This Friday Nottingham’s finest DJ collective Soul Buggin’ make the trip over to spin for Freestyle at the Bull’s Head. Here’s what they’re all about…
Who are Soul Buggin’?
“Three monkeys that are commonly known as Wrighty, Beane and Mark A. Odd looking, a bit hairy, slightly ruff around the edges but perfectly formed.”
How long have you been playing together?
“We’re not entirely sure, but the concept of Soul Buggin’ has probably been going for around 6/7 years. Individually we’ve all been DJing around Nottingham for yonks at various nights, parties and clandestine shindigs in basements, back rooms and warehouses. Soul Buggin’ as a night has been held at Moog for a few years now.”
Can you tell me more about the night?
“It’s a night that revels in all things disco, soul, jazz and beyond. It is held in Moog, a small late night pub just outside Nottingham city centre that basically feels like a house with a bar in it. Unlike your house though it’s got a massive soundsystem and world class DJs. Oh and lots and lots of booze. Too much booze in fact but it’s all good as no one’s died yet.
The soundtrack to the night straddles the old and the new pretty nicely and that was something we’ve always felt was important. We’re just as likely to play a brand new Floating Points, Lone or Simbad record next to some crazy ass Fela Kuti afro workout or a Larry Levan re-edit.
We’ve had some great DJs come and play at Soul Buggin’ over the past few years such as Benji B (BBC Radio One), Phil Asher, Ashley Beedle, Domu, Colin Curtis, Horse Meat Disco, Faze Action, Simbad, Charles Webster, Kev Beadle, Atjazz, Clyde, Al Kent, Flash Atkins, Red Rack’em and many, many more. We love the fact that in this little dark pocket off the beaten track people can come and see some of these truly fabulous DJs in such a small, intimate place, which in turn creates a fantastic atmosphere.”
Who or what inspired you to get started?
“There were many great nights that are sadly no longer with us that inspired us to create this sweaty little late night pub party. The last was Basement Boogaloo, whose dedication to the disco cannot be understated. When they decided to call time on the glitter ball we felt compelled to carry the disco torch aloft.
The Nottingham scene has distinctly changed over the past few years and we felt that there was hardly anywhere left to go out every month on a Saturday night and actually dance in a space that predominately focused on ‘soul-orientated’ music. Of course when we mean ‘soul’ we’re not really talking about old Motown 7 inch records but music that in a nutshell had that word beating strongly at its heart.”
Where have you played?
“All over the bleedin’ shop. We’ve spread our wings as far as Croatia, Tenerife and erm, Norwich, as well as having played in pretty much every half decent venue left standing in Nottingham. As a collective we’re always excited about leaving hoodtown and bothering others with our disco-inspired nonsense so we’re looking forward to our first expedition to Birmingham.”
What can the people of Birmingham expect from you on Friday?
“Well it normally depends on how much we’ve had to drink but we’d say it’s a safe belt we’ll get you up off yer bum and shaking. We never plan it, but simply play the sort of music we love to hear when we go out as punters. We get one big pot and chuck in big whopping handfuls of disco and boogie, some spicy broken beats, a pinch of latin, some housey stock cubes and maybe toss in some hip hop herbs if need be. Give it a stir with a big jazz spoon, put the lid on, give it a shake and see what comes out. Always tastes different and always tastes nice.”
For full details on Friday’s event, head here.
This interview was originally posted on the Freestyle blog.
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