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UK Garage awards? - Solomon Malcom on the Road again - 19th February, 2000, London, England - Official Report
The Dreem Teem, Karl 'tuff enuff' Brown, Frankie Foncett, Norris da boss Windross, Mike 'ruff cut' Lloyd, Noodles, Ramsey & Fen, Pied Piper, Omar. MCs: Creed, Mr Blakey, Rankin, Kie, Charlie Brown.
I knew the event would sell out so made sure I got my ticket in advance at Rhythm Division records in Bow, East London.I was very lucky as I left it late. I got the last one at 3pm on Saturday afternoon! It was a good thing I got the £18 advance ticket. When I arrived at 11.15pm the were signs up saying Prices on the door was £30(English Pounds). The queue for paying at the door was still LONG! Fortunately ticket holders had a five minute wait before entry.
It was packed inside even though the night was still early. Omar was spinning with I believe Rankin holding the mike. Plenty of Press men and TV camera crews in evidence and footage of the crowd on the floor was relayed to the large screen on the stage.
Camden Palace which staged the event was in fact the first venue to hold the Garage scene's first ever regular Saturday night slot, 'Lords of the Underground' and also played a part in the evolvement of UK Garage.
The cavernous venue is of course a converted cinema, with very high ceilings. It makes one feel like they are inside St Paul's Cathedral!, London It has a large dance floor but here is a lot of space on the many balconies and floors over looking the dance area. The view from them is not for those with vertigo! Having high ceilings no doubts helps with the air circulation. However the club has powerful air conditioning which still leaves you shivering slightly if you are standing right beneath the blowers even when the floor is packed!
The event was hosted by Bobby and Steve - Kiss 100 FM jocks who are also part of Zoo Entertainment's, the promoters. When they took the stage around midnight it was announced they have over 60 awards to give out.
So this meant there would be a break every hour after each DJ finished his set for more presentations. The prizes were not voted on by anyone. Bobby maintained that it was an acknowledgement of the efforts by those in the Garage scene by members of the scene. The criticisms of the mainstream dance music awards run by the likes of Mixmag and DJ magazine was that they tended to be biased towards "House", and the UKGarage/2-Step Garage scene was usually overlooked. This was first of many events for Ukgarage/2-Step Garage. MC Creed summed it up beautifully when he said upon collecting his award "We have turned a Sunday event ("The Sunday Scene") into an whole industry!" All the major DJs and mcs who were playing that night and others who were nominated were given awards, as well as promoters, pirate radio stations, security etc.
Bobby described briefly how the scene emerged around 1994 by DJs playing US Garage and then doing their own mixes to create the "London" sound. However little if nothing at all was mentioned of the role "Jungle" played in the evolvement of the scene. Goldie was a special guest who presented an award to the DreemTeem. He got a loud reception and was surrounded by cameras. His mere presence musically, spoke volumes but the silence on the jungle/drum and bass influence on the scene was deafening! I personally would find it hard to argue that garage would be where it is now without the jungle/drum & bass revolution of the early 90s
I 'discovered' garage after getting disillusioned with jungle when the Ragga crowd followed General Levy after his mega hit 'Incredible'. After seeing the violence, shootings bad vibes etc associated with the Ragga crowd creep into Jungle I crossed over to "garage" which was emerging in its shadow. Another reason why a lot of ex junglists 'crossed over' was because it expanded too quickly and got too big for its own good. Soon the likes of Sir Richard Branson was talking about it during TV interviews. Nothing wrong with this, to show he is street smart and in touch to the latest musical trends no doubt. However we soon saw floods of CD compilations out in Woolworth's advertised non stop on TV, basslines were heard as backing on UK Television commercials. It was everywhere and became commercial or 'popified' before we we even knew what was happening to it.
The scene spit into two: Jungle and Drum and Bass. The latter was first termed "intelligent drum and bass" devoid of "Ragga" influences -Jamaican influences more on a "jazzy" tip to get away from the bad crowd of the former. No doubt the fall out of the split gave rise to "garage" which was slowly emerging in its shadows and was seen as more 'street' or underground. Some of the jungle venues played jungle in the main room and ggarage in the smaller rooms. In fact early DJs/producers on the scene will argue this point and a lot of the cutting studios for dubs were formerly part of the jungle fraternity. The term "speed garage" was surpassingly and gladly not heard during the award show event. Again when I first heard it I thought it was referring to a new type of music associated with drugs like 'Acid' house in 88/89. I did not know it was the 'garage' that I was already into! Some aficionados would attest that the correct definition would be 'slow jungle' and not 'speed garage'. So the understatement of the night was Goldie'sappearance and no homage paid to jungle. The Garage scene did not emerge out of thin air from US Garage.
Well that is of course the views of an ex junglist who was not into US House and Garage within England before the UK DJs who were based in London created the London sound of the Sunday Scene.( Carl Brown, Ipswich, England -www.garage-music.com - carl@anglianet.co.uk adds that US Garage did have a long existence in the UK before the birth of Jungle). Clubs like "High on Hope, Garage City ,The Loft and The early Days of the Ministry of Sound in London; The Hard Times and Back To Basics in Leeds, England were major institutions of the scene where the likes of Norman Jay, ( Norman - was the first UK Dj/promoter to start up a bonifide Usa styled Garage club called "The High and Hope" - Dingwalls, Camden Lock, London in the late 1980's!!) Bobby and Steve - Garage City -London, Paul 'Trouble' Anderson - The Loft - London, Miles Holloway, Elliot Eastwick -The Hard Times - Leeds and David Beer - Back to Basic's - Leeds respectively played from the early 90s'. Other DJs who played the music included Lyndon C and Sarah Hb. Matt'jam'Lamont was part of the US scene during the days at the "Arches", London as the Sunday Scene began to evolve. There is a strong argument that if these jocks were not playing US House and Garage there would not be an Underground Garage or 2 step scene as we know it today.
A lot people mistook the '4 to the floor' sound as coming straight from jungle, myself included. I made the mistake of thinking the Todd Edwards '4 to the floor' garage anthem 'As I am', was from the British school because it sounds similar to a TuffJam production/remix, and easily seen as 'speed garage'. Edwards is in fact American and he obviously influenced TuffJam who were leading figures of the British Scene. The music is in fact an ongoing process as Edwards was influenced by Masters at Work, Todd Terry and Mark Kinchen, who were themselves influenced by Larry Heard. The other special guest who gave out an award was Julius Francis. Whose he? He was the British boxer who fought Tyson a few weeks ago in Manchester- England. The fight was screened live during a garage rave at the Palace that very night. The crowd loudly booed him when his name was announced for such a pitiful fight he put on.Karl tuff enuff Brown was given an award after his set, plus another one in recognition of his work on the Pure Silk album which he said had sold 70,000 copies. EZ and CKP were also given awards but were both playing out in Switzerland that night. Other award winners were MJ Cole Booker T, Mr Jones, Steve Jackson, Normski (I thought he was into hip hop?) Pure Silk, La cosa Nostra (promoters). In fact the stage area was overflowing with VIPs and it was unusual to hear for the VIPs to clear the floor and to use the upstairs black and white bar room which was set aside for them. Bobby and Steve did a set there but being a mere punter, I could not get in as I did not have a pass!
Highlight of the night was the PA of Flowerz by Sweet FA - (Sweet Female Attitude). The crowd just went wild at the 2 singers who appeared to be in their late teens early twenties. Another point about this. Bobby mentioned how the scene and players were there in the jazz funk, disco and soul scene of the 80s. I would have thought he would have mentioned how the 2 Step Garage is a continuation of this as music evolves and revolves - a lot of the latest records are re-workings of hits from the jazz funk/ rare groove days. Maybe I am asking for too much, or becoming an anorak or something. The punters went there to be entertained for crying out loud!
Well there was one reason why I wanted to learn more. I had lost my voice after shouting and screaming myself totally hoarse the night before at the garage night at Epping Forest country club, Essex, England. Tuff Enuff Brown and Booker T rocked it! So I was in the Camden Palace unable to speak above a faint whisper which ruled out me trying to pull! I enjoyed myself though.
Due to the venue being packed I could not "Shock out" on the floor till after 5am Ramsey and Fen's set when it began to thin out. One could move with ease after 6am when Mike "ruff cut" Lloyd and Noodles played back2back for the final slot. I enjoyed the grave yard slots best. I like to go mental on the dancefloor when most of the others are either too tired, or out of drugs! Well the DJs don't play slower 'wind down' music do they? You tend to hear the popular records played in each set. The crowd don't get bored at hearing them again some some may be late arrivals who missed the first time round of course. Different DJs play differently and often mix the records together in a different sequence or drop their own exclusive remix versions. So there is no excuse for not going wild during the last hour. It is also uplifting to keep bubbling and resurrect the others as a hyper person often gets others going as well.
All in all a great night out. Bobby informed the audience that there will be more such events probably in the summer to acknowledge many more on the scene who were not there on the night. The next one, next year will be voted on by the punters. I cant wait to be there. Garage is going clear in the two thousandth year!
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Solomon Malcom, London, England and Carl Brown, Ipswich, England.
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