While the clubbing circuit this side of the channel seems to be bouncing along the bottom of a fall in fortunes that beset the French capital a few years ago, it seems that Paris has not just turned the corner but is on the rise & rise, a whole host of new soiree’s sprouting, supporting by some spectacular scene stalwarts & established events, Scream on such star, while both Wake Up & KitKat are two of those newish turns that are attracting ample attention, we taking a look at all three and where the city of love is where its hip & happening.
For more years than we can remember, the world’s eyes always used to be firmly fixed on London and the vast array of clubs & events it extended, many city’s such as New York, Sydney, Paris, Rome & even Johannesburg jealous of the captivating choice at the fingertips of clubbers here in the capital, while the plentiful partying that used cram the Parisian calendar significantly slumped a good six or seven years ago, leaving it looking enviously over the channel at its chortling compatriot. However, while London, in recent months, has suffered a similar slump, the scene scraping the bottom of a bare-ish barrel of bashes in pulling out & in the punters, Paris has not just pulled out of its patchy period, but is very much on the rise & rise, a whole host of new happenings having sprouted up, very much reversing the downturn trend, the city of love now the place to be & be seen. But the change in fortunes can also be attributed to a collection of scene stalwarts that continued to cornerstone of France’s capital clubbing circuit through its leanest times and who remain very much part of the pronounced & prolific partying picture that is the Paris of today.
So, it seems appropriate to start of this special focus with one such superb stalwart, Scream having been strutting its spectacular stuff for close on a score of seasons, in its time attracting the cream of the clubbing crop, the likes of Pagano, Tom Stephan, Steven Redant, Danny Verde, Phil Romano, & Paul Heron, to mention a mere few, while the formula of two distinct dance spaces serving up their own style of sounds, that in addition to a popular play area and it is no surprise that Scream has maintained its moment & remained as potently popular as it was when it first stepped out on the scene in 19997. Indeed, with a rotating roster of regular renditions, such as “London’s Burning”, “Giant” & “All-Stars”, Scream continues to strike gold with its weekly gatherings, whichever the format, an intrinsic part of its success being in its pitch & promotion along with the big hitters that brandish this brilliant brand with their barnstorming beats, the music masterful in this magnificent meet’s marvel. And this is certainly the case this weekend, tonight’s (Sat 4th Jan) turn one of those “All-Star” affairs, Scream regulars, Paris Topher & David Judge joined by two towering talents, Aureal Devil the first, he a long serving Parisian scene player associated with the Spirit Of Star group, but spreading the love in Scream’s favour, while Trippy Gonzales has proven his popular worth in a spree of showings in 2013 and will no doubt do the same this coming year, while a click on https://facebook.com/events/642534672452005/ will dish up all the detail you need to know on this outstanding outing.
But while Scream scores superbly every Saturday, it’s Sunday’s that seem to be really livening up in Paris right now, not least due to two club events that have been spurned from Scream’s success, “(After) Wake Up” very much continuing the partying after Scream has bashed out its last beat, thus classed as the “official” after party and attracting a host of special stars to spin the Sunday morning sounds, often guest of Scream such as Pagano, Ben Manson & Mike Kelly, while regulars David Judge, Trippy Gonzalez, Paris Topher & Sebastien Reyes take it is residency turn too. And with this now accomplished afterhours on the verge of celebrating its first birthday (next weekend in fact), it starts the New Year as it means to go on tomorrow morning (Sun 5th Jan) with D.J.’s Tom Nikson & Sebastien Reyes sorting the sounds at the swish Theatre Rouge venue that is the home to Wake Up each & every week, while for the birthday, the team welcome special guest Nicolas Nucci to the decks in what is called an “XXL Session”, this on the back of Scream’s “Giant” gathering (more on that during the coming week), further information on the club, the venue & this event, a click away at https://www.facebook.com/Wakeupafterparty.
Then to make it a threesome, the Scream team have added a further soiree string to their bash bow, KitKat a recent addition to the clubbing family & nestling itself into the Sunday tea dance slot, this venture only into its second month, having launched back on 10th November, but already drawing a considerable crowd of clubbers who are no doubt thrilled that the Paris scene once again has something special to offer on a Sunday evening. Indeed, Parisian’s tend to love partying on the seventh day of the week, the huge success that Matinee has carved itself in the French capital, testament to that fact, while as with its other two incarnations, the Scream team (aka the Walkgroup) are not shy in bringing some big hitting D.J.’s to the fore in this fabulous foray, the opening event starring Enrico Arghentini, while others in its short but heavenly history have included Smokin Jo, Ivan Gomez & Oliver M. But as for this weekend’s wonder, which kicks off at the usual time of 7 p.m. at 10 rue aux Ours, well its will be a choice between the new residency team of Aureal Devil, Tommy Marcus, Romano B, Michael Marks, Sebastien Boumati, Cyril G & Nicolas Nucci, the club running through to the wee hours of Monday morning (3 a.m. in fact), further information, including a special video clip of the club in action, out at http://www.kitkatparis.com/.
So, it seems that the Walk Group are not just walking the walk in Paris, but very much talking the talk too, this threesome of fantastic forays certainly making their mark & giving us in London something to think about, so if & when you’re next in Paris, then you should definitely have Scream, Wake Up & KitKat on your club cavorting schedule, we know we will. (DISCO MATT)
