Whirl-Y-Gig

Whirl-Y-Gig
The logo of the Whirl-Y-Gig

Whirl-Y-Gig is one of the longest running world dance clubs in London. It was set up by Ros Madden as an experiment of the Association of Humanistic Psychology in 1981, who passed it on to the capable hands of DJ Monkey Pilot four years later.[1] Ros Madden died on 20th October 2011 in Luton.[2] Monkey Pilot plays a wide range of music in the club, primarily world/dance fusions, but also many other genres.[3] Whirl-y-Gig is hailed as one of the central venues for people from London's alternative community.[4][5] As the official site says:

"From heavy dub and funky tribal beats to tropical house and uplifting global trance, from African and European to Arabic and Asian, from blues and jazz to folk and classical, and from rock and pop to roots and radical, the Whirl-y-Gig soundtrack has influences from around the world yet is rooted firmly in the here and now of today's London."

Whirl-Y-Gig also appears at festivals[6], showing both live bands, who are mixed on the spot by DJ Monkey Pilot, or DJ sessions.[7] They appear at such festivals as Beautiful Days, the Whitby Musicport Festival and the Sunrise Celebration. They have also appeared at the short-lived Canterbury Fayre and also at Womad Reading.

The Whirl-Y-Gig is known for promoting artists such as Banco De Gaia,[8] System 7,[9] Dreadzone, Astralasia, Eat Static, Loop Guru, Baka Beyond, Transglobal Underground and Kamel Nitrate.

Every so often, they compile CDs, featuring various artists who have performed at 'Whirl-Y-Gig', or just artists who Monkey Pilot likes, these CDs are released on their own record label 'Whirl-Y-Music'.

The motto of the club is a Japanese symbol meaning 'wind on water'.

Whirl-Y-gig is also legendary for the parachute that comes down at the end of the night, wafting the exhausted dancers with cool breeze. Beautiful lights shine down, accompanied by mood music to bring the night to a beautiful conclusion.[10]

In the words of DJ Monkey Pilot himself, "Whirl-Y-Gig is an event difficult to describe, a moment difficult to miss."

Discography

  • Whirl-Y-Waves
  • Whirl-Y-Waves Vol. 2 Global Grooves
  • Whirl-Y-Waves Vol. 3 Sounds Imported

References

  1. ^ Deborah Schofield, Holistic hedonism, guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 6 August 2002
  2. ^ Kieran Madden, Son of Roslyn Madden
  3. ^ Anne Bianchi; Adrienne Gusoff (30 March 1995). Music lover's guide to Great Britain & Ireland: guide to the best musical venues, festivals & events. Passport Books. ISBN 9780844290065. http://books.google.com/books?id=dy1MAAAAYAAJ. Retrieved 14 March 2011. 
  4. ^ Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (28 October 1995). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. pp. 52–. ISSN 00062510. http://books.google.com/books?id=rA4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA52. Retrieved 14 March 2011. 
  5. ^ Steve Beard (15 April 2002). Aftershocks: the end of style culture. Wallflower Press. pp. 7–. ISBN 9781903364246. http://books.google.com/books?id=h0HOAgm4FRMC&pg=PA7. Retrieved 14 March 2011. 
  6. ^ The Wire. C. Parker. 1995. http://books.google.com/books?id=mts4AQAAIAAJ. Retrieved 14 March 2011. 
  7. ^ CMJ Network, Inc. (March 1997). CMJ New Music Monthly. CMJ Network, Inc.. pp. 7–. ISSN 10746978. http://books.google.com/books?id=Ai0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT7. Retrieved 14 March 2011. 
  8. ^ Sue-Ellen Case; Philip Brett; Susan Leigh Foster (June 2000). Decomposition: post-disciplinary performance. Indiana University Press. pp. 145–. ISBN 9780253213747. http://books.google.com/books?id=Tauk2_kpguoC&pg=PA145. Retrieved 14 March 2011. 
  9. ^ Peter Buckley (28 October 2003). The rough guide to rock. Rough Guides. pp. 7–. ISBN 9781843531050. http://books.google.com/books?id=haEfq-nKqjgC&pg=PR7-IA441. Retrieved 14 March 2011. 
  10. ^ Victor J Kennedy (1 January 2008). Hypomanic- Mad in England. Chipmunkapublishing ltd. pp. 43–. ISBN 9781847474193. http://books.google.com/books?id=vF3An7bbKB0C&pg=PA43. Retrieved 14 March 2011. 

External links

Coordinates: 51°30′8″N 0°4′53″W / 51.50222°N 0.08139°W / 51.50222; -0.08139

Clock Tower - Palace of Westminster, London - May 2007.jpg London portal
Maplin 5600.jpg Electronic music portal
Stub icon This article on a music performance venue is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.