the day you would be led to believe that you’re walking into a library. The floors are filled with book collections and areas where patrons chill to a cup of coffee and a book discussing the issues of with capitalism and how Italy is being held ransom by the mob. Deep.

Once the sun sets its a completely different story. The city of Rome lives and breathes music through its vacant alleys. The building which once stood as a library during the day now has a hidden basement, filled with young revelers exchanging love and culture. I was amazed.

What a gem!

If only London had something like this. Maybe I should open a similar bar in London…

Then I remembered how a typical Londoner spends their weekend. There is no way these books would last with Dave from Staines whose on a pub crawl with the lads or Charlene from Putney releasing her Saturday brunch after drinking one too man gin and tonics.

Could try Brighton.

 

 

Tom Bull vs Summer Junkies – Hey Y’all

Check out this beauty of a free track from Tom Bull.

Download it by clicking on this link.  

Night Tube Almost Here

 

London is finally getting it’s overdue night tube transport service.

After months of deliberation even more strikes it looks as if members of the RMT union, Britain’s biggest transport union, have accepted an offer for improved pay and conditions relating to the service.

Finally! Think of the possibilities. No more late night Ubers with Ahmed who has an obsession with listening to LBC! No more late night bus journeys into Surrey while trying to force your digestion system to handle the subway that suddenly seems like a colossus of a meal. The night tube is here! Almost.

There are three other unions yet to decide whether they will accept the offer. We are so close! Transport For London has stated that they are “seeking an agreement with the other unions” and are focusing on “recruiting staff to deliver the Night Tube for London as quickly as possible”.

Come on TFL!

Why are we closing all our nightclubs.

Lately I find myself reflecting and considering which path I wish to walk. The path a man takes can lead to success or failure. Success is personal. One man’s success can be another man’s failure. That is the beauty of life. We all have our own hopes and dreams and the path a man takes will determine how they are perceived in history. Did he succeed or did he fail? At times ones success can lead to another’s failure. The harsh reality of life. We give and we take, but some take more than others.

The success of London has brought even more wealth to the city. Those with the right investments are laughing as they build ‘luxury homes’ and increase profit. Living in central London has become a right only those in elite positions can enjoy. It is for white collar city workers who dab in a bit of charlie during the lunch rush. We as Londoners are becoming metallic and soulless. The artist has been priced out. There are no more creators, just financial advisers and lawmakers. More and more luxury properties are being built. Space has to be made, someone has to fail for these properties to succeed.

In 2005 there were 3,144 clubs and now there are 1,733.

London is home to some of the biggest partying venues. Fabric, Ministry of Sound, Brixton Electric to name a few, but recent years has seen a witch hunt for the night creature. We have become prey to the property developer. In 2015 it was announced that we will soon see the closure of an iconic venue, the Coronet in Elephant and Castle. After 138 years the venue will be closing it’s doors.

What people don’t seem to understand is that a nightclub is the community hall of the night creepers, it is a cultural centre for the raver. And what is being offered in their place… Luxury properties. Yea alright Dave. It’s simple, these affordable properties will be left empty and barren, yearning for some life, for a soul to enter their domain. They will answer and enter the desolate shelter in their masses with, massive boom boxes and intrinsic strobes. Faces wired and eyes wide open. The floors will once again be jumping. Night creatures will swarm to the sound of rhythmic base and the walls will reverberate and echo through the dark skies. The illegal rave. The show must go on!

 

Tom Ferry – Ur Love

Three Words:

Groove, Vibes, Love.

Tom Ferry releases this gem for the world to enjoy. Best of all, it’s free to download.

My Battle With House

Recently I’ve been questioning my taste in music. Is it right that I listen to so much house music? Is it weird? Am I a one dimensional person?

At the beginning of the week I was having a discussion about music with my boss. He approaches me and asks this question:

‘So Nolo, what kind of music are you into?’

Now, this is a pretty straight forward question. It requires no strain of thought and should be answered with relative ease. The problem is every time I divulge my taste in music people seem to get offended, as if I have just offended their grandmother by accusing her of not adding enough spice when preparing some chicken. Cause you know chicken needs spice.

‘Oh so you’re one of those guys’

What guys? Who are these guys and where can I find them?

It is becoming a bit of a pain.

Why is there this hidden connotation when it comes to house fans. Have we brought this upon ourselves? Are we an annoyance to society?

I think the problem is society itself. Ask anybody who has gone to a house rave whether they have ever seen a fight break out? Never! It’s all about PEACE and LOVE and yet you can try and convince people as much as you want to come to a rave with you, and the answer is always the same.

‘That’s just not my scene’

What is this scene?

I’m tired of it! From now on in I will be screaming and yelling.

‘I love house music!!’

And on that note

You Rock My World

South African DJ Black Coffee, released his album ‘Africa Rising’ way back in 2012; so to say that this is the track of the week is a bit overdue. But I really don’t care.

I was first made aware of the song when a live performance surfaced the internet two years back and it was rocking! However Mr Americano has recently made the full song available on his SoundCloud page. It is only right to make it, this weeks TOTW.

Andras & Oscar – Looking Back

Andras & Oscar have released a new single from their up and coming debut album Café Romantica. The track is reminiscent of the late 70s and early 80s, as you enjoy the mellow vibes you may feel the urge to personify Michael Jackson in his music video ‘Rock With You.’

Sweet, Mellow and Cool. A Very seductive song from Andras and Oscar.

Just An Observation

This weekend I visited (or stumbled into) McQueen’s, a trendy Night Club situated in London’s stylish town Shoreditch. It is a district populated with street art and contemporary fashion wherever you look. An area where you constantly see creativity being openly expressed, as are many other things. I was in Shoreditch to see the man responsible for the glorious weekly podcast ‘Let There Be House’. I couldn’t miss the opportunity to see him in London and to summarise the entire evening – EPIC.

Glen Horsborough was behind the decks at McQueen’s alongside DJ Stu O’jelay to promote Hed Kandi’s new album – Summer of Sax. McQueen’s itself is a pretty cool venue which doubles up as a restaurant during the day and once the sun sets, turns into a club for those that want to groove after dining. As you walk in, you enter the top floor used as a lounge area for the evening. The interior decor is quite spectacular, if you perceive yourself to be one of the fellas from ‘Made In Chelsea’ then this would be the perfect location to grab a quick lunch and cocktail. I didn’t spend much time in the top floor as the music was downstairs, I was there to groove not to sit and ponder.

This is why I love house music. From the name of the event you may have guessed the night would be themed around the saxophone. The entire evening was a celebration of house music this summer and how many of the songs released were laced with the smooth, cool sounds of sax. As you enter the basement the trebling bass echoes through the air waves accompanied with the sweet serenade of that soulful sax. Absolutely epic. What made the night even better was the eclectic crowd McQueen’s boast. I have mentioned this before; the beauty of house music is not only the sounds but the gathering of diverse multicultural people, uniting, enjoying and sharing similar experiences together and the celebration of life itself.  I am yet to see a fight at a house rave, I have seen many at other events. Just an observation.

I may get a lot of stick for this but I myself would rather pay to see a DJ like Glen Horsborough kill a set for 3 hours than pay to see Jay-Z perform. I say this because I have seen both artist perform live; In one case I paid £95 to sit in an arena where I had to watch a television screen to see an artist perform the length of a Disney movie (90 minutes) before he vacated the area. I was left commuting home thinking… ‘What just happened to my money, I could have watched Lion King for free if I wanted to’; Whereas in the second case I paid £10 to see several artists perform past they’re scheduled time, for them to then join the fans and party alongside with them. Appreciation. To top it off, there were no television screens. For the love of house.

Check out the latest Let There Be House Podcast: