The Snowboy Tome

It's been a long time since I anticipated the arrival of something with such excitement, when I finally received an e-mail saying that Mark"Snowboy" Cotgrove's book on the history of the jazz-dance movement  was finally available to order, my fingers flew, and then there was the wait as it winged it's way to me here in Okinawa. In the hours post delivery I was virtually unreachable, as I hungrily devoured the contents; my wife and daughter gave up trying to communicate and left me to it.

Of course I didn't know prior to actually reading the book how good it was going to be, I was just insanely curious. Mark had interviewed me some time ago for the project and I'd not thought about it much until a conversation with Swifty (the book's designer) last summer really whetted my appetite. It was then that I realised just how much dedication and work Mark had put in to it, literally ten years of research and graft, although pure sweat and thoroughness don't necessarily make for a captivating read! To be completely honest I had my reservations, I  knew Mark could be opinionated and headstrong in his dedication to the cause and was a mite concerned as to whether he'd be able to keep the text from turning into a rant!! Apologies Mark! My fears were totally unfounded, and on reflection the conversations I'd had with him of late had revealed his sensitivity and plain and simple love of music, we'd even had a couple of deep discussions about broken-beat; a style I was surprised to discover he had a passion for.  Anyway suffice to say that although he's by no means a fundamentalist when it comes to jazz-dance, a close read of the text does reveal his view, but by no means is it obvious. In fact that's the book's great strength, the lack of authorial intervention, he literally let's the story tell itself. There's a simple time-lined history of the scene and and the dance styles, then Mark let's the interviewees tell the story. Robert Farris Thonpson's remarks about Snowboy's writing style in the preface are bang on, when he does want to say something he says it in plain and direct language , and the book is all the better for it.

Anyone who has even the vaguest of interest in dance music history should read this book. It redresses the balance back to the U.K. and the incredibly innovative and pioneering djs and dancers who created a scene that is without parallel in the U.S. Recent histories of dance music and dj culture have tended to focus on  the States and have underestimated the value and originality of the U.K. scene. Read the book, and raise your hat to the true pioneers, Bob Jones and Colin Curtis to name but two, and the chronicler of it all, Snowboy.  Find out more here.

Naha to London (news and gigs)

I'm not going to curse the dysfunctionality of my website but the contents of this blog should be in my news section, but as I can't include any links there it's pretty redundant for the time being! Anyway, no worries, it's good to be blogging again and I'm reminding myself of a few things. Firstly, I have an as yet unpublished post entitled "Across The Jazz Divide" which is basically a bit of a rant/tirade about how I feel about certain musical issues. I should finish it or bin it! Secondly it's about time I sorted out the podcast side of things, hold tight it's coming! Suffice to say that I'm in a much better position  to focus on the music now that I'm more settled into my life here in Okinawa. I've only recently completely sorted out my vinyl and cds since the move but as you can see I'm ready to get busy now! 

Although I've played a couple of parties here in Okinawa in the past, I haven't done anything since my re-location here. Well all that's set to change over the course of the summer. As a prelude to getting a regular session going I'm doing my first  party on the island on June 6th Musicas Para Ti at Mafali Cafe, a nice intimate little space that should give me  a good chance to assess the vibe here. Club-land here in Naha is a little low key at the moment despite the tireless efforts of Viva Gilberto a dj and promoter who's pretty ubiquitous here! He's a great character alot of fun to hang-out with and has recently adopted the "don't mind if i do, don't mind if i don't" catch-phrase from Gavin and Stacey, which is particularly hilarious from his lips. By the way, although 100% Okinawan, he was born in Sao Paulo and speaks fluent Portuguese, hence the name. Joining us on the decks will be Takuji who used to be a resident at The Room in Tokyo, it should be a fun session.

I'll be back in London at the end of June, however almost en route I'll be dropping some tunes alongside my good friend Yoshihro Okino (KJM) at Club Metro in Kyoto on June 20th. the following Saturday it's my enormous pleasure to be back at East Village for another Inspiration Information session, this time we pay our respects and welcome a dj who is rightly described as a legend, a man whose prowess on the decks, his feeling for the music, and not forgetting his formidable dancing skills have made him a significant influence on myself, Phil Asher and countless others. TROUBLE!!!!!!!! Yes it's Paul Anderson playing the original music that put him on the map long before the for on the floor took over, nobody can play and feel the boogie like Trouble, back in the day nobody could touch him for the energy and spirit of his sets. Yes indeed i'm looking forward to this one! Check here.

The following evening it's my pleasure to be reunited with Jimbo at Groove Sanctuary. I've always had enormous respect for this guy, as a dj and producer, and the way he's just kept his thing running. At Madame Jo Jo's he's built a groovy little scene and won the respect of some serious dancers;now on a Sunday night this will be a fine way to round off my first weekend back in town! What's more he's chosen this date to run the first ever Groove Sanctuary House Dance Competition, so for all hoofers, shakers and shifters this one is a must. Check here

On Sunday 5th of July I'll be joining Nikki Lucas at her future fusion session at the The Green Carnation in Greek St, Soho: a chance to get global, bruk and any which way, should be fun! Check here

Finally, for one night only, (though we have to stop saying that if I keep popping back to do it) Brazilian Love Affair returns to NHAC on Sat July 18th. Lucia Possass was threatening to hang up her headphones when we had our final session last November, it was an emotional affair, and it seemed strange to be cutting my ties with a venue that I'd been working with for 11 years! However Lucia was thrilled when I e-mailed her and said we could revive the party for a one-off in March, and she came down fresh from the Rio carnival, and as ever, we had a ball that night! It always leaves me with huge grin on my face, it must be the power of the music ,the swing of the samba, the sheer love of it! Strictly old school Brasilia and modern interpretations, no baile funk etc. Check here

When I was last in London I did a little impromptu set for the Space Bass crew at their night at Home bar. Following that Liam asked if I'd drop a funk/boogie mix for them, I called it Naha City Block Party

There's plenty more to come!!