Circus vs. Chibuku Mixed by Yousef & Krafty Kuts

[Guest web_norah]

Finally Liverpool’s finest and most hard working club-nights have hooked up to mix a CD together, their first in fact. Circus and Chibuku, courtesy of Yousef (Circus) and Krafty Kuts (Chibuku) both bring their unique sounds onto disk, so you can take a little bit of what they put in (and on) home with you…

Circus, Yousef’s monthly outing at the Masque/Barfly, was formed in September 2002 as a place for him to play in his hometown of Liverpool. Originally supposed to be based at Liverpool’s Cream, the club’s subsequent closure meant that Yousef had to take his ‘circus’ elsewhere, this he did and found a new home that couldn’t be more perfect for a circus: The Masque/Barfly, an old, disused Theatre, formerly home to rock concerts – also home to Chibuku.

At the first party only 500 people walked through the doors - in less than three months over 1000 people were at every event. Circus is a purely house affair attracting the world’s finest DJs and it has more than achieved its simple aims: fun atmosphere with serious house music. It’s also a club-night where the DJs always want to come back and always have a story to tell… Laurent Garnier played an impromptu back-2-mine-style set after the club had closed for Yousef and 30 of his closest friends on his first visit (legend!). Yousef bought Fatboy Slim a special Hawaiian shirt on his visit, which he wore all night with pride. Josh Wink was given a copy of 2-Unlimited’s ‘No Limits’ by a clubber as a joke - he played it and it worked, Danny Howells had to get the cab to pull over on his way to the airport after he drank too much tequila the night before… plus Tim Deluxe, Onionz, Roger Sanchez, Erick Morillo, Justin Robertson and many more…

Yousef’s 20-track Circus mix oozes sleaze. From the off with Harri and The Revenge’s “Slack Jaw†he cuts in with his slick jackin’ beats and eases it through – with cuts from Yousef’s own “Way of Lifeâ€, Freeform Five’s “Strangest Thingsâ€, Tyra’s “Other Women†and Phil Week’s “Candella†- to the peak of Armand Van Helden’s “My My My†and the finale from The Drum Bum’s (AKA Yousef and Steve Mac) with their massive “Circus Paradeâ€. For any true Yousef and Circus fan this essential – coz that’s how he does it, Yousef will take you through all night and hold off the peak till the very end. And that’s how we like it at the Circus.

FOUR Liverpool students formed Chibuku (named after a vile yet potent African beer) in March 2000, on a budget of £40. Charlene, Richard, Damo and Will were disillusioned with Liverpool’s club scene and overrated DJs playing overrated music - in over-priced clubs. They found the Lemon Lounge, a small ‘room above a pub’ on Berry Street in Liverpool. Promoting themselves through word of mouth and a few photocopied flyers and allowing cheap door tax, sensible security, no dress code and more importantly good music with local students Wandy and Luke Carr as residents, the unruly and riotous house-party-style-parties of Chibuku were born.

At the start Chibuku was a 4/4-house club, in 2001 it moved from The Lemon Lounge to The Masque/Barfly and around the same time the music took a twist for the more eclectic style - booking Gilles Peterson they proved there was a different audience in Liverpool. From that point they booked as broadly as they did obscure. Everyone from DJ Shadow and Kenny “Dope†Gonzalez playing their favorite funk 45s, DJ Hype and London Elektricity scratching up a DnB storm in The Loft, Ralph Lawson, Felix Da Housecat and Jacques Lu Cont providing the house staple and the hip hop mastery of Ca$h Money and DJ Food pulling out both block party hits and moody down-tempo beats.

Krafty Kuts, an acclaimed DJ and break-beat pioneer born and bred on the Brighton seafront, first played for Chibuku at the club’s second birthday. He is the only DJ to have played (and destroyed) every room at The Masque/Barfly and is one of the night’s favourite players and undoubtedly the first choice to mix the Chibuku CD. Krafty Kuts’ Chibuku mix is a 21-track cut up of Hip-Hop, breaks, house, funk and everything in between - from musical eras spanning the 70s to today… Parliament’s George Clinton produced 1975 classic “Flashlight†mixes it up with Krafty Kuts, A Skillz and Real Elements’ “Simple Things. Davy DMX’s 1985 electronic Hip-Hop staple “The DMX will rock†cuts into Gary Numan’s “Me†into Felix Da Housecat’s “Silver Screenâ€â€¦ as well as tracks from some of the break scene’s biggest pioneers – The Freestylers, Plump DJs, Freq Nasty, Rennie Pilgrim and much more. Krafty Kuts displays here what he and indeed Chibuku are about. It’s not about one style, era or sound.

Circus and Chibuku both hold monthly parties at The Masque/Barfly in Liverpool. Other than their monthly parties they have held a one-off joint party at Nation in Liverpool for over 3000 people, hosted two joint parties at Pacha in Ibiza and both hosted a tent at Creamfields – Circus hosting an arena jointly with Darren Emerson’s Underwater and Chibuku with their own little ravedome.

CIRCUS VERSUS CHIBUKU

MIXED BY YOUSEF AND KRAFTY KUTS

Released February 22

[Guest]

Cool! Maybe I'll pick this up... Thanks Norah! ;D