Where
did it all begin?
John Moores University final year Students , Charlene McDaid, Damo
Jones and Will Jameson were somewhat disillusioned with the state
of affairs in Liverpool’s club scene. Fed up with Satan’s
sound system, fed up with meathead bouncers, fed up with silly bar
prices, fed up with flat atmospheres and overrated dj`s playing
some latest fad nobody was into. They found the Lemon Lounge on
Berry Street, and then home to prolific underground prog housers
Alderaan. Small yet perfectly formed, the “room above the pub”
as it has since become known in the national press, was perfect
for what they wanted. In March 2000 it was born, with Steve Wandless
(Wandy), local house head and fellow student provided the soundtrack
and what followed can only be described as an unruly and riotous
house party devoid of all the trappings of other clubs. Low door
tax, sensible security, no dress code and more importantly a distinct
shift in focus to the music and the crowd.
And that was it. Chibuku* was born. Named after a vile yet potent
African beer that Will had discovered on his travels, sour tasting
yet a staple for the working class of Malawi. The name stuck, confused
many and enthralled few. Within a matter of a few months Chibuku*
had become the singularly most anticipated night in Liverpool. Gracing
the Lemon Lounge once a month and promoting themselves through word
of mouth and a few photocopied flyers, Chibuku* was different. For
those that attended the early parties such was the buzz and excitement
that there was a feeling they were reinventing the wheel. Other
parties came and went but few touched the blistering atmosphere
and diverse crowds that crammed into the lemon lounge. Wandy met
Luke Carr, a fellow student and up and coming DJ. Luke and Wandy
soon started Dj`ing together back to back at Chibuku*. The mixture
of Wandy`s party tracks and Luke’s deeper sophisticated house
sound formed the soundtrack which propelled Chibuku* forward. Nowhere
else was playing real house music without the pretence. Nowhere
else was having after parties that lasted all weekend.
Out of the crowd, Will, Charlene and Damo met Richard Mc Ginnis.
A young student with previous experience promoting nights in Ireland,
Liverpool and Ibiza. Fresh from a season promoting Cream @ Amnesia,
Richard joined forces with the Chibuku crew for the first birthday
party. In the week Daft Punk released its much-anticipated Discovery
Album, DJ Falcon from the same Roule stable took to the decks at
the Sound Factory. Chibuku* had unleashed another night of general
abandon. It still felt different. It felt young, fresh and new.
Chibuku* continued towards the summer, hosting joint parties with
Alderaan and LIPA deep housers Lymelyte, all the while gathering
like minded souls and recognition from local clubs. Richard returned
to Ibiza for a second season with Cream, not before securing the
services of Yousef –man of the moment-Zaher and Back-to-basics
resident Paul Woolford under their 10,000bc production guise for
what was to be their UK debut performance. Needless to say it was
off the Richter scale. The Chibuku* massive graduated from University,
went their separate ways and the night was plunged into some uncertainty.
More uncertainty followed as Richard’s time with Cream came
to an unexpected end after various disagreements. Undaunted in the
face of controversy, Will and Richard resolved to take Chibuku*
on over the summer period and step it up a gear. Put the pressure
on and put the effort in. The team had formed: With Wills unbounded
energy to succeed, Damo`s literary flair, Charlene’s level
head and Richards musical direction, they had their mix. The aim?
To provide the complete antithesis of everything clubbing had become
in Liverpool, overpriced, dangerous, cheesy and soulless.
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Masque
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First
things first
Chibuku* and Alderaan put their thinking caps on and noticed that
the world famous dance festival Creamfields would be bringing 40,000
clubbers on to their doorstep. Using the law of averages they deduced
that some of them would want to carry on after. The now notorious
Chibuku* afterparty was born and the Masque venue on Seel Street
hosted 400 punters in the crammed downstairs bar from 6am till.
…well nobody really remembers what time it finished. It is
safe to say that the scenes that occurred when the bar reopened
for alcohol at 11.00 where unprecedented. James Zabielia , Sasha`s
protégé turned up and blew the place away. People
started to talk.
September 15th saw Glaswegian house legend DJ Q from filter records
welcomed to the Lemon Lounge. His 24/7 album and various remixes
had provided the background squelch to so many of Luke and Richards
nights. He was the perfect choice. He was a purveyor of fine underground
house music. A lot of the Chibuku* massive where uninitiated but
were more than willing to listen. The question was had Chibuku*
lost their way? Had their crowd left town? In the end up The Lemon
Lounge was rammed and DJ Q rocked the place with a barrage or relentless
electro-disco killers that set the scene for things to come. The
Glaswegians that had travelled down for the party compared the vibe
to the early days @ the Sub-Club in Glasgow, the seminal deep house
club where Dominic Cappello and Harri reside. Quite a compliment
really.
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The
Masque
At this point Chibuku* realised that in order to survive they had
to make some money to pay the mounting phone bills and promotion
costs. They had to move quicker and smarter. Will negotiated with
Jap-rock celebrity and local face Dave Pitchilingi to let Chibuku*
have parties at the Masque Venue on Seel street. Without realising
it Chibuku* had gone fortnightly. Still rocking the Lemon Lounge
at the start of the month and then the bigger Masque venue on the
3rd Saturday of the month. It felt right. But not quite. It didnt
feel right until they unleashed a spate of winter bookings which
they have since admitted involved more luck and coincidence than
skill. Now it felt right.
Miles Hollway of off-centre Mancunian house label Paper recordings
played, (also of Hard Times and Hacienda fame) and received a full
house. The staffs of the Masque were caught off guard. Miles was
the perfect example of the slightly more eclectic style the Chibuku*
parties were taking at the Masque.
November the 8th 2001, the bomb dropped when Radio One and Talkin
loud supremo Gilles Peterson took to the decks alongside his producer
Benji B and ex Galliano lead singer (Rob), MC Earl Zinger. Local
trip-jazz outfit the DNA Orchestra provided alternative beats and
Luke Carr had his first opportunity to play a real eclectic set
to a suitable audience, twisting up Lionrock classics, Joey Negro
Z factor disco cuts along side underground MAW grooves and beats.
It was the summation of a lot of hard work. It has since been called
the complete manifestation of everything they loved musically.
`We had proved that clubbing didn’t have to be strictly 4/4,
that eclectic could work in a modern Liverpool clubbing environment,
that there were people who loved dancing and music as much as we
did, that things didn’t have to be about lycra and kebabs,
that something diverse and without barriers of musical prejudice
could thrive free from the preconceptions that the few controlled
the lot in Liverpool`.
Peterson destroyed the Masque with the typical worldwide sound,
afrobeat, nu-jazz, house, disco, Brazilian, garage and drum and
bass all made an appearance and nobody flinched. The aftermath of
the Peterson gig was a sense of recognition in Liverpool. Back to
work and the next gig up was Alan Simms, legendary promoter and
resident DJ of Belfast`s Shine club. Alan had cut his teeth alongside
David Holmes in Belfast`s gritty techno and house scene and had
met Richard through mutual friend Yousef , cementing their friendship
during trips to Ibiza. Chibuku* had sub-consciously been using Shine
as a template. Simms could put on rap sensation Tim Westwood in
one room and a techno beast such as Oliver Ho in the other room
and make it work. Although Chibuku* never wanted to visit these
extremes, they found themselves attracted to the idea of complete
diversity based on quality.
Simms played a tougher sound than Chibuku* was used to, a complete
departure from the acid jazz of GP, but it was an acid test of the
crowd. They loved it. The Chibuku* crew felt vindicated that is
really was “all good” and there was a future for the club
in one form or another. December saw the cream of Europe’s
house producers Austin Tanney from Slide recordings, rip up the
Lemon Lounge and on the 15th
December Nottingham deep house sound system veterans the Inland
Knights took Chibuku* deeper than they had been with a real minimal
set of funky house and breaks.
Ministry magazine made Chibuku* the No 1 recommended night in the
North of England on NYE 2001/2, which contributed to Alderaan &
Chibuku turning away 1300 people before they had even opened the
door… they braced themselves for another evening of madness.
Other clubs in town had struggled to meet half their usual numbers
that NYE. The tide was changing…
A 12.00 lock out on Feb 2nd Phat Phil Cooper held his last UK appearance
and played an eclectic mix of classic and upfront house…leading
a rapturous crowd to what can only be described as the brink of
explosion. Tough tribal beats and great vocal hooks had the sweat
dripping from the roof and the crowd singing their hearts out.
“Only 2 clubs have inspired me to keep playing – Basics
and Chibuku*, its still feels like 1988 in there” – Phat
Phil Cooper
2002 sees the Masque parties double in size. One room for house
and one room for whatever takes their fancy. Sets already confirmed
to include Grand Central Records parties with Only Child, Riton
and Martin Brew from like-minded Mancunians, “Friends and Family”.
Paper records “Robodisco” will be bringing Miles Hollway
back with partner in crime Elliot Eastwick. The birthday sees a
very rare UK appearance Jacques Lu Cont of Les Rythmes Digitales
fame, World Scratch Champions the Scratch Perverts alongside Krafty
Cuts, Ralph Lawson from Back to Basics, Andy Carroll from Jamiroquai
/ Manumission and an array of residents. For the rest of the year
expect Tom Middleton, Mr Scruff and some more very high profile
producers and DJs from LA to Ibiza…It will be nothing short
of a complete disgrace.
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Celebrating
Celebrating its third year in March 2003, Chibuku has risen rapidly
to become one of the best club nights in the United Kingdom. Even
more amazing is when you know it was started by four student friends
with £40 and named after a porridge like Malawian beer.
Now Chibuku is coming to garner national accolades left, right and
centre, from countless number one features and plaudits to being
nominated as the Best Small Club of the year in the Muzik Magazine
Awards 2002, right through to guest mixes on Radio One and many
national and international DJs heralding the atmosphere, venue and
crowd as the best they have ever played in!
Chibuku is set for another meteoric year having already called upon
talents from across the board, including (in no particular order)
Groove Armada, Marshall Jefferson, Carl Craig, DJ Pierre, DJ Falcon,
Yousef, Mr. Scruff, Jacques Lu Cont, The Herbaliser, Tom Middleton,
Rooty, The Scratch Perverts, Adam Freeland, UNKLE, LTJ Bukem, Pedro
Winter and many, many more who have all rocked (in their own special
ways) Chibuku, Liverpool and clubbing in general, as well as relying
on a solid base of residents including rising stars The Beat Monkeys,
Dom Chung, Leo Belchetz and Wandy.
It’s the simple Chibuku good times philosophy that has helped
to put Liverpool clubbing back on the map, bringing the underground
party vibe through to an essentially starved clubland that needed
something special to create the spark that had for some time been
lost. Chibuku was born from wanting to put on good parties for cool
people, and since the night’s inception at the intimate Lemon
Lounge it has gone on to establish and consolidate an unprecedented
level of success.
Careful and measured DJ choice combined with the hard work of the
promoters and all involved means that Chibuku now thrives and continues
to grow and evolve, and the measured expansion is seeing link-ups
with other club nights around the country and beyond that hold similar
values and many are heralding this as the most important year so
far for the club.
Will, Charlene, Rich and Damo continue to provide the ultimate house
party: and long may it continue!
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