Modelled as the modern day derivative of the likes of Famous Five & Universe and finding itself in its third summer on the scene, As One in the hands of promoter Steven Sharp continues to bring together clubbing communities from far & wide, this latest collaboration combining some big brand hitters that certainly signals a new era for this magnificent meet, we delving into the detail of the magnificent marriage of capital clubbing circuit minds.
When we look at the rather mundane, monotone & monopolistic bigger branded clubbing scene that we find ourselves within here in the capital, we all too often see in-fighting between clubs & their promoters, competition crushing & strong arm tactics by the powerful players pushing many once popular parties to the wall. And it isn’t just the minnow meets that get this unsavoury shove from the heavyweight hitters, but some of these so called big shots also take the hit, SuperMartXe one of the most notable recent casualties, while in a quest to run the show, the phrase “…cutting off your nose to spite your face…” regularly springs to mind, although all this said, we can still count on a clubbing circuit that offers vivacious variety even if, in the whole, it does come from just one or two organisations. Therefore, reading between the lines, as we are sure you are already doing, you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that we are pointing the finger unfairly and in some ways we probably are, especially given the encouraging development that is about to take place before our very eyes this weekend, when the marriage of club & promoter minds brings together brands that would never have been considered as comfortable bedfellows.
So what the heck of we talking about? Well As One of course, the colossal clubbing combo that was created close of three years ago and has since seen successive seasons tweaking the original fabulous formula, mixing up a bevy of brands in its quest to offer the clubber on one-stop shop of the best that the scene has to serve up, both in terms of diversity & depth. And when we look back across this clubbing combo’s short(ish) history, they have certainly done that, brands included in the past extending to Beyond, Lovechild, Megawoof, Trannyshack, The Men Who Fell To Earth, CasaLatina, Lo-Profile, Orange, Trade & Onyx, a marriage of minds that has successively & successfully secured its position as one of the busiest & best clubbing events on any given bank holiday, the “all roads lead to” label which often gets attached to Beyond, very much the byword for As One too. And this is sure to be the case come Sunday (26th Aug), when it slots into the bank holiday schedule just after WE party & before the second Beyond of the weekend, it following a pattern that, this year, has worked like a dream and is sure to do again, host venue Fire giving way the whole complex to As One, we expecting a couple of brand inclusion surprises to add to the ones already confirmed.
So, who is involved in As One this weekend & what can you expect? Well, following the inclusion of Trade for the last two events, it having proven a runaway success story in the marriage of clubbing minds, the mothership as she is known is back, along with its brilliant bedfellow Orange, those now infamous Orange/Trade parties immediately springing to mind, not least on Christmas Day last year as well as their show stealing sorties at As One on NYD. But with the inclusion of a real scene huge hitter for the first time, the internationally famous Salvation, As One’s credentials are getting a big boost, this collaboration coming not just as a very pleasant surprise but one which many quarters of the capitals clubbing circuit will take heart from, perhaps a sign that those roses have been smelt, that the wakeup call has been heard and this marks a new era in co-operation or, at least, comfortable co-existence. Then, to add to Salvation’s inaugural As One appearance, Tonker is welcomed with open arms too, promoter Tim Jones thrilled to be involved and sure to pull in many of his regular punters to play, while Trannyshack is back in the As One fold too, a better spread of clubbing genres the team behind this creative collaboration couldn’t have wished for, virtually all tastes catered for, musically & otherwise, the current team carrying on the lofty legacy born out of casual conversation between Craig Elder & Steven Sharp and is now, without question, the biggest clubbing collaboration on the capitals clubbing circuit calendar.
With the theme of this latest As One outing being “Legends of London”, the team tell us that “…each of the selected brands has been rulin’ the scene for longer than they care to remember – but each brand has developed and changed to fit with the times and remained current and cutting-edge whilst others have fallen by the wayside…”they going into further detail on the contributors to this colossal collaboration as follows:-
SALVATION
For 13 years Salvation has reigned supreme as the most glamorous club party on the London scene. With a discerning house music policy and international pedigree having toured many of the world’s greatest cities and venues, few clubs can match Salvation’s history.
ORANGE
‘The Monday Morning Phenomenon’ has transformed from an after party in Surrey Quays to a behemoth brand and London’s leading Sunday night club party for the gay community. Bringing together a friendly crowd of house music lovers each week Orange is the longest running weekly party still running weekly events after almost 14 years.
TRADE
The original ‘all night bender’ Trade was the first legal afterhours in London, and since ceasing weekly parties at the legendary Turnmills has continued to evolve, always a cutting edge, forward thinking super-brand, taking over unique club spaces in London for unbeatable pop up parties and the infamous annual birthday events. Trade has been running spectacular parties for 22 years.
TONKER
Taking place every Friday at the London gay scene institution The Eagle, Tonker operates under the mantra of ‘Booze, Cruise & Tunes’ serving up the hottest bear crowd in London for coming up to 9 years.
TRANNYSHACK
The UK’s favourite gender-bending, pop-tastic weekly Wednesday get-together for the last eight years, featuring the crème of London’s tranny DJs and scene celebs plus regular special guest performers.
all this vindication as to the depth & diversity that we touched on earlier, the D.J. line-up across just these five brands making rapturous reading, names such as Nick Tcherniak, The Sharp Boys, Gonzalo Rivas, Fat Tony, Pier Morrocco & Tasty Tim that exude both experience & entertainment to exemplary ecstasy, while with a cast that extends to Tim Jones, Paul Coals, MisWhite, Lady Lloyd , Gabriele Cutrano, Dusty O, Rosco, & Lee Yeomans, there will be no shortage of superb sounds to see each & every room packed to the rafters with revellers. As for the club expanse itself, we are told to expect “…unique décor, music, dancers and live performances from each of the brands, coming together to offer five different zones under one roof…”, while Tonker’s Tim Jones informs us that they will be hosting the Lightbox & further states that “…Tonker is excited to bring our unique blokes party to As One – expect a very sexy crowd of ‘guy next door’ meets your favourite dad or uncle and rugby player! We will serve up the best in eclectic music from DJ Tim Jones and Paul Coals taking you on a roller coaster journey from Disco to House to Mashup and Progressive Beats…”. And talking of beats, you can get a flavour of what to expect, well from Fat Tony in the Orange room at least, by checking out his specially devoted podcast, well worth a download/listen at http://orangenation.podomatic.com/entry/index/2012-08-21T09_07_15-07_00.
Now need we say much more apart from running through the detail on this As One “Legends of London” event which takes place this coming Sunday (26th Aug) at Fire in Vauxhall, doors opening at 11 p.m. & the event running through to an advertised “superlate” finish, we suspect around 7 a.m., the extra Beyond opening its doors across at Area at 6 a.m. But back to As One and advance tickets are still available priced at £18, on sale online at direct ticket link http://orangenation.clubtickets.com/gb/2012-08/26/as-one, while you can grab one in your hand by visiting Soho outlets Prowler, Clone Zone & 50, as well as asking across the bar or of the hosts at any of the Orange Nation events this weekend, so Onyx, A:M, Beyond, Later & even WE, but very much at Gravity tonight (Thurs 23rd) as this audacious afterhours is the official As One pre-party. But, suffice to say, entry will be available on the door on the night, but expect to pay more, while if you grab one of the marked flyers, a £3 discounted entry up till 1 a.m. will apply, while in terms of hosts, Hrh Minty will be flying the Orange flag alongside Salvation’s Andromeda, plus an as yet unannounced special VIP host (watch this space), more info, should you need it, out at http://orangenation.co.uk.
So, with this looking like being THE roadblock event of this August Bank holiday, we will be in the thick of the action reporting it all via our nibble size review tweets which you can tune into live at http://twitter.com/discomatt, so if you see us, then come say hi, but make sure you don’t miss out & in so doing “Go There! Be There!” (DISCO MATT)