Grand Central Records 10th Birthday Party
Grand Central 10th Birthday Party
Sunday March 20th 2005 @ Ritz Club, Whitworth Street, Manchester.
It was a quiet Sunday evening in Manchester in March, but that was soon to change thanks to the Grand Central 10th Birthday Party.
For those unfamiliar Grand Central (GC) is a Manchester based record label established by DJ / Producer Mark Rae in 1995. GC specialises in developing underground talent who can bring together the best elements of soul, funk, hip hop electronica and breakbeat into their music. Ten years on and GC has an impressive list of artists signed up, a prolific discography as well as a residency at the Roadhouse in Piccadilly, Manchester called ‘Friends and Family’.
MC Kwasi hosted an excellent and varied night of dj-ing, scratch mixing, live jazz, funk and soul. His shouts of ‘Ayee’ and berating of the crowd when they weren’t cheering loudly enough set the tone and kept the flow together.
Jon Kennedy’s band set the beat going with a nice set of live soul and jazzfunk, with Jon on the drums himself.
Next up was Boca 45 who rocked the wheels of steel with a fast and furious mix of breakbeat, hip hop and b-boy funk 45’s which changed pace at a lightning pace. I bought his album Pitch Sounds which I can heartily recommend for more of the same.
New York MCs Q-Ball and Curt Cazal a.k.a. Q ‘n’ C put on a fine live show of East Coast style rapping as well as covering Grand Central artist Aim.
Next was double bass wizard Sneaky, and Scratch artist Pete Parker a.k.a Fingathing. Parker used the decks as musical instruments to generate beats to Sneaky’s haunting electro orchestral sounds. This was complimented by Chris Drury’s innovative animations combined with a stage camera projected onto a massive back screen a.k.a Finga – TV. It was quite a long set, which was no bad thing but I got the impression that they were filling in for another artist, possibly Riton who was billed as playing. Still, this provided some interesting improvised solo sets, particularly Parker’s mix of beats and sampled vocals. Another highlight was their cover of the Dr. Who theme tune in which Sneaky’s electro bass stood out.
Finally the headline act was Mark Rae featuring the soulful vocal talents of Veba and Pete Simpson. This set predominantly showcased tracks off of his excellent latest album ‘Into the Depths’. The highlights for me were the tracks ‘Clip my Wings’ and ‘Spellbound’ in which Veba was strutting on stage in her element. New female soul vocal artist ARP was also showcased.
For more information on Grand Central artists, live events and discography visit: http://www.grandcentralrecords.co.uk/