Club Reviews - Smartie Partie

Last Updated 21.05.06

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Smartie Partie - Turnmills

Date: Saturday 13th May 2006
Address: Turnmills, 63b Clerkenwell Road , London . EC1M 5NP
Occurrence: Monthly
Hours: 10.30pm / 7.30am
Ticket Price: £8 / £12 / £15
Genre: Tribal / Tech / Funky / Electro / Classics
Dress Code: N/A
Capacity: 750

Line-Up:

After more than 10 years of putting on great nights all over the world, Smartie Partie is now a huge and respected name within clubland. From their first party on a “smelly little boat”, they were soon rocking clubs such as Heaven, The Cross and The Emporium, and eventually took up residence at Ministry for 5 years when it was in its pomp! On top of all that, they have taken their brand to over 15 countries worldwide, and are now regulars in Ibiza and Majorca, with a very special party at the mighty Space already organised for this summer! Not bad eh? I’d never been to SP before but was very excited about the prospect. Why? Well, firstly it’s at Turnmills, which has just been voted the 3rd best club in the whole wide world, and secondly, there were 4 rooms of excellent music to enjoy, plus about 2000 party people! Anytime I’ve been to Turnmills previously it’s been a fun occasion, with lots of friendly people having a good time, and tonight was no different. We were there fairly early so it was quiet initially, plus SP had organised a groovy boat party for a few hundred lucky revellers beforehand. Nevetheless, it was still alive and kicking when we came down those stairs towards Room 2. There’s something unique about that room, and I’ve heard lots of DJs say it’s their favourite in Turnmills. It’s very compact and the shape of it just seems to point everyone towards the DJ booth which is at the same level as the crowd. Very much a party vibe in there and the music on Saturday reminded me a lot of Hed Kandi; you know lots of popular big bass house tunes, classics, and sing-a-long numbers such as Hard-Fi’s Hard To Beat… Turn It Up Oh Yeah! I love that room, and going by the huge cheers that greeted each tune, I think the rest of Room 2 did as well. I’ve never been upstairs in Turnmills before! This was Room 4, hosted by Read The Crowd and it was very nice indeed. Not sure if this is the VIP room normally, but it had a Pacha-esque (probably not even a word!) look about it, with gorgeous chandeliers, mirrors, drapes, paintings and beautifully decorated tables! The music was cool too, quite funky, and I can remember James Brown getting played. How much funkier do you want it! The main room at Turnmills is famous. DJ’s such as Tiesto have recently commented on it as their favourite place to play in the world! Danny Rampling’s final London gig was there and he said afterwards that it was the best of his 18 year long career! I must admit, the lasers, the lights and the atmosphere are phenomenal in there. SP have taken this one step further, and have a added a little stage with all sorts of percussion on it that promoter Trace gives a serious but cultured bashing to, plus some fine dancing girls just in case the music is not enough to keep everyone entertained! All these extras certainly help a night and make it more fun. There was also a new small dancefloor at the back of the DJ booth! The last time I was there it was a bar! It’s all good though as there is even more space now on those busy Turnmills nights. The main room is strictly tech and tribal house, so if you want it a bit harder than the other rooms, then this is where you should head for. It was a strong line-up too with Funky Disciples, Paul Jackson, Guy Williams, Matty wells and Carlos Francisco all ripping it up. I didn’t spend as much time in the main room as usual, with all the other rooms to explore, but I am reliably told that it continued on to about 9am with the crowd still loving it! If you continue walking right to the back of the club, you’ll come across yet another room. This is the Juno room, and it has now been taken over by newcomers Audio Electro (www.audio-electro.co.uk) on a monthly basis for the latter part of the night. As the name suggests, this was electro house all the way, with each DJ (that’s Nicky M, Chris Lewis, DJ T.R.E.M. and Rob Loco) doing an excellent job; the room being busy all the way through was testament to the music. The electro sound is very popular right now, and the tunes were certainly lively and pumping, or is jackin’ a better word? I really enjoyed it in there, as much as any other room, and I think many wanted it to continue after the lights came on! There was also some awesome décor in there, with a bit of Greek theme going on with huge drapes and stars! Nice touch. As with all good nights, it seemed like it was time to go home almost as soon as we had arrived. Smartie Partie certainly know how to put on a party and I believe that next month is another night on The Thames followed by VIP limo transfer to Turnmills. Oooohh very plush! Again, there will be many rooms of all things house, and the maze that is Turnmills to negotiate! Will it be as good as tonight? Only Smartie has the answer! (Sorry, been desperate to say that!)
Venue: 9 Music: 8 Crowd: 8 Sound System: 8 Total: 33 / 40 Rating: Silver Award
Review written by: Kevin Boyle	kevin@uk-cl.co.uk