Looking back over the last few months, indeed years, there is no doubt that when it comes to Saturday night clubbing, the scene in London has seen some quite dramatic changes in trend, this usually most popular weekend slot having pitched & yawed in popularity, only a handful of brands surviving to tell the tale. Indeed save for some of the major brands, finding somewhere to party like (as the song goes) 1999, is increasingly more difficult, much of the central London locations either having been bulldozed to make way for other uses or filled with club brands that don’t necessarily appeal. So, as a consequence, Saturday’s have become rich pickings for the likes of SuperMartXe and, until recently, Matinee, one other brand showing itself on a monthly basis to make its own mark on a struggling slot when venues such as Barcode & Lo-Profile end up making the most of.

Lovechild very much has established itself as a prime contender for Saturday nights in the capital, making the bold move to change its original Sunday slot in favour of what, at the time, proved a wise choice & & popular decision. Indeed, it hardly seems a year since promoter Alex Erfan decided to move his lovable clubbing brand from its first home, Pacha in Victoria, to Fire in Vauxhall, the move giving him the flexibility he need to broaden both the appeal & dynamic of the monthly parties, a whole host of events having made a considerable splash on the capitals scene, firmly establishing it as one of the venues more popular events, well on a Saturday at least. This move to Vauxhall has also allowed Mr Erfan & his close team to expand into other brands, both home grown & international imports, although it would be fair to say that Lovechild is Alex’s first born in his recent relationship with Craig Elder’s group, so remains close to his heart and one which we have both supported & attended on a regular basis. So, despite certain issues with another scene club promoter, forcing us to take a sabbatical from our review duties, we made an exception for this special Lovechild “Anniversary”.

Another major reason for breaking our embargo on reviewing, was the arrival in London of Barcelona based boy, Javier Medina, whose work we have been promoting since the spring & indeed someone that has become a good friend, we spending time together as recent as September in Paris, as well as having connecting when he played on behalf of Lovechild at the August Bank Holiday As One event. So, whilst up until the actual day, it seemed doubtful we would make it to Fire, as Saturday dawned, we decided to brush aside, or at least dispel for a few hours, the issues that had forced us to suspend our writing & clubbing, the night actually becoming quite busy early on, with a boat party trip on the Thames, followed by a dip into Soho to celebrate both friends Michelle Thornber’s & Tom Marchant’s birthdays. But, a 1 a.m. liaison with Brent Nicholls, who was due on Lovechild duty, saw us arrive at Fire at a little shy of 2 a.m., we eventually finding ourselves at the venues “Lightbox” entrance, the revised arrangements for this anniversary occasion.

Making our way through & around towards the rear entrance (not tradesman’s before you ask) we were greeted by the man himself, Alex Erfan, who was beaming from ear to ear although very much concealing his concerns over the revised set up for this special one year celebration of his lovable brand, he guiding both us & Brent through into the replacement for the usual lounge space, the small “raw” room, which, if we are honest, has never really worked from the day it was opened, the space being very much divorced from the rest of the club. Dropping off our bits & boobs behind the D.J. booth & catching a hello with Terry Vietheer behind the decks, Alex then escorted us through into the Lightbox area and then on into the mirrorarch room, we very keen to catch up with our Catalonian companion, although as we arrived at the D.J. booth, Mr Medina was nowhere to be found, instead, Tony English was in charge of the sounds, Alex advising that a revision to the D.J.’s timings had been necessary due to the change in the club configuration. So, after a brief stop off in the upstairs VIP area, when Alex discussed some issues of the day with us & Brent, we found ourselves back in the raw space where Mr Nicholls acclimatised himself with the change in surroundings & scenery and prepared to commence his set.

Still wanting to catch up with Javier, we soon headed back into the mirrorarch to find him in situ by the D.J. booth, our Barca boy giving us a hearty hug & delving into catch up conversation, we also being introduced to his travelling companion, who was already stripped to the waist & well into the action. Fitting in a sneaking smoke break, we soon found ourselves back in the mirrorarch & getting into the swing of Mr English’s sounds, very much more uplifting & accessible than we normally expect from this talented D.J., his usual style more euro-beat in its make-up, Ibiza & Spanish influences much more his flavour, although with the room packed & Thiagio Drewery’s dancers making the first of many showings, this anniversary event was certainly hitting the spot, the macho & testosterone fuelled feel that Lovechild has come to be known for, back with a bang & even the dancers much more butch & muscular than we had seen of late.

But the best was to come as Mr Medina rose to the decks, immediately upping the pace of the music & taking the crowd on a magical mystery tour through Spanish sounds, tribal tunes & much more hard edged house, the kind that always seems to go down well in this, our favourite space at Fire, Javier really capturing the imagination of the crowd, who soon filled the podiums in front of the D.J. booth & further down the room, whoops & cheers coming with every record selection & a stream of people coming up to our spot to find out who the maestro in charge of the music was. Indeed with scores of people intent on soaking up his superb sounds, the mirrorarch, which had been packed before, saw no signs of receding, rather filling out even further as the waves of go-go dancers delighted & then the superb PA performance by Lizzie France well & truly erupted this exceptional event.

However, in contrast to Mr Medina, who was definitely making his mark, as good as both Mattias in the Lightbox & Brent in the raw room were, they were struggling to capture the crowd & the imagination, even though their music was very much in tune with Lovechild & the moment, Javier rather having the lion’s share of the party people. And the already busy main space filled further  when two hunky half naked dancers ascended the stage and began a teasing display, slowly revealing their prone assets for all to see, not least Mr scene photographer himself, Chris Jepson, in perfect position to catch these well endowed muscle men’s posing, even D.J. & pal Phil Hewson looking on in amazement. Now, we were going absolutely nowhere, Mr Medina’s music captivating us with every track selection, we spinning on our spot in a-typical Disco Matt dervishness and loving every minute of it.

But, with an unfortunate encounter with one of our clubbing critics, a protagonist that had become intensely personal following an issue at Beyond a few weeks before, our elevated mood was dented considerably and with Javier’s stint nearly over, although looking like it would continue as Gonzalo Rivas had not yet arrived, we headed for the comfort & security of the raw room & Brent Nicholls, who was still spinning his latin infused & funky sounds, his friendly reassuring smile filling us with the confidence we had lost, even Paul Heron’s impromptu arrival helping tremendously, Brent joining in the joviality which made for an altogether pleasant end to our stay at this special Anniversary Lovechild celebration. However, with the call of Beyond, yet the need to drop our excess baggage off at home, Brent dispatched us to say our farewells to Javier, before  we made our way out of Fire and into the Vauxhall early morning to reflect on a party with a difference, some for good reasons, others not so.

There is no doubt that, in the room format that we found it, Lovechild this time round had a distinctly different feel and without both the main room & the lounge spaces, was definitely lacking in overall appeal & satisfaction. However, the mirrorarch space very much made up for the missing elements, not least Javier Medina’s performance, which truly captured the essence of Lovechild for us, euro style sounds & macho mesmeric music that was much more akin to the brand rather than the usual uplifting & energetic genres that seem to feature across the London scene so much. That said, Tony English’s performance went down extremely well, we also hearing that Phil Hewson’s set was superb, plus with the calibre of D.J.’s like Brent Nicholls, Mattias  Alessandro Londra, & Terry Vietheer, not to mention the prolific PA Lizzie France, there was no short of terrific talent on this special occasion.

However, as good as all these individuals were, not forgetting the drop dead gorgeous dancers on display f course, we cannot escape the fact that the topsy turvy room set up at compared to previous Lovechild’s in Fire, was not just disruptive to the flow of the party, but made it feel completely different, a shame when this was supposed to be a celebration of Fire being this brilliant brands best home so far. Plus, when we heard the main room had been given away to another event, so as to keep the refurbishments fresh for Revolver the following weekend, we were short of dismayed at this move on many counts, mostly, as being one year on, you would have thought the venues management would have allowed its strongest Saturday night brand the free run of the venue it deserved, rather than reserving some final changes to the main room for a crowd that might not (and indeed failed to) materialise. As for Lovechild itself, with expansions into Europe & beyond, life couldn’t be better for Mr Erfan’s lovable club & with London firmly established, we look forward to celebrating many more anniversaries as well as birthday’s to come. (DISCO MATT)

Postscript – Lovechild Music

There is little doubt that Lovechild has & continues to sport one of the strongest resident line-up’s on the capitals clubbing scene, not to mention a host of guest D.J.’s that make the music it plays not just diverse & interesting, but some of the best you will find anywhere. International talents that have graced the clubs decks in the year it has partied hard at Fire have included Albert Neve, Leomeo Carandang, Justin Ryan, Johan Khoury and, of course, Javier Medina, while London based guests extend to Terry Bryan, The Oli, Alan K & Nick Tcherniak. Yet, as this list wasn’t sparkling enough, you then include the list of residents & it truly becomes awesome, Italian’s Pagano, Gabriele Cutrano & Alessandro Londra, Australian’s, Brent Nicholls & Terry Vietheer, Englishmen, Phil Hewson, Tony English, Lee Harris & Jc Christopher, Scot, Paul Heron and Swede, Mattias, even South African Leroy Tayler, a roll call indeed.

But it gets better, as not only is there a special site dedicated to the music of Lovechild, mixes available from the likes of Nick T, Paul H, Mattias, Alessandro, Gabriele & many more, all 13 episodes which can be downloaded from http://lovechildclub.podomatic.com. But, yet more are available via the D.J.’s direct web pages, all worth a look, http://events.leroytayler.podomatic.com, http://justinryan.podomatic.com, http://soundcloud.com/djalessandrolondra, http://funkylondon.podomatic.com (Phi Hewson’s site) & http://soundcloud.com/gabrielecutrano.

However, marking this 1^st Anniversary party as only he can do best, is Brent Nicholls, with his compilation entitled “LoveChildOne – Feels Like Fire Mix”, which he describes as “…a collection of funky flavoured nufunk, tech dipped & disco inspired tunes…” and he is not wrong there, our fave tracks being “C’mon Get Funky”, “Let’s All Chant”, “Sweep The Floor” & “Disco Disco Disco” (there’s a surprise), but with 13 more terrific tunes besides, making for what we would describe as a retro meets modern gem of a compilation with the Nicholls magical twist to it. So, this is truly a gorgeous gift to Lovechild on their 1^st Anniversary and can be one to you too, by going to http://djbrentnicholls.com and then either scrolling down the home page, or selecting his “music” section.

Finally, the “official” Lovechild Anniversary mix was pressed onto CD for the party & handed out across the evening, this 44 minute marvel mixed by resident D.J. Tony English, which is a glorious collection of both uplifting vocal tunes & euro-style beats, very much evocate of his superb set on the night and is a MUST for your collection. Now, for those of you that weren’t around & didn’t get a copy, the good news is that it will be released on http://lovechildclub.podomatic.com in the next week or so, although in the meantime, if you fancy a copy, then just drop your details to Disco Matt headquarters via disocmatt@hotmail.com & we will arrange to forward a copy to you. Plus, for Tony’s regular podcasts, go to http://tonyenglish.podomatic.com.

So, with well over twenty Lovechild inspired mixes available right here, as we love to say, “…sit back, select those sounds, turn up the volume & let them play, as Music Is The Answer…”