Roots Manoeuvres

November 17th. 2005
The List

David Pollock nods approvingly at the rise of REGGAE clubs
in Edinburgh and Glasgow.


Since being absorbed into the UK's musical culture in the 60's, coinciding with a wave of Caribbean immigration into the ountry, the reggae sound has been through many owners. At first it was specifically the preserve of black culture, then curious mods and soul boys became involved, initially just collecting and listening to imported and UK re-pressed vinylbefore hatching their own remodification of the genre with ska in the early 80's.

Since then everyone from crusties to slick garage producers have played and found influence in reggae - but these are not the appropriate avenues for marrying critical and commercial success, and so real, authentic Caribbean reggae has once again found itself relgated to underground status. Whether by accident or design, however, many clubs in Edinburgh and Glasgow have sprung up over recent years boasting both a respectable playlist and a decent following, offering the perfect opportunity for long term officiandos and young novices eager to learn about more than their Lee 'Scratch' Perry albums.

Probably the most well established of these is Mungos Hi-Fi in Glasgow (monthly at Liquid Lounge, with Jamaican dancehall veteran Ras Daniel Ray appearing in November), although Edinburgh has also had an explosion of similar nights of late. For example, the Bongo Club - the perfect venue, given its welcoming attitude to global sounds - host both the might Messenger Sound System and 100% Dynamite (the latter run by the same people who organise the venue's regular Solid Steel get-togethersa on behalf of Ninja Tune), while Edinburgh College Of Art's Wee Red Bar is the place for the increasingly popular Big Toe's Hi-Fi. A new addition to the rota is Studio 24's Orange Street, a monthly outing with Big Toe DJs in residence.

"What I love about reggae is the incestuous nature of it", explains John Farrugia of Big Toe and Orange Street. "It's always feeding on and reinventing itself, yet groove and movement remain the base of it. It moves the dancefloor. From something old fashioned ska to the latest dancehall records, it's all very connected. That's why I have such a blast playing all these different types of music. There's so much to play with yet there's still a framework to it".

Farrugia's love of reggae comes from the best part of a decade living in St. Lucia before he came to Edinburgh, where he had to learn the ropes sharpish: "The first time I played down there a a beer bottle whizzed at my head, which I suppose meant that my foreigner's idea of reggae needed some readjustment. Yet this made me more attentive to what I was doing and it also reinformed my first love for hip hop. Kids in the Caribbean are all listening to it on MTV, and it creates a real mishmash of styles".

Hip hop is also on the menu at Big Toe, a night which draws a mixed crowd of students, West Indians and Art College scenesters like The Magnificents, according to Farrugia. With such a cross-cultural interest in the style once again, would you bet against it's next credible leap towards the mainstrean being far away?

David Pollock

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