Red Bull’s recent embrace of dance music through the Red Bull Music Academy is a probably one of the best examples of a brand getting involved with music in a positive way. Taking place in a different city each year, RBMA comprises of a series of educational events and unique live club experiences that aim to enrich the scene of each metropolis the project visits.
This week the second term of RBMA takes place in London and features a mind bending array of inspired club experiences. Highlights include a 70’s inspired Roller Boogie that showcases performances from authentic American roller boogie pros and a rare set from Moodymann A.K.A. Detroit’s Kenny Dixon Junior – one of the world’s most elusive and revered purveyors of disco and deep house. If the night is even 50% as amazing as the trailer for the Saturday Night Fever spin-off, Roller Boogie (above), then this will be something truly special.
Other musical picks include a special night celebrating 12 inch vinyl culture that sees an array of top DJ’s play for 12 minutes;with X-Press 2, Ronnie Size and A Guy Called Gerald just some of the famous names taking part. All proceeds for the event go to War Child, a small international charity that protects children from the brutal effects of war.
Also as part of the RBMA program there will be a preview of Sonar Festival at The Roundhouse featuring hip hop maven DOOM, and a night curated by the emphatic Flying Lotus at Fabric. The series of events is climaxed with the folks from the legendary Secretsundaze party taking over Paramount – a venue on the top floor of an Oxford Street office block that offers spectacular 360˚ views of the capital. Who needs the London Eye?!
Driving to the middle of no-where, getting caked in mud and then having to face a soul destroying trip back to the city is for many part and parcel of what makes a festival. However, for some the effort and cost of traipsing across the country is too much, thus the rise of the ‘City Festival’; all the fun of a full day in a field but with the prospect of a shower and warm bed only a bus ride away. One of the more established of these events is ‘Lovebox’, the brainchild of pop and house music impresarios, Groove Armada. After walking away with the ‘Best Medium Sized Festival’ gong at last year’s UK Festival award, Lovebox build on their policy of combining London’s most talked about underground parties with heaps of populist fun. This year’s line-up puts 80’s icons Duran Duran, Gary Numan and New York Dolls alongside current favourites such as N*E*R*D and Florence And The Machine. Meanwhile, über cool parties such as Horse Meat Disco, Secretsundaze and Disco Bloodbath take care of the tents, meaning that London scenesters can have their fill of minimal/ ironic grooves before getting drunk and making a fool of themselves to ‘Rio’ and ‘Hungry Like A Wolf’ on the main stage. As well as an array of musical delights, Lovebox is also unique in the quality of its culinary goods. With an area run by the folks from Borough Market, well know as a foodies heaven, Lovebox’s ‘Sourced Market’ features a number of top quality restaurants and stalls offering organic food from around the world. That means no sloppy burgers or mystery meat kebabs which are the usual festival fare. The event takes place this weekend at London’s Victoria Park and tickets are still available from www.lovebox.net Lovebox 18/19th July Victoria Park London
