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New Music Culture: Critical Beats

By Si Mack

Since returning to Merseyside from living and DJing in London for 8 years I have been bowled over by the quality of the live alternative DJ/band/beats scene in Liverpool town centre. I've DJ'd at several nights run by Class A Audio and also hugely enjoyed dancing very badly to excellent beats laid out at the other nights listed. I also run my own intermittent DJ/live act nights also called "Public Notice" and also "Cheeky" but that's another story…
Firstly though, a big hats off to the people at Chibuku Shake Shake who have been attracting legendary DJ names to their club nights for a year or two at Barfly. Nice one, more please. Also The Magnet on Hardman Street continues to offer up great varied beats and live acts plus a 4am licence. Nice one again.

Critical beats nights
Welcome to an alternative in Liverpool city centre to endless acoustic/retro/recycled four piece rock/folk/acoustic or cheesy Scouse house dross. Welcome to new, innovative, political, non-political, just damn enjoyable, crushing, funky as fuck, GOD I NEED TO MOVE TO THIS MUSIC!
What I like in particular is the use of under-used local talent as well as international acts such as Jason Forrest (USA) and DJ Scotch Egg (Japan) amongst many others who come together usually for very little cash if at all to put on marvellous rinse the fuck out of it beats+tunes to make people dance like loonies, sweat a lot and smile. When was the last time you did that at one of the commercial, bland as you know what venues bars?
Welcome to several key independent music/club nights that are gracing Liverpool's venues:
Class A Audio @ Bar Fresa, Jasbof @ Drezla Lounge, GimpFist @ Various, No Excuses @ Same, Crack Zombie @ Bar Fresa, Cheeky @ Beluga, Bar Hannah etc.
The names alone should tempt. You should be thinking: shit I'll try that out. The music on offer comes from the most experimental, noisiest and just plain fun musical styles gracing us in 2006 : drill+bass, sludge/death metal/grindcore, twisted hip-hop, drum+bass, grime and psych jazz. This is weird but wonderful, folks; exciting, noisy, thought provoking, body moving fun.
The problem remains though that as featured in recent Nerve issues - independent music is being forced further underground at present by the city council’s ban on fly posting over much of the town centre’s billboard spaces. This is short sighted in the extreme, harming many aspects of the city that attract creative people to Liverpool in the first place. No live music gigs due to restricted exposure. Capital of Culture? Leave it out mate…
Furthermore though, Liverpool City Council and people of Liverpool: Who needs Hoxton in London or Manchester when you lucky people have got this little lot on your doorstep?
Check 'em out!