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Saturday 20 December 2014

Is the party over in Brighton? Certainly sounds like it.



Here in Brighton, we are perceived by many,  a party destination.  Not just Hen and Stags, but also for more hedonistic and cultured nightlife. Music, sex, drugs, fashion, freedom and tolerance being an intrinsic part of what's made Brighton such an attractive place to visit or live.

We have had it good, we have enjoyed ourselves. Sometimes on a ridiculously grand scale - Big Beach Boutique and Fatboy attracting tens of thousands to Brighton, myself included and no doubt leading to people moving here off the back of it. The same can be said of Pride which has grown and expanded into a full on festival style production, with more attractions, bigger line ups, attendees and zones of the city organised as part of the event.

Late night music lead venues have held some excellent live gigs and club events for many years, giving us so much to choose from within a 3 mile radius, week in week out for decades.

We have some great restaurants and many pubs serve good quality organic or free range food that just isn't on offer as standard in the South East's provincial towns and villages.

So all in all we have it quite good. It's a lively and interesting city with a diverse and creative culture, sat beneath the 'tits and teeth' of the pier, pavilion and seafront.

Whats the problem?
This month I took a step back into some of the smaller venues I worked with as a DJ over the years. Pubs, bars and other little spaces that are popular for the company do's and Xmas get togethers we all look forward to at this time of year.

When I first came to Brighton, I set up lots of smaller gigs in pubs and bars so we could play disco and nu disco to our friends and try to carve out a niche off the back of it. Myself and Ali Back played many of these gigs along with various other local jocks - pretty good nights, without the hassle of having to install additional sound. We just used the in house systems which were adequate - decent jukebox level music, with enough room to pump it up a bit later so dancers could dance, chat and get pissed together with no real complaints to speak of.

Good fun, not a great deal of hassle or trouble really. The Pub sold the booze, we played the music, all had a bit of party and generally us DJ's bought more records with the money we earned.

Slowly but surely local residents (usually one single complainant) - would start to find that living near the pub didn't suit them and start to make noises about this to the council.  The Environmental Health Officers take this kind of thing very seriously, it's a health issue and human rights issue for this poor complainant. Their quality of life is being compromised and it can't be ignored. They are suffering as a result of music and high spirits of a weekend and it needs to be investigated.

The reality of this kind of action,  especially since the extended licensing laws were implemented is devastating for a business trying to operate fairly, and cater for it's customers.

I have witnessed reasonable complaints, where New Years Eve has been a bit OTT in terms of extra sound installed especially, as a one off and becoming a nuisance, too loud, too late. These complaints are usually met with the volume being turned down and a bit of an understanding that its once a year, sorry we got a bit carried away...

I have also been party to unreasonable neighbours complaining about what can barely be considered audible, let alone a nuisance. The most trivial of situations becoming the bedrock for an ongoing campaign and vendetta against a venue. Blind Tiger, Om Bar, Freebutt all paying the ultimate price for one nause of a neighbour.

One of Brick Lane's cornerstones, Vibe Bar has now become a casualty of this scenario. Closing down and making way for what exactly?

Council in cahoots with property developers?
The Blind Tiger was a popular live venue and pub, lots of fun and part of Brighton's make up. A tenant moved in with full knowledge of the venues business model, but found it unacceptable once living there and began to stalk its prey, finally leading to the demise of the tiger. It's owners shut the doors and walked away. SEE ARTICLE

It is now a squat. Excellent work from the council and a prime example of what one single complainant is capable of doing to a business, its staff (now unemployed), the building (now squatted) and it's clients. All with full support and assistance of the City council.

It's commonly used as a tactic for property development firms, these fuckers are taking council planning staff off to the South of France to plan there next developments and acquisitions on private yachts whilst plying them with free booze. Does that sound like we're in good hands? SEE ARTICLE

I am not in a position to go into major detail on political corruption, but its not a theory, there are numerous sources and findings giving further insight into where the council are actually working to an agenda that differs from what we would perhaps expect. Certainly not one that most would deem fair.

How does this affect me?
The result of the way the complaints are now dealt with are clearly evident in many of Brighton and Hove's venues. The council has installed sound limiters, locked down at a level usually set in the day time with an empty venue and then approved by the complainant. This sounds like a reasonable solution in theory. Assuming you were dealing with a reasonable person. Unlikely.

There is usually an agenda, or a list of demands or an unrealistic expectation of 'county living' and peace and quiet in the heart of a busy and vibrant city. These awkward fuckers usually want to hear a pin drop! Maybe get some earplugs or buy more your property more sensibly, what are you an idiot?

Gone are the easy nights, due to the levels being set at 10 am in an empty venue, the music is barely audible over busy bar room chatter, there are consistent and anguished requests for the DJ to turn it up - which has been made impossible by the over zealous limiter. Bar managers are constantly anxious over noise complaints and pretty soon the venue becomes a stressful and intense place to be, with staff and it's trade feeling the negative effects of the councils measures.

Why does one disgruntled person get to have so much power over so many people? People that were previously doing fine, enjoying the city, many getting on with the fact they live very near a music or drinking establishment and accepting that's where they live and what that means. Businesses are being ruined, our city is being restricted and limited to the mediocre.

I could only really hear peoples voices on numerous occasions this month whilst being paid good money for people to basically watch me play music they simply couldn't hear! It was painfully frustrating and unfair on everyone. We rubbed along as best we could but overall it was a crying shame. For the sake of a few extra decibels, we all got short changed, needing to put a brave face on what could of been a cracking night.

Smoking outside, mobile phones, conversations, laughter and conviviality are all pushing venues nearer to closure. Imaging trying to manage that. All due to ONE single complainant. They now have the volume control, and they have the power. Why??

Don't blame the venue, its Human Nature
Humans generally like to socialise in their free time, we enjoy a night out, we like to let loose once in a while and spend our hard earned cash on drinking, dining, having a late night. We get babysitters and go out late sometimes. We want the music up loud enough to dance to and we don't want to do this at home.

We don't mean a rave, we mean a night out where we have the choices we used to have, a bit of a laugh and a dance. Sadly there are only a few sacred places left in Brighton where this casual night out is an option. I won't name them for fear of EHO visits and another one biting the dust.

In short its become a Kingdom of Fear for venues and I think it's completely out of balance. We have rights and expectations, that are slowly but surely being eroded and dissolved, in pursuit of what? House prices? Keeping one person content? Or is it simply that we aren't complaining and they are?

I think the party is generally over in the settings I've described, but it needn't be - I have seen venues work in beautiful harmony with their neighbours, agreeing a music off policy of 12 - not bad for a boozer really. Party section is decent and then a wind down time from 12 - 1 am close.

I've seen venues offer to double glaze their neighbours homes, add sound proofing and acoustic treatments only to be snubbed and refused. There must be another agenda at play in these cases.

What can I do?
A sensible proposal for a Mandatory Noise Complaint Waiver, now seems to have all the more urgency. It's an online petition to protect live music venues against noise complaints the aim of the which, is to prevent people who knowingly move within earshot of a live music venue, then proceeding to file noise complaints against said venue.

The petition states: “It is extremely detrimental to the UK’s entertainment industry, particularly on a grassroots level, when all the music venues start disappearing. Music is a key British export and to endanger our strong national artist community is to endanger a key British industry.”

The petition follows the closure of beloved venues such as Brighton’s Blind Tiger club, Freebutt and Brick Lane's Vibe Bar.  Check out the petition for yourself and sign here.

I hope you all stand up for what you want to be available next time you go for a night out.

FURTHER READING ON THE CURRENT ISSUES FACED BY VENUE OWNERS
London / Soho - Left Foot Forward
East London Times 

Here's a bit of free music going begging right now coutesy of  DJ Steef!






Monday 1 December 2014

Pictures are up from Friday night



Sunday 30 November 2014

Pablo Contraband at Disco Deviant - Nov 28 2014

We had an absolutely sublime night on Friday with Daniel Avery and Andrew Weatherall playing a thunderous 3 and half hour B2B set.  Full house from early on. Take a listen to Disco Deviant resident Pablo Contraband kicking the night off.

An interesting set starting with some downtempo dubby gems, disco strings soon make a welcome appearance courtesy of Secret Squirrel #4 followed by an excellent New Beat excursion. A well thought out set with plenty of surprise appearances in there including John Cooper Clarke.

The second hour the pace really starts to pick up and before long John Talabot ushers in Barnt and Kolsch.

DJ Bookings: lizz@theunityagency.co.uk


Tuesday 25 November 2014

Kompakt Compilation one of our picks for 2014

What a superb album of dance tracks this one is. Lovely on in the office or in the car, but plenty here more than capable of doing the damage on the dancefloor.

Recommend you take a listen and purchase a copy. Timeless and superb.


Wednesday 5 November 2014

Win 2 x tickets for Andrew Weatherall, Daniel Avery & Pablo Contraband on 28 Nov at Audio, Brighton



Thursday 30 October 2014

Monday 6 October 2014

Motor City Drum Ensemble joins Pablo Contraband at Disco Deviant, Brighton Sat 15 November

Motor City Drum Ensemble makes his Brighton debut at Disco Deviant. TICKETS

Disco Deviant are super excited to announce this one. Having worked to get this party off the ground for almost 5 years, the stars have now aligned, giving us great pleasure in welcoming Motor City Drum Ensemble to Disco Deviant.

We've been fans since first hearing Raw Cuts #1 and have been both inspired and mesmerised by MCDE's releases and DJ sets over subsequent years.

His DJ sets, often comprise of raw house and disco, flawless mixing, strong melodies and an ever building energy, taking the crowd up to an exciting and explosive climax, before switching direction with an inspired selection and perfect mix that takes things deeper.

MCDE has a talent of bringing different styles together, taking elements of Hip Hop, Funk and Soul and working them into his productions. He was releasing authentic Deep House tracks long before the term was bandied around in its new and rather unflattering guise.

His DJ style mirrors this approach, MCDE has a tremendous knack of selecting upfront releases and blending them with classics and rarities in a unique and absorbing fashion.

His festival performances are celebrated far and wide, this summer alone he appeared at Dekmantel, Dimensions, Electric Elephant, Astropolis, Love Saves The Day, Southport Weekender, Dour & Buiten Westen + more, gaining thousands of new fans and supporters in the process.

We are truly honoured to have MCDE make his Brighton debut with us at Disco Deviant on Saturday 15th November.

Heading into room 2 we are pleased to have Mute x Soul City running the show in there. Disco, Funk, Soul meets UK Funky and bass. A nice contrast for the bar area.

Limited release of tickets at £10 each are running very low so make sure you grab a bargain soon.

Entry Price: £12 Adv

For more information about this event, visit
https://discodeviant.ticketabc.com/events/disco/

Minimum Age: 18

Date: 15th Nov 2014 11pm
Last Entry: 2:00am

Venue: The Concorde 2
Madeira drive
Brighton
BN1 1EN

Monday 22 September 2014

DD NEWS: Psychemagik, Paul Daley, Eskimo Twins, MCDE, Weatherall + Avery + codesouth.fm




Disco Deviant have a fair few dates for your diary this Autumn, 4 to be exact.

We’re really excited about the parties we have coming up, so here’s a quick rundown of what’s happening who’s playing, where and when - as well as some links to special deals and early bird tickets, especially for our regulars.

So first up see’s the return of Psychemagik. They nailed it hard last time they  came to Brighton, an exciting atmosphere that night and I fully expect more of the same. Friday 10th October at Audio where you can hear the brand spanking Traction Sound rig in all its glory – Last of the £6 Early Birds are available HERE

Halloween we have an intimate party planned with an unbelievable line up to be honest. Paul Daley (ex-Leftfield) will be headlining this one!! Not satisfied with that we have also booked the rather excellent Eskimo Twins to play alongside him. This is a basement rave up for 100 of you only. Friday 31st October at 10 Below – Tickets are £7 each and advise getting one sharpish.  LINK IN FOOTER

Moving into November and things get crazy – After 4 years of trying to secure this booking we finally landed Motor City Drum Ensemble.  So happy about this, tickets are flying out and there are only a limited number of £10 tickets left .
Sat 15th November at Concorde 2 – LINK IN FOOTER

Finally on Friday 28th November we have another very special night with Weatherall & Avery back in the booth at Disco Deviant.  Tickets are moving very quickly so don't hang about as you could miss out! LINK IN FOOTER

As DD resident, Pablo Contraband will naturally be playing all of these parties too, so he's feeling pretty happy right now and will have various competition giveaways running on his radio show 3-6pm Every Tuesday on codesouth.fm so tune in if you can.

Think that is - thanks for reading.

We hope to see you soon!

DD x
--
Sat Oct 4th w / Erol Alkan & Ghost Culture @ Warehouse, Audio Brighton
Fri Oct 10th w / Psychemagik at Disco Deviant, Audio Brighton £6 TICKETS
Fri Oct 31st w / Paul Daley (ex-Leftfield) & Eskimo Twins, 10 Below Brighton £7 Tickets
Sat Nov 15th w / Motor City Drum Ensemble, C2 Brighton £10 Tickets
Fri Nov 28th w / Andrew Weatherall & Daniel Avery, Audio Brighton £12.50 Tickets

Monday 8 September 2014

Halloween Special with Paul Daley (ex-Leftfield) and Eskimo Twins. 10 Below, Brighton

This halloween we are proud to herald a welcome return to the decks for one of UK's dance music's pioneers, none other than Paul Daley.

A huge influence in the early 90's progressive house scene Paul Daley made up one half of Leftfield and their output on the Hard Hands label was in every DJ's box at the time.
Albums followed and their music featured on some of the most iconic films and adverts of our era, Trainspotting, Shallow Grave, GO and that amazing 'Surfers' Guinness ad to name a few.

Playing a vinyl only set for us in the intimate surrounds of 10 Below this should be an amazing night.

We are excited to introduce another fine talent, this time in the shape of the Eskimo Twins.
Recently lauded as an integral player in the 'Primitive' scene by mixmag, followed and supported by DJs and club nights, including Weatherall, Avery, Smagghe, ALFOS, Wax-On & Disco Deviant. They have a unique sound and style particularly suited to our ears.

Pablo Contraband will be warming things up on the night setting the tone for what lays ahead.

Only 100 tickets so don't hang about or you'll miss out on a real treat.





 

Disco Deviant show - Every Tuesday 3 - 6 pm GMT on www.codesouth.fm

You can now tune in to our very own Radio Show each Tuesday from 3pm GMT, Pablo Contraband will be live in the studio. Disco, House, Techno and Slo-jams being the shows musical make up, choice cuts alongside the occasional guest mix or live studio guest.

You can tune in on 98.5fm if you are in Sussex or listen via the stream live on www.codesouth.fm.

There's a shout box on the site or you can text direct into the studio on 07940 120240.

Get involved! http://www.codesouth.fm/schedule


Saturday 9 August 2014

Autumn line ups for Disco Deviant, Brighton announced. Tasty LNTG vinyl competition.


Very pleased with what we have in store for Autumn 2014. Watch this space for ticket releases. Early birds will go up from Sept 1st. BUY HERE

First we have the final summer show with LNTG & The Reflex joining Pablo Contraband at Above Audio, going to be a killer show with some of the funkiest DJ's on the circuit right now.
Grab yourself a ticket for £6 HERE

We are also running a big juicy vinyl giveaway -you can enter the competition by liking and sharing the campaign on Facebook - 6 x LNTG 12" & 2 x VIP tickets for our Bank Holiday bash. CLICK HERE



Sunday 27 July 2014

New release from The Reflex + Bank Holiday Special news!

September / Jungle Boogie finally arrived on digital last Friday 25th - And his much anticipated PYT revision will be included in The Reflex - Million Sellers Vol.2 in a few weeks too!

Buy on JUNO



You can catch The Reflex alongside, Late Nite Tuff Guy & Pablo Contraband in Brighton on Sun 24th Aug for Disco Deviant's bank holiday special.

Tickets Here: LINK

Sunday 15 June 2014

Sunday 27 April 2014

Pictures from 6th Birthday are now up



Monday 24 March 2014

New Chart & Spacecast from Pablo Contraband : March 2014









Pablo also recorded an exclusive mix for Space Ritual featuring a few of these tracks. Take a listen and give the soundcloud a follow as it is an excellent series.



Wednesday 15 January 2014

Forthcoming gigs: Psychemagik, Weatherall and Avery, Hackman + Behling and Simpson, Pablo Contraband and Wild Fantasy


What a line up we have this Saturday night at Audio, Brighton. Two of the House scenes most interesting movers and shakers; Hackman + Behling and Simpson join the ever expanding list of guest DJ's at Warehouse, where I hold one of my favourite ever residencies. I'll be playing the opening set 11-1am and it is always a pleasure.  Get's busy from the off partly due to the fact it is FREE entry before 12 with names on the Facebook Event wall. LINK TO FB EVENT


Exciting booking for us coming up the end of February with Psychemagik headlining alongside myself and a couple of all round good eggs Wild Fantasy aka Neal Schtumm & Andy Singh.
Early bird tickets are only £6.50 and no surprise that there moving fast. You can grab yours from Skiddle below.


To buy tickets for our events please visit: Skiddle or call 0844 884 2920.

These tickets are on sale for . Skiddle.com is an official ticket outlet for this event. All credit card purchases you make at Skiddle.com are encrypted through our Secure Server Technology


Massive news leaked this week on the line up for our 6th Birthday in April at Audio, Brighton.
We have two of our heroes Andrew Weatherall and Daniel Avery playing a very special set for us so stay tuned for more news and ticket release details.

Forthcoming Brighton Gigs:
Love Beams at 10 Below - Feb 1st
Psychemagik at Audio Brighton - Feb 28th
BMC special at 10 Below -Apr 12th with Delayed Audio & Black Key Records
Disco Deviant 6th Birthday - Apr 25th with Andrew Weatherall B2B Daniel Avery & Pablo Contraband at Audio Brighton
— in Brighton.






Saturday 4 January 2014

Local Zero's New Years Disco Mix 2014



Happy New Year Deviants. Here's a disco funk & boogie mix I made on New Years Day to kick start the best year of our lives. Freedownload. All the best. Local Zero

Tracklist

1. Michael Jackson - Rock With You (The Reflex Re-Vision)
2. Players Association - Turn The Music Up (Derek Kaye Rework)
3. Magnetic Soul - Hot For You
4. No Mistake (Kon's 2079 Mix)
5. Tonbe - Boss of Funk
6. Dimitri From Brooklyn - Opposite A Track
7. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Grapevine (The Reflex Re-Vision)
8. Magnetic Soul - Power
9. Change - Holiday (LNTG Rework)
10. Daniele Baldelli - Got To Get Your Own
11. JKriv & the Disco Machine - Make It Hot (Idjut Boys Hot Mix)
12. Daniele Baldelli - Fountainbleu (Version Idjut)
13. Goody Goody - It Looks Like Love (SMQ Edit)
14. Daniele Baldelli - Funk Me Again (Eric Dunks Duncan Remix)


Thursday 2 January 2014

Disco Deviant with Psychemagik, Pablo Contraband & Wild Fantasy



The UK duo, known for their beautiful production work, prolific remixing skills, obscenely vast record collections and transcendent mixtape journeys, are being heralded as a truly unique and positive presence across today’s music scenes.
Psychemagik’s first appearance on wax was an edit of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Everywhere’, which quickly found its way into the record bags of veterans like Tom Middleton and Greg Wilson. The duo have since released an impressive array of highly acclaimed original productions, remixes and edits. They play regularly at major festivals, clubs and special events around the globe.
Their studio output is prolific to say the least; original productions such as Valley Of Paradise and the Lunar Escape EP, recent remix projects include Bryan Ferry, Haim, Boy George, Einaudi, Azari & III, Metronomy, Chapel Club, Kauf and Mirror People.
And then there’s the edits. Their 2012 version of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’, a follow up to ‘Everywhere’, topped the Hype Machine charts and has gained some serious props from around the globe. They have also released a whole host of edits on their Healin’ Feelin and Discotheque Wreckers imprints, all of which made the Juno top sellers list.

Disco Deviant main man Pablo Contraband will also be joined by Wild Fantasy a new guise of friends Neal Schtumm & Andy Singh, and the perfect compliment to the line up.
Looking forward to what should be a night packed with musical treasures and dancefloor bombs.

Early Birds £6.50
Adv £8