Brighton after dark: 6 August 2013

Bmusic

This is my church/This is where I heal my hurt/It’s a natural grace/Of watching young life shape
Back at school in the ’80s me and my fellow inmates bore the communal activity of singing hymns in class by countermining the activity with ‘naughty’ lyrics to satisfy our urges to misbehave – you could say this is what we did religiously (sniggers.)

It is only on reflection that we see it as having manifested a community activity we upkeep to this day – immersing ourselves in music – not just howling songs drunkenly to the sky (we do this sometimes).

And so this reluctant past time now has the fondness of an old pet, one who gave up the ghost and reincarnated as something way cooler – it’s now our own music and kind of like upgrading from a hamster to a bear or a dragon.

We never quite got the ‘hymning’ religious part, there was never enough evidence, it both disappeared into the God Particle of science nor gave enough reason to choose just one religion. ‘There can be only one’. No Highlander! Go away! The hymns are not over, we replaced them with music we believed. Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Stone Roses all carried with them a sense of freedom and exploration that took on a religion of their own. Each note provoking an emotion. Whilst singers, Mercury, Bowie and Franklin tapped into something new that grew like the Big Bang engulfing our world thusly becoming an amazing voice and religion with its own personal cultural informity.

We lack ‘religion’ in the strictest sense of the word but we are not missing anything, religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause of nature containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. Music has this ability to see into the worlds of others, a celestial telescope, and rather than seek conformers it asks to break down barriers.

We in the Bmusic office don’t wear bling and come dressed in illustrious women but we could, music offers this and many other experiences, and it’s nice to know that there are many religions out there for whatever you’re into and they are open to everyone. We have each other, our gigging community, music is our church, each gig our congregation, each song our sermon. Bmusic (www.facebook.com/BmusicTV) is here to bring you all the modern day preachers. Come Get Some!
Twitter @Bmusic_TV
Words: Matthew Berryman

Sade Ali heralds the Return of house

As most of you may already know, Brighton was mainly known for house music in the noughties. It was the biggest genre of music to be played in the clubs. The Honey Club hosted some of the biggest house nights and made it to number 11 as one of the world’s best venues. In the past few years as house took the back seat, R’n’B, bashment and afrobeats hit the charts and became the newest trend. Yet again, The Honey Club took the crown to the best host for afrobeats DJs and became the only place to be every weekend. The past few months however, I couldn’t help but notice everyone I know has started to listen to house music again, every club I seem to go to is playing house! Personally there are only a few house songs I like, but that’s probably down to the fact I have a passion for reggae music. I’m not sure how long house music will be trending, but I do know that all of the clubs in Brighton are currently in competition with each other to throw the biggest and best house rave. I say, bring back the old skool garage, drum ’n’ bass, mix it with a few guilty pleasures and you have a banging night out!

On Friday 9 August, as a special birthday party for myself, Brighton will be going on tour to Crawley! Brighton visits Crawley for one night – DJ Squiz will be hitting the decks and there will be plenty of bubbly to go around, plus a ‘crack the code’ competition in which you will have the chance to win an ipad 4! Contact me via Twitter to find out more about Brighton visits Crawley!

In the next few weeks I will be attending the re-launch of Vodka Revolution on West Street. With fire-eaters and a brand new cocktail menu I’m very excited to see what else they have to offer. They are bringing a Cuban theme to the city and I’m sure most of you will be itching to get some new outfits and check out the club. I will be filling you in on all the gossip and everything you need to know about Brighton’s new venue with some exclusive pictures. Keep reading, my fellow clubbers!
Twitter @SadeAli

>DON’T MISS<

Grind Show
Think Tuesday is too early in the week to get in on some burlesque and circus action? Think again.
Be amazed by a night of some dazzling flamboyance and dance
to some exciting electro swing.
Circus, Tues 6 August, 11pm, £3/2

Freakin’ Out
Get your air guitar out and bring it down to The Hope for an intense night of the best guitar anthems around. Start your weekend on a strumming high and rock your block off.
The Hope, Fri 9 August, 9pm, Free

Unhooked Generation
It’s a Saturday night and your taste tells you that you require a night of something other than cheesy tunes or banging riffs. The North Laine has the answer: ’60s soul, garage and rock’n’roll.
The North Laine, Sat 10 August,
9pm, Free

Ultimate Power
Prepare yourself for a night of nothing but the greatest power ballads known to man. Worship the ballad bringers themselves, from Bon Jovi and Meatloaf to Bonnie Tyler and more.
Komedia, Fri 9 August, 11pm, £5

Brighton Noise/h3>
Andy Hinton on this week’s best gigs
It can be hard on the feet as the editor of Brighton Noise. Two gigs already this week and another tonight. Then there’s the pesky ‘gig goer’s back’ – lots of stretching helps with that one but not on the floor of the Green Door Store; ruins your clothes.

Monday was a night of three of Brighton’s up and coming bands. The loud, tight grunge of Demob Happy. Us Baby Bear Bones, who I’ve been rather ambivalent about in the past but who put on a great performance full of energy and complex rhythms. Kins were the main attraction. One of my favourite local bands, their dark indie-pop has layer built upon layer giving it an epic feel; a band with a sound all of their own. They’ve just released an album and you can find a full stream on their Soundcloud page.

Last week Minneapolis’ wonderful Dark Dark Dark were at The Blind Tiger Club. All I’m going to say that it was spellbinding stuff (OK, I love this lot). You’ll need to go to the site to read our review of the night.

There’s quite a lot going on this week, plenty of experimental sonic weirdness, a band responsible for one of the best albums of last year, a Brighton band on the up and a true punk heroine.

Tuesday sees some dark synth-pop from Cold Cave at The Green Door Store (Darkwave is the genre for those bothered about such stuff). Anyway, it’s the kind of music that sounds like The Human League before they went all poppy with that bloody ‘Don’t You Want Me’ rubbish.

You don’t seem to be able to turn a corner at the moment without bumping into The Wytches and they are playing (what I assume) is their first headline show at The Green Door Store on Thursday.

That true punk heroine I was talking about, Patti Smith, is at St George’s Church on Friday but I’ll be at The Haunt to witness the full-on sonic assault of the quite brilliant Soft Moon. Imagine Joy Division’s faster songs turned up about 10 notches and you’re almost there.
“Imagine if Tchaikovsky were to have written a violin concerto using a Nintendo game,” says our own Alex Flynn about composer and musician extraordinaire Owen Pallett who is at The Haunt on Saturday, “a special intimate performance by a rare breed of musical talent”.
More info at www.brightonnoise.co.uk
Twitter @BrightonNoise