Tag Archives: Start The Bus

NEWS: BEDMO DISCO’S BIG EASTER

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Phew, what a scorcher! Apologies for coming across all tabloid, but that single, silly phrase pretty much sums up our feelings about Saturday’s night’s GIRAFFE BOOGIE party at Start The Bus.

We were hoping for a good ‘un, but nothing could have prepared us for what was one of our most memorable parties for a while. The dancefloor began to fill up at 10.30, and it just got better and better from there. What was most memorable – apart from the ace sets from the Kelly Twins (pictured above) and Legendary Tone – was the all-round good-natured vibe of the crowd, their appreciation for the music and the amount of positivity on display. It was also nice to meet a few new faces (a party from the well-loved Boogie Cartel night in London, some chap who asked us to platy some krautrock, a woman who claimed we were ‘bringing back the spirit of Fruity Antics’ – that’s a near legendary Bristol house night for those from outside of our fair city) and welcome back some old ones (Al Dare, Jimmy The Twin etc). So all in all, a great night – thanks to all those who came down and made it special.

With Easter fast approaching, it’s a busy time here at North Street Sound (that’s Bedmo Disco HQ to newcomers). Because of that. we have a load of things to tell you about. We’ll try and keep it brief, and have used handy subheadings for ease of browsing/because it looks nicer.

MELODICA RADIO SHOW BRISTOL SPECIAL

A couple of weeks back legendary DJ, producer, journalist and musician Chris Coco headed down to Bristol to play at Big Chill Bristol. While there, he recorded a special edition of his popular Melodica Radio Show. The show features interviews with a bunch of Bristol bods – including our pals Suisse Tony, Ben Dubisson (A Hundred Strong) and Chris Farrell from Idle Hands – with accompanying music. It begins with Chris having a chat with our own bearded disco grinch, Sell By Dave, about Bedmo Disco Records.

It’s a very entertaining show, which you can listen to on Chris Coco’s Mixcloud profile

 

BEDMO DISCO EASTER SPECIAL AT BIG CHILL BRISTOL

Yes, we’re back at Big Chill Bristol for another smashing Bedmo Disco bash on Good Friday (29th March). We begin at 9pm and go on until 3am. Entry is free, the whole crew will be representing, and hot Bristol house producer (and all round top man) GramRCY will be playing upstairs In The Study. Poster below.

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GOOD VIBRATIONS AT THE WHITE BEAR

Yep, there’s a second dose of Bedmo Disco DJ action this Easter weekend, as we head to The White Bear on St Michael’s Hill to host the Boogie Bar at Sean McCabe and Ben Daley’s Good Vibrations party. We’re stoked to have been asked along, especially as it’s an old-fashioned all-dayer (starting at 3pm, no less) in one of Bristol’s best boozers. Flyer below – more to come later in the week. Tickets are £10 in advance (a bargain since it’s an all-dayer and the main room guests come from Local Talk Records and Southport Weekender), and have been selling well. If you want to come along, don’t sleep!

Phew! That’s all for now – we’re off for a lie down. Remember, you can read our news first on Twitter and Facebook, so follow or like us. We don’t bite!

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MIX: THE RETURN OF THE KELLY TWINS’ GALACTIC JAMS

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Ahead of the next instalment of GIRAFFE BOOGIE at Start The Bus on Saturday, we’ve got a bit of a treat for you – a classic old skool electro/boogie/space-funk mix up from headliners THE KELLY TWINS.

The mix was recorded way back in 2008 for the sadly departed BYTE blog and party, where Sean and Dan were briefly residents. It caused a bit of a stir at the time, though it’s long been unavailable/lost thanks to the MP3 download link seemingly vanishing from the Internet. It’s such a good mix that we thought it deserving of a five-year anniversary re-post. At this point we should thank fellow Bristol DJ and longtime Kellys/Bedmo Disco friend Andy Clarkson (aka Andy Payback Hifi), who still had a rare CD copy and converted it to MP3 for us.

These days, Sean and Dan are widely considered (and rightly, we think) to be rising stars, not just in Bristol but beyond. In our opinion they’re probably the most versatile and consistent DJs in Bristol. While their mixing is technically brilliant, what’s more impressive is their ability to take sets in many different directions and take the crowd with them. Put them in almost any situation – warm-up, peaktime, late, big club, small club, boozer, radio show – and they’ll get it right. They’re slowly moving into production, too, and recently dropped a collaboration with fellow Bristol DJ/producer Kowton for Red Bull’s Soft Rockets project.

We first met them sometime around 2005/2006 (we think), in which days they were taking their first steps as student DJs in Bristol. They weren’t new to the DJing game, though – back in their native Plymouth, they first started DJing when they were 14, and by 16 were playing all over the city. They were quickly installed as residents at Sell By Dave’s best before: night. They then launched their own party, UFO (which Sell By was also a resident at), and since have held residencies at all sorts of regular parties, including Crazylegs and So Bones. They’re currently the in-house party-starters for our old pal Chris Farrell (another best before: resident back in the day) at his growing Idle Hands empire. We should also point out that they’re rightly the most in-demand DJs in Bristol.

So, back to Galactic Jams. It was recorded at a time when they were indulging their electro/P-funk side and is a near flawless live mix-up of classic electro, electrofunk, P-funk and boogie jams. It’s this side of things they’ll be mining for their set at Giraffe Boogie (though we also hope that they drop in some freestyle, Italo, disco and house, since mixing it up is their forte). If you’ve not heard the mix before, you’re in for a treat. If you have, it’s worth giving it another listen – it really is a beauty! As for the party, scroll down below the tracklist for poster/details.

You can listen to the mix here (download by right clicking and doing something – check your browser’s help file for details):

The Kelly Twins – Galactic Jams

BYTE MIX: THE KELLY TWINS – GALACTIC JAMS (2008)

1. D.St – Crazy Cuts [Long Version](Island)

2. Whodini – Haunted House Of Rock [Vocoder Version] (Jive)

3. Man Parrish – Hey There Homeboy (unknown)

4. Donna Allen – ‘Serious [Dub Version]’ (21 Records)

5. George Clinton – ‘Scratch Medley: Do Fries Go With That Shake?/Pleasures Of Exhaustion (Do It Till I Drop)’ (Capitol Records)

6. Newcleus – Space Is The Place (Sunnyview Records)

7. Royal Cash – Radio Activity [Vocal Long Version]’ (Royal Disc)

8. Tramaine – ‘Fall Down (Spirit Of Love) [Dub Version]’ (A&M)

9. Midnight Star – ‘Operator [Vocal/LP Version]’ (Solar System)

10. Two Sisters – ‘High Noon’ (I.R.S Records)

11. L.A Dream Team – ‘Rockberry Jam’ (Dream Team Records)

12. The World Class Wreckin’ Cru – ‘World Class [Remix]’ (Kru-Cut Records)

13. Jamie Jupitor – ‘Computer Power’ (Egyptian Empire Records)

14. Rodney O – ‘These Are My Beats’ (Egyptian Empire Records)

15. Hashim – ‘We’re Rocking The Planet’ (Cutting Records)

16. Chris ‘The Glove” Taylor – ‘Tibetean Jam’ (Ploydor)

17. JJ Fadd – ‘Supersonic’ (DMC)

18. Dynamix II – ‘Just Give The DJ A Break [Club Version]’ (Cooltempo)

19. Omega II – ‘Sonic Boom [Vocal]’ (Showroom Records)

20. The League Unlimited Orchestra – ‘Things That Dreams Are Made Of’ (Virgin Records)

21. The Cure – ‘The Walk’ (Fiction Records)

22. Kissing The Pink – ‘Big Man Restless’ (Atlantic)

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EVENT: DELI G AT GIRAFFE BOOGIE TONIGHT!

Tonight, Giraffe Boogie returns. As usual, we’ll be taking over Start The Bus (Baldwin Street, Bristol) for a night of quality underground disco, boogie, electrofunk, Italo, synth jams, proper house and random reworks. This month’s guest is legendary Bristol DJ/radio host DELI G.

We’re rather looking forward to tonight, as we’ve got a box of custom-made BEDMO DISCO VISORS (those colourful sun visors that used to be popular in the 1980s) to give away. And, of course, the music will be ace – Deli is a top DJ.

For the uninitiated, Deli G is an award-winning radio host, best known for his show The Touch which ran on Galaxy 97.2FM in Bristol for well over 15 years from 1991 onwards. During that time, he showcased the best in black American dance music, and became firm friends with many of New York, San Francisco and Chicago’s leading DJs and producers.

During the 1990s and 2000s Deli was a regular face on the Bristol club scene, where he was an integral part of the successful Roasted night alongside friend Ben Daley. He’s also DJ’d internationally and was a regular face at the Southport Weekender for many years.

Deli originally started DJing in the early 1980s, and his record collection is famous for its depth and variety, offering a unique overview of shifts and changes in black American dance music from the 1970s to the present day. Although famed for playing quality house and US garage, he owns a formidable collection of original disco, boogie and electrofunk records – including a large amount of test pressings, acetates and one-off promo records that were never released.

A firm friend of the Bedmo Disco family and an enthusiastic supporter of recent releases, he’ll be showcasing his disco and electrofunk collection at GIRAFFE BOOGIE on a rare headline appearance in his hometown. If you want to get a taste of his skills, he now also hosts a weekly show on Bristol-based community station BCFM. Anyone who listened to his show back in the day will tell you that it should be appointment listening.

In support, as always, will be the Bedmo Disco trio – Awon, Five-Stylez and Sell By Dave.

So, come down and party hard with us. For the record, the party begins at 10pm. £2 to get in – cheap as chips!

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MIX: CHRIS DUCKENFIELD LIVE AT GIRAFFE BOOGIE

 

We’ve got a rather special treat for the latest edition in our BedmoCast mix series – it’s only a live recording of CHRIS DUCKENFIELD’s set at Saturday night’s GIRAFFE BOOGIE party at Start The Bus!

Chris very kindly let us record his set, so we could capture some of the fun, excitement and downright debauchery of the party. We’ve been banging on about what a great DJ Chris is, especially when joining the dots between disco, boogie, house, funk and soul, and we reckon this recording captures that perfectly. Every time we listen, it brings back some hazy memories of the party and the characters that made it so special. Given that most of us were quite drunk, that’s no mean feat.

It’s not quite his whole set – sadly, for various reasons we only captured 1 hour 45 minutes of the two hours plus he played for – but it’s almost a complete record of a memorable set. You can listen and download on the Soundcloud player below.

While we remember, many thanks to all those who made it down and danced hard. Special shout outs to Deli G – local Bristol legend – who came and hung out with us and Chris, and of course Chris himself. As ever, he was a perfect gent and well and truly got the party started. Sell By Dave is still recovering from the shame of clearing the dancefloor (with a stone cold electrofunk classic, no less) before Chris came on. Ooops. There’s more pics of Chris in action from the night below.

 

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NEWS: CHRIS DUCKENFIELD PLAYS GIRAFFE BOOGIE

This Saturday (October 13) sees the return of our semi-regular Giraffe Boogie party to Start The Bus in Bristol. It’s a very special instalment, because this time we’ll be joined by one of our favourite DJs, Sheffield selector Chris Duckenfield.

Chris has been a longtime friend of the family, and has made numerous appearances at various Bedmo Disco-related parties over the years. Many moons ago (2005, in fact), he played at the opening of Tricky Disco, a night run by our own Sell By Dave and Nick Harris (NRK Music). In the years that followed, he made three appearances at best before:, including two particularly memorable bashes in a tiny boozer called The Bank. Each time, Chris got the party started in magnificent style, joining the dots between deep house, tech-house, disco, boogie, broken beat, techno and more besides. In our humble opinion, there are few better party-starters out there.

For the uninitiated, Chris has a long and distinguished history and dance music. As a youngster, he was a key part of the Sheffield house scene. He worked behind the counter at the legendary Warp Records shop on Division Street. He was also part of genre-bending Warp-signed techno combo RAC, alongside pal and longtime production partner Richard Brown. The duo went on to enjoy a long career as SWAG, where they almost single-handedly invented tech-house and later put the swing back into house music with various releases on their own Odori, Primitive and Version labels.

Chris has history in the disco/boogie edits scene, too, being the man behind the superb Popular People’s Front series of sneaky 12″ singles. PPF seems to be on hiatus these days, while Chris concentrates his efforts on running All Ears Distribution. Although his production work has taken a backseat recently – no doubt due to the demands of parenthood and running All Ears with old Toko pal Alec Greenhough – he continues to DJ around the world. He’s a regular at the brilliant Electric Elephant festival in Croatia (held at the same site as Soundwave) and runs a fantastic bash in London called The Idiots are Winning.

Should you be unaware of his ace party-starting DJ skills, check out the two mixes below. One was recorded live on the Idiots are Winning boat party at Electric Elephant. The other is a recent homemade effort. Both are, of course, ace.

Support at the party comes from Bedmo Disco’s own trio of necksnapping idiots – Awon, Five-Stylez and Sell By Dave. Entrance is a couple of quid, and the party starts at 10pm.

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EVENT: B-FUNK AT START THE BUS

We return to one of our favourite Bristol venues, START THE BUS, for the first of a series of monthly parties on Saturday, August 11. Named B-FUNK after our recent 12″ single of the same name, it will see Awon, Five Stylez and Sell By Dave mixing it up in true B-Funk party style.

Full preview to come later in the week, but for now make a note of the date. It starts at 10pm and entrance is free…

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