Cherwell - Oxford University student newspaper

Last night the Coven was host to a new club night in Oxford: Project Eden. It was a strange amalgamation of drum n bass, electro and house. Thursdays at Filth resident DJs Midas and Ivo kicked off the evening with some funky electro tunes, warming up the night for a round of DnB from Hit&Run resident DJ Fu. As always, Fu played an excellent set of upbeat tracks which were perfect for whipping out those outrageous monkey-arm moves. According to the advertisement it was to be a night of “intense beats and one-off concepts.” Not sure I gathered what these concepts were, but the beats were definitely there.

The Coven is a good venue. It’s always a plus having a balcony over the dance-floor, tables in caves in the wall and a well sized courtyard for the socialisers and smoking crowd. It makes the night a little bit more interesting than a large one-roomed club like Filth. There were some very good drinks deals and the entry fee inexpensive. The latter had a quirky twist of being £3 plus a £1 for every item of clothing. Not sure whether that promoted some more scantily clad outfits, but I’m sure the doormen had fun.

The night therefore had the potential to be very good. However, something was not quite right.

No comments

Last night the Carling Academy played host to Mr Scruff. The unique character is a Hip Hop DJ, cartoonist and tea maker. A delicious mix. 

Scruff proved to be extremely diverse. From a mellow, soulful beginning of the set, he went on to seamlessly merge more upbeat genres. From funky to jazz to dubstep, Scruff covered it all with his typical hip hop overtones. All his classic songs were played: Fish and Jazz Potato in the middle with a perfect transition to Get a Move On near the end.

However, Mr Scruff is not just all about the music. He was located at the centre of the stage, sandwiched between two large screens. These projected Scruff's distinct cartoon drawings and writing during the set. Phrases such as "warning incoming bassline" and "get those knees up" flashed up with perfect timing. There was even a tailor-made reference to the "Oxford Massive"; followed by a list of areas in Oxford. The predominantly student crowd certainly found this endearing, and small cheers erupted when "Summertown", "Cowley", "Brookes" and the like flashed up. It was coordination down to the T.

No comments

On Tuesday 29^th April the Carling Academy played host to the legendary DJ Yoda. I had few preconceived ideas about what to expect. All I knew about DJ Yoda was that he is a ‘Hip Hop Turntablist’ and that this was the first night of his nationwide tour dubbed ‘The Magic Cinema Show’. I was not quite sure how these two briefs would be brought together.

DJ Yoda, real name Duncan Beiny, is a Londoner who specialises in mixing 80s classics in a distinctive Hip Hop style. He is eminent in the Hip Hop world; having been nominated for Best Hip Hop DJ in the UK Hip Hop Awards, and been tipped by Q Magazine as one of the ‘Top Ten DJs to See Before You Die’. What sets Yoda apart from the crowd, however, is that he doesn’t just scratch music. He scratches film.

2 comments

Why is it that exams are always during the time when you want to be outside the most? Whoever initially made that decision was either malicious or just liked a laugh at all of our expenses. Yesterday epitomised the dilemma that is going to dominate this Trinity term. The sun came out (just) so we all went out (a lot). Aren’t we just English through and through?

First stop was some delightful G and T’s in Trinity Gardens. Small groups lounged on the grass, basking in the sun with Gin and Tonic or Pimms in hand. Others chose to mingle and make some small talk. The outward “How are you?”s probably just about masked the inward: “My sunglasses are definitely bigger than yours.” Delightful. Once my small talk was diminished and my £2s all disappeared it was time to go – definitely in a much improved state from the post-fashion-show mood of the morning.

So what next? I went to the library for the rest of the day. I watched a film. I took up rowing. I climbed Mount Everest.

5 comments