THE NIGHT STUFF
Eclectic mix moves crowd at Soul Clap
By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
|
|||
| |||
| |||
| |||
Does Midnight Star's "No Parking on the Dance Floor" rest comfortably alongside Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack" on your iPod? Do you understand the kind of funky logic that might prompt following M.I.A.'s "Galang" with Yaz's "Situation" on a mix CD?
And finally, do you wanna dance tonight?
Then welcome, dear Night Stuff reader, to the funky-fresh after-hours monthly that is Soul Clap at thirtyninehotel.
Imagine the club equivalent of an eclectic, well-stocked iPod on party shuffle mode for five hours. Now toss in some subtle live beat mixing and the deep musical smarts of a skilled turntablist guiding the vinyl madness. That's Soul Clap.
If a set of arty Brit-rock, '80s modern rock or classic rock had been thrown into the mix — I noticed a vinyl copy of Led Zeppelin's "III" in a crate behind Soul Clap founder/resident DJ Steven "Eskae" Kanemoto and imagined the possibilities — my evening would've been perfection.
Kanemoto launched Soul Clap in June, weary of spinning parties where promoters demanded a soundtrack of radio hits, music too underground for its own good or a single music style.
"I wanted to do a party where the music ran along the gray area between," said Kanemoto, a member of world-champion Honolulu turntablist collective Nocturnal Sound Crew. "(Soul Clap) is not so much about keeping it real as much as keeping it fun."
His goal was a party where turntablists could logically spin anything that would get people dancing regardless of genre. And apparently, one where someone like myself might be greeted upon entry with Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love" snug over a backbeat of Naughty By Nature's "O.P.P."-sampled channeling of The Jackson 5's "ABC."
Got all that?
Soul Clap's soundtrack is as seamlessly mixed as it is what-will-they-drop-next sweet. The gathered — mostly twentysomething and mostly stylishly casual, fashion-wise — kept the dance floor busy most of the night.
With spots of mirror-ball light and little else in the way of illumination casting patrons in varied shades of scarlet, Soul Clap at its peak 'round midnight resembled a cool and unpretentious loft party.
The Specials' ska classic "A Message to You Rudy" moved the room almost as much as a spin of Timberlake's "Rock Your Body" that followed in its heels. Some dude nodding off near me on a lounger rose for Digital Underground's "The Humpty Dance" — in particular, relishing the song's "I once got busy in a Burger King bathroom" lyric. Watching b-boys unexpectedly drop moves to INXS' "Need You Tonight" was semi-inspiring.
And yes, I believe I really did see a post-1 a.m. dance floor crowd embracing a sped-up spin of "Movin' On Up" (aka the theme from "The Jeffersons"), an attack of mid-'90s booty music and Rick James' "Give it to Me Baby."
"A mix (CD) of this would be sick," said Bria Ng, 22, of Soul Clap's warm and toasty dance grooves.
Get in line, girlfriend.
Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.