Sophistication

In a clubbing capital that tends to see far too much what we have been noted to term as generic genocide, it is such a pleasure to see something a little different to the same old, same old Vauxhall scene, not that we have anything against Vauxhall per say, but it is good for the mind body & soul to savour the more sophisticated side of clubbing from time to time, especially when it comes to a venue known for its sumptuous glamour and its perfect situ in Central London, a rarity these days as most of the large club hotspots in London’s West End have been demolished to make way for new businesses or major construction works. However, the minute you utter the words, Cafe De Paris, the letter S seems to come into play quite a lot, yes predominantly the word Salvation, as who can forget those halcyon days when the brand ruled the Sunday (ooh another S) waves, but apart from that, as our title suggests, Sublime Sophistication & Style are also bywords for this luxurious venue located just of Leicester Square, although in an instant we have switched from the letter S to the letter L and not just as a co-incidence as come this Sunday, the dominant letter will definitely be L as LoveLife takes hold.

So what is Lovelife? Why Cafe De Paris? Who’s involved? And what can you expect? Well, with all those questions kind of linked together, let’s look at LoveLife & Cafe De Paris first, the event (Lovelife) being the creation of one Alex Erfan of Lovechild fame, the intrinsic link being just that, this LoveLife event, which takes place on Sunday (1st May) being a product of the Lovechild offer, but very much honing in on the sophistication, style & sumptuousness of Mr Erfan’s loveable brand. But moreover, this LoveLife event is also about a magnificent marriage of minds, or should we say engagement?, well the re-engagement at least of the association between Alex & Cafe De Paris, a working partnership that stretches back well over ten years and started with Salvation, Indeed with Alex being the driving force behind this now internationally brand at the time, forging the prolific partnership with Cafe De Paris, the halcyon days of Salvation back in the late nineties & into the noughties were & remain simply legendary, that sumptuousness, style & sophistication that saw the crème de la crème of the clubbing scene make Salvation (as well as off shoot PSP) THE place to be & be seen. But like so many relationships, Salvation’s was one that fell apart, the split of the double headed promotions team seeing the dissolution the link between the two, Cafe De Paris quickly disappearing from the regular clubbing calendar and the Sunday evening scene in Central London evaporating, thus leaving a gaping hole in the so called gAylist market. However, like any good strong bonded association, Mr Erfan’s with Cafe De Paris’s has continued, not least through the annual Wig Party fundraiser, so that partnership was always set to see some sort of further re-engagement, hence LoveLife was born.

Euro Pride 2011

But Lovelife extends beyond the association with Cafe de Paris, as the event is the centre-piece of London’s pre-party celebrations for the massive yearly Euro-pride event, which this year will be taking place in Rome during June, the twelve day festival culminating with a huge party which will be headlined by the city’s biggest gay club, Muccassassina. So, naturally Mucca, as it is affectionately termed will be flying in some of its key players & dancers to join with those of Lovechild for this LoveLife Euro-pride pre party and given the Italian clubs reputation for prolific production & spectacular stage shows, the match with Lovechild, who are also well know for the same, looks set to be that magnificent marriage of minds that we hinted towards earlier. Indeed, this will not be the first occasion the clubs have joined forces, as the Mucca team were an integral part of the huge London Global Dance Festival last year, when they short of stole the show at the main party, creative director Diego Longobardi masterminding a magnificent stage show that included the infamous “Mucca Cow” and some delightfully drop dead gorgeous go-go dancers, while Fire’s Mirrorarch room absolutely rocking to the sounds from Mucca resident Danny Verde, along with our Italian stallion Pagano, fellow countryman Phil Romano & our Paris pal Leomeo. Then, as recently as two weeks ago, we once again witnessed Diego’s creative choreography & stage showmanship at Delice Dream, giving us more than a hint towards the Euro-pride pre-party celebrations expected at Lovelife, Mucca marking the festival with a pulsating performance, Danny Verde & his superb set very much sealing the deal on a spectacular showing by Rome’s biggest & best. So come Cafe De Paris this Sunday, with the combination of Lovechild, the production, stage shows & effects are expected to be something quite special, we having been particularly impressed with Lovechild’s new brood of hunky muscle men that definitely tickled our fancies at As One last weekend, so on the eye candy at the least, there should be no shortage of stimulation.

Now to the music and whilst we won’t be graced by the terrific trio of twelve months ago, the line-up is pretty prolific and laced with Italian influence, not least by special guest Louis K from Milan, a D.J./Producer with well over ten years experience and a considerable C.V. as a result, perhaps the man from Milan better known for his producing around the worls, not least as he is one half of the hugely successful duo “Island Groove” who’s album “Vision” had huge success across Europe & The States, while a discography that extends into double figures is boosted by a long list of remix works, while as a solo artist, Louis has been responsible for two massive dance music compilation releases, both for Hed Kandi & Cafe Solaire. Other highlights in his music industry career include being behind the award winning avert for Renault and headline hitting with a remix of Danny Tenaglia’s “Dibiza” that also attracted award winning status, added to which Louis has & continues to play across Europe for the club circuit, highlights including Peter Pan in Riccione, Movida in Palermo & Dolcevita in Firenze, as well as Nybar in his home city of Milan while further a-field he has played regularly Mad in Switzerland & Promiseland in Slovenia, represents Exogroove across Europe & holding down gigs as far away as Mexico. So, he brings plenty of experience to Lovelife along with an uplifting yet funky style of sound that is sure to suit LoveLife & Cafe De Paris perfectly. Indeed we absolutely adore his latest compilation, “Mixset” which is a reflects his diversity across the musical genres, while for a deeper sound his “Hed Kandi Contest” comp is also worth a listen at http://soundcloud.com/louisk/.

Muccassassina

Joining Louis with the Italian influence is Muccassassina resident & London based boy Micky Galliano, who jets across to Rome on a regular basis to play for Italy’s biggest & best club, his harder edged tech & progressive sound very much in the vein of other stablemates Pagano & Danny Verde, while here in London, Micky has represented Barcode, Queer Nation, & Tonker regularly, while a guest appearance for SuperMartXe is another notable gay gig highlight. That said, Mr Galliano also crosses into the straight market often, attendances to Ministry Of Sound very much a feature, while his name back home in Rome & then up in Milan is also notable, as is his studio work, a whole raft of compilations produced over the last few months including one recorded especially for LoveLife, which has his Mucca music style written all over it, indeed we can see the cavorting crowds in Rome with their hands waving in the air as we listen to each magnificent 65 minutes of this mix, which you should definitely grab at http://mickygalliano.podomatic.com/. Add to Micky’s inclusion, the Latin funk master that is Brent Nicholls who is very much in a new musical groove at the moment, the nu-funk style that he has been following for a while now intermixed with some more tech toned & cutting edge tunes, the diversity of his disc spinning skills however definitely an asset to Lovelife, those skills well represented by a whole load of recent compilation releases which are ALL worth taking a close look at via http://djbrentnicholls.com/music (is ours in there somewhere?!?!?), Brent flying the Lovechild flag at Lovelife tomorrow.

Then, someone else doing just that will be Tony English, probably the brands busiest & most prolific resident, he having toured with Lovechild right across Europe in the last few months, even touching Israel in March, while Tony also plays for SuperMartXe, is resident for Soho sophisticate Lo-Profile, has a regular Saturday radio slot with Gaydar’s ClubNation show and keeps his finger very much on the pulse of the latest euro sounds hitting the airwaves, earning him a reputation of a trendsetter among his peers and whilst we are waiting for a new compilation release (he has devoted recent energies to the Logan Presents podcasts) you can get a good flavour of Tony’s musical direction by checking out his February mix at http://tonyenglish.podomatic.com/. Then with promoter Patrick Lilley stepping behind the decks for Alex Erfan for the 2nd time in two weeks and Gepy completing the Italian influence, like the eye candy on offer, Lovelife will have majestic music oozing out of its pores.

So you hopefully by now have gotten the drift of what LoveLife is all about, very much an event aimed of the more select end of the market, an opulent outing in a sophisticated and stylist setting which, in the words of its promoters, “…promises a sophisticated scene of cocktails and champagne to the accompaniment of cool, breezy vibes, filled with VIPs, Fashionistas and members of the London glitterati….” while “…leading the dancing to the glamourfunk sounds will be the voluptuous girls and hunky boys that make up the LoveLife lovebunnies…” and given the pedigree of Lovechild & Muccassassina, as well as the halcyon history of Cafe De Paris, this is one marriage of minds that his sure to have rapturous results. Plus, flying in direct from Rome will be Mucca hosts Fuxia and Simone, while the whole affair will be recorded for posterity by those boys from Mirrorballs TV, meaning you will (or should) be dressed to impress if you want to be part of their voluptuous video(s).

Now, given the last minute nature of the posting of this preview, here are some of the down to detail bits you will need to know in advance of this extravagant Euro-Pride pre-party tomorrow night (Sunday 1st May), with host venue Cafe De Paris opening its doors at the t-dance(ish) time of 7 p.m., with LoveLife running through to a planned 2 a.m. finish. All early bird tickets of £10 went a good couple of weeks ago, but the £15 variety are still available both online at http://alexerfan.com as well as across the usual Soho outlets (Prowler, Clone Zone & 50). For the VIP aspired, there are attractively priced options at just £20, which includes a complimentary coatcheck, champagne on arrival & access to the various VIP areas, while you can even book a table by contacting info@alexerfan.com

So, if it’s sublime sophistication & style you are looking for, then look no further than LoveLife, the merging of Mucca & Lovechild minds, with magical music, delightful dancers & stunning stage shows sure to prove a perfect package and an exceptional event not to be missed. (DISCO MATT)