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If you haven't been before and you want to find out where Optimo is, click here. You can read about Optimo's door policy here.
HOGMANAY DETAILS
Full Hogmanay details are here and we would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and all the best for 2004 from Optimo (Espacio).
6TH BIRTHDAY
*STOP PRESS*we regret to announce that Zeigenbock Kopf will not be appearing at optimo. at their show in london last saturday, the band got a little carried away and were rolling around on broken bottles of jack daniels on stage. the lead singer got a huge chunk of glass stuck inside his knee which led to a major blood infection. he is currently in hospital in london recovering from major surgery. we offered to have a nurse on hand and set his intravenous drip up on stage for him but his doctor said NO!
we are very sorry that they won't be playing as it sounds like it would have been a RIOT, but on the positive side, it means it'll be a little cheaper to get into optimo.
On Sunday November 23rd, Optimo will be 6 years old! Can it really be that long since we first started??? Quite often we get asked if we still enjoy doing it as much as when we first started. To that, we always say a resounding YES! The club has changed beyond belief over the years, as have the people who come (which is as it should be), but the core ethos of providing a wild Sunday night out for the freaks of this city remains. In the meantime, we have travelled the world trying to turn other countries on to the Optimo experience. This has been great but nothing can ever be as good as a fine Sunday night in Glasgow. As we always try to push the boundaries, for this birthday party, we present, direct from San Francisco, the mighty Zeigenbock Kopf, and their hardcore homosexual industrial electro.
You can hear an mp3 of theirs here
Apart from lots of party treats and the usual Optimo madness, Prepare for the sonic fucking of the year!!
OCTOBER / NOVEMBER UPDATE
*STOP PRESS- SUNDAY NOVEMBER 9TH*
We are delighted to welcome The Loosers from Lisbon, Portugal. Think Suicide meets The Stooges with one of the best front men we've seen in years. It'll only cost you an extra quid. Here's what their press release says - The Loosers are a Lisbon trio, consisting of Tiago Miranda, Rui Damaso and Jose Miguel, who over the last year have been setting the underground scene on fire. Inevitably, the Loosers have the reputation of being rebels. Discontent with the euphoria surrounding electro-rock, the trio produce a powerful, energetic sound, seeped in distortion and dancing dissonance, a throwback to New York no wave and noise hardcore.
Stay tuned for imminent Hogmanay news!
Thanks to everyone who came along to see The Bug - we thought it was amazing and hope you enjoyed it too. This is one guest who we can't wait to have back.
This Sunday (the 28th) is a bank holiday special. We have a 5 o'clock license but probably won't stay open that late as we need our beauty sleep too much and that's well past our bedtime. But, you never know.....
On Sunday October 5th, we have another Fundimo night. These were meant to be monthly but we have had a disappointing number of suggestions for fund raising ideas. The last night raised 260 pounds so a big thank you to everyone who contributed.
This month's Fundimo is in association with The Scottish Huntingdon's Association.*STOP PRESS*
You donated 275 pounds which means we raised a total of 550 pounds!!! - Give yourselves a pat on the back!
Next up, on Sunday October 12th we are delighted to welcome Erase Errata to Optimo. You can check out an mp3 on their website but expect delirious no wave disco.
The following week (19th) we are delighted to announce the return of Pole to Optimo. Pole needs no introduction so for lovers of all things dub, get down early as he will be on at midnight.
On Friday October 24th, we will present what may be the last Black Rabbit Whorehouse at the Sub Club. Twitch will be doing the night solo with a special live set by upcoming local star and forthcoming OSCARR recording artiste Magic Daddy. In future, we are planning on holding a series of very intimate, invite only BRW parties at various locations around the city. Details will follow soon.
On Sunday November 2nd it's ESPOOKIO - the Optimo Halloween party. As ever, there will be BIG prizes for the best costume. Also appearing on the night will be Glasgow based (soon to be) legends, Multiplies.
On Sunday November 16th (also waiting confirmation) we present the long awaited Glasgow debut of the mighty Zongamin. For those who know - hooray!!
ZONGAMIN WILL BE RESCHEDULED FOR 2004.
That's it for now but soon we will give details of our 5th Hogmanay Party, upcoming OSCARR releases and our (slightly delayed) double mix cd with Tigersushi. Also, out now is Jonnie's contribution to the mighty 'Speicher' series on Kompakt under his Naum alias.
Check it out!
IF YOU'RE GOING TO GET DOWN, GET DOWN AND PRAY!
SEPTEMBER UPDATE
after a few weeks without having anyone play at the club, we decided it was far too much hassle to have to dj all night so we have booked some more guests to make our lives easier.
first up on august 31st, we are delighted to bring y'all some more local talent in the form of Squander Pilots. their singer - donna kebab - has known twitch for several decades and threatened to put some severely incriminating photos of him from the 1950's on the interweb unless we gave them a gig, so how could we refuse? anyhow, squander pilots make deliriously sublime pop music and are one of glasgow's best kept secrets. let's hope the secret is let out of the bag very soon.
on friday september 5th it's the Black Rabbit Whorehouse with a live appearance from local glitch mister (or meister even) Sparky who will have a release on our upcoming OSCarr offshoot soon. we don't have a name for this black rabbit based label yet so let us have your suggestions and if we pick yours, you can win a day out with mr. wilkes' labradoodle. yes, there is such a thing as a labradoodle and boy, are they cute. also, as we are incapable of running a record label efficiently - 5 releases in 2 and a half years! - the label is now going to be run by our friends at Tigersushi who have promised to give us a massive kick up the rear if we don't send them something to release every month. so, get those demos handed in!
next up on september 7th we present a mystery guest band. why a mystery? well, now that murder she wrote has been replaced by quincy on daytime stv, we felt there just wasn't enough mystery in our lives. we will however confirm that it's not the reformed Stooges.
then on september 21st, we present for your ear shattering delight The Bug plus MCs Ras Bogle and Warrior Queen. The Bug makes bowel shredding industrial dancehall and we LOVE his noise. so, start practising those bogling moves now!
that's it for now although coming up in the near future, we have erase errata and pole as well as some other dynamic live guests in the not so near future.
finally, for those who find the sub club a little too hot at the moment, can we recommend bringing a towel with you - it works for us. it could also double as a novel bit of headware and start a trend that all the london style mags just couldn't resist writing about. talking of london style magazines, the style section of the sunday times recently got in touch about doing a feature. i think when i told them that i thought brothel creepers were where it's at, they decided optimo wasn't quite what they were looking for after all. anyway, i digress. adios and see you at the club
JULY / AUGUST UPDATE
Thanks to everyone who came along to see Liquid Liquid - it was so, so special. It looks like the reception the band received at Optimo has at least in part made them rethink whether this will be a short term reformation or not. We'll keep you informed!
We are going to have a break from having any guests for a while at Optimo but hope to bring you Zongamin and Erase Errata over the next few months.
In the meantime, at the next Black Rabbit Whorehouse on Friday 25th July, you can look forward to hearing a live set by T. Raumschmiere. One of the highlights of this years Sonar festival, we assure you that this will be mental!
The lack of imminent guests at the club will free us up to work on some other projects. We will have a double cd coming out around October on Tigersushi (volume two in their Kill The Dj series). One cd will be mixed while the other will be an unmixed selection of some of our favourite songs. This will be proceeded by a 12" sampler which will feature the first ever song Twitch and Wilkes have worked on together.
In the meantime, Wilkes has a track on Cologne's Kompakt labels' mighty Schaffelfieber 2 compilation under the name Naum. He will also have a side on one of their upcoming Speicher 12"s, nearly all of which have been huge hits at Optimo over the last year or so.
Twich in the meantime will have the first new 12" in nearly 20 years on the recently reactivated Ze Records. He will also be working on a number of other projects for them too.
Exciting times! Stay tuned for more.....
LIQUID LIQUID LIVE ON JULY 13TH!
We are beyond ecstatic at the thought of having this band play at Optimo. For those not familiar with Liquid Liquid, they were a seminal early 80's New York band based around percussion, vocals and bass. They had energy, they had funk and they sounded unique. They are possibly best known for their song 'Cavern' which was appropriated by Grandmaster Flash as the basis for 'White Lines', but all their songs are amazing. We were so in love with what they were about and that whole era in New York's rich musical history that we named Optimo after one of their songs. Funnily enough, it's impossible to open a magazine today without Liquid Liquid or that era being written about so it's nice to see something we have long championed getting recognition at long last (20 years after the fact!).
Late last year, a couple of members of the band got in touch to say how touched they were that our club was named after one of their songs. This led to a friendship developing and when they informed us that they were reforming for two shows in New York in March, we had our flights booked the next day. Now, I am always a little wary when bands reform after so long, but Liquid Liquid were doing it for all the right reasons - they wanted to do it for FUN, and so their friends and family who had never had a chance to see them back in the day could maybe see what it had all been about. Well, it was immense! We were speechless at the end and the amount of love for them in that small room in New York City was overwhelming. It was without a doubt one of the best live performances we have ever seen. At the end, we were literally begging for them to come to Glasgow.
As it turns out, they enjoyed themselves so much that night that they decided they would do a handful of European shows and then that would be it, end of reformation. Well, they had little choice but to come to Glasgow and so, apart from a show in London, this will be the only chance to see them in the UK ever! They are thrilled at the prospect and find the idea of playing 'Optimo' at Optimo very surreal. Personally, we are so excited that I think we may need beta blockers on the night to calm down. We promise you that this night will be incredibly special and worth every penny of the (expensive for Optimo) ticket price.
Be there!
There will be 250 tickets available in advance (from tomorrow or saturday 21st) with the rest being first come, first served on the night. They are available from ticketweb, monorail, ticket scotland and the optimo website shop. tickets are £12 plus s.t.b.f (they will be more on the door).
MAY / JUNE UPDATE
It's time again for more news of what goodies we have lined up for our your entertainment.
before that, for those of you who missed it, you can read (and weep if it applies to you) about the new optimo door policy here.
ok, back to the fun.
this friday (may 9th) is the next black rabbit whorehouse. you either get it or you don't so we're not going to hype it here.
on sunday (may 11th) we present Felix Kubin - a crazy one man German entertainment machine. here's some spiel -
Felix Kubin, one half of the Hamburg based futuristic noise band KLANGKRIEG, lives and works against the rest of the world. His activities comprise Sci-Fi Pop/Noise/animation films/radio plays/experimental broadcasting. As the messenger of exploding lungs he started his label "Gagarin Records" in 1998 and rules the "syndicate of counter-noise" since 9.9.1999.
His experiences both in electroacoustic music and strange electronic pop (that he followed already in the early 80ies with his notorious band "Die Egozentrischen Zwei" — soon to be released as "the Tetchy Teenage Tapes of Felix Kubin" on SKIPP and A-Musik) induced him to launch a vinyl record label for all kinds of Dada-electronics on the edge of pop and experimental music.
then on may 25th we present LCD Soundsystem. apparently LCD Soundsystem are some hip band from new york city. we don't know anything about them apart from the fact that they promised to publish photos of jonnie wilkes' behaviour in new york earlier this year unless we gave them a gig. this didn't leave us much choice so....
please note - doors will be at 10.30pm for this event!
and so, on to june -
on sunday june 1st, optimo will be part of the one-in-four festival which is a series of musical events that have been lined up to raise mental health awareness in scotland. your contribution to this will be paying an extra £1 on the night, all of which will go to SAMH (Scotland's leading mental health charity). optimo will also donate a chunk of our proceeds from the night to SAMH. if you feel strongly against donating the £1, then you are at liberty not to but as it is a very important and good cause, we hope that you will.
on sunday june 8th Gareth Sager will be performing. Gareth used to be in one of the greatest bands of all time - The Pop Group and is now recording for one of our city's most adventurous labels - creeping bent. we're not quite sure what he will be doing but the words discordant and strange may spring to mind.
on to friday 20th june and hey, it's the black rabbit whorehouse again. already?! hopefully we will have our first ever live guests with Captain Comatose playing live. Captain Comatose are on the wonderful Playhouse records label and feature our old friend Khan with his pal DJ Snax. Expect lots of camp entertainment. imagine Prince jamming with Akufen. Or something....
that's all for now but you can look forward to seeing LIQUID LIQUID live at the club in July. this will be perhaps the most special night in the history of the club so stay tuned for more details.
for non glaswegians, we will be starting monthly nights in edinburgh, dundee and aberdeen soon - when we have the dates they will be posted up on our on tour page.
'til the next time xxx.
APRIL UPDATE
So, what's coming up at the club then?
Well, this Sunday (23rd March), local pop upstarts V TWIN will be performing. Their appearance at Optimo has been in the pipeline for around 5 years, so better late than never, eh? For this Sunday, doors will open at 10.30 and the band will be on at 11.30, so head down early!
April is going to be a great month at Optimo. We are really, really going to spoil you!
First of all, on Friday April 4th it is the fourth BLACK RABBIT WHOREHOUSE at The Sub Club - bring yr bunnies!
Next up on April 6th, we present the long awaited return of THE RAPTURE. Anyone who saw them last time will know that they are an incredible live experience. They enjoyed Optimo so much last time that they insisted that their Glasgow date was at the club. How could we refuse? There will be a limited number of tickets available in advance for this night.
On to April 13th when we are very, very happy to announce the return of KHAN and KID CONGO POWERS. Anyone who saw their now legendary performance when we were in Planet Peach will know what a great show they put on. To those who haven't seen them before, expect outrageous electronic sleaze with guitar from one of the coolest men in the history of rock n' roll.
On April 20th we present WHITEHOUSE. What can I say? This will probably be the most intense, extreme musical experience you will ever see in your life. In fact, I don't know why Mr Bush doesn't book them to play on the Iraqi border - after half an hour, I am convinced Mr. Hussein would give himself up, thus avoiding the slaughter of large numbers of innocent Iraqi civilians. If you don't agree 100%, we will refund your entry fee in full! Whether you love it or loathe it, you owe it to yourself to attend this, their first ever performance in Scotland.
Finally, on Sunday 30th, Twitch and Wilkes will be playing some records at the GRACE JONES / SLY AND ROBBIE show at the Barrowlands as part of the Triptych music festival. Then it's onto the club afterwards for the after party.
A packed month, I'm sure you will agree. We hope to se you at some or all of the above. Take care.
FEBRUARY / MARCH UPDATE
after much procrastination, here's the lowdown on what you can expect at optimo in the next few weeks (apart from the usual sloppy dj'ing and posing scenesters of course).
this coming sunday (the 23rd), we present the return of local heroes el hombre trajeado. el hombre were one of the first bands ever to play optimo back in the day so after a period of inaction, it is a joy to have them back.
on friday 28th february, we bring you the third black rabbit whorehouse at the sub club. we're still trying to work out just quite what this night is all about but it's been fun so far and the last one was fab. to the moaning minnies who pointed out that there were two records played that also had been played at optimo - get a life!
the following sunday - march 2nd, we continue with our slightly lapsed policy of supporting local bands by giving you son of kong. what are they like? i have no idea whatsoever but as it is the band of our long serving and loyal cash desk person janis and i keep missing their gigs, it was only right that we put them on. also, as it is the younger of the two optimo dj's birthdays, they have agreed to cover the song of his choice. i hope they know their stockhausen!
then, on march 9th, twitch and wilkes are swanning off to new york to see liquid liquid who gave us the name 'optimo' and are playing again for the first time in 20 years. we hope to persuade them to come over later in the year to play at the club. we will also be playing a few gigs while over there and shouting rude things at the us delegation outside the un building. in our place we have two mystery guest djs - one of whom we are flying in especially. whooo!!!! as well as that, just to reinforce how much better optimo is without us, we will have a performance from the kills - dirty two piece blues rockers from london.
lots of good stuff coming up in april but you'll just have to wait for the details ('cos i don't have them yet), but expect the rapture, whitehouse and the buff medways.
in the meantime, the new oscarr 12" ep from electronicat should be in local shops and the particularly sparse looking shoptimo imminently.
see you all soon, take care and let's all hope that our leaders listen, stop being so bloody minded and that there isn't going to be a war!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thanks to everyone who attended our Hogmanay party and made it the best yet. As we enter the 6th year of Optimoness, we have some wonderful stuff planned for 2003. Check back soon for a January / February update. In the meantime, see you at The Sub Club.
ps - The next Black Rabbit Whorehouse night is on Friday January 17th.
DECEMBER UPDATE
So, back to the Sub Club at last! Despite a few wee teething problems, it's a delight to be back. It's great for putting on live bands too - 2003 is going to be fab down there.
This Friday (13th - lucky for some) is the launch night of our new monthly (well, every 5 weeks to be exact) Black Rabbit Whorehouse night. Anyone expecting Optimo pt. 2 will be sorely disappointed. Anyone open to new electronic dance sounds should like it - we're raring to go! Doors open at 10pm.
Anyone in Aberdeen may be interested to know that there is an Optimo night at The Lemon Tree on Saturday (14th) featuring Bis live
Sunday 15th, we present new Glasgow sensations Park Attack. They are primitively fantastic, a breath of fresh air and this is only their 4th ever gig. I'm not going to describe them - just investigate and make up yr own minds. We can't wait. Again, doors are at 10pm and we have a 4 o'clock license for the rest of December (we might not go until 4 but it's nice to have the option).
Sunday 22nd is our Christmas Party (free entry for all reindeer) with Flesh Records recording artist Zongamin (MP3 here). Expect mutant disco.
Sunday 29th is our Hogmanay warm up. Anyone bringing their Hogmanay ticket will get in for £3.
Then on the 31st, it's the big one. Our 4th annual Hogmanay bash at the fArt school with very special guest star Jimi Tenor. Downstairs will feature the Espacio Psychedelic lounge with dj's Fingersports, Mingo go and Dom Disco X. Tickets are £22 (plus booking fee) from Shoptimo, Ticket Scotland, Missing (Great Western Road) and Fopp (Byres Road). Tickets come with our 4th annual mix cd. We think this is the best one yet. For people who can't make it along, there will be a few of these available from Shoptimo early in the new year.
That's all for just now - there'll be another update early in the new year. Have a Contorted Christmas y'all xxxx
stop press
optimo are very pleased to announce our involvement with monorail records which will open its' doors at midday on monday (2nd) at 12 kings court, king street, glasgow (inside the new 13th note mono complex).
we have no financial involvement at all, but were very keen to help in any way possible as it is so hard to buy so much of the music we play in glasgow, and we feel it is vital for this city to have a super groovy record shop where all genres are catered for.
the shop is run by total music heads and having had a sneaky look at their stock, all i can say is - wow!
we have given (and will continue to give) some hints on ordering records, will have an 'optimo record of the month' each month and will pop in to play our favourite records from time to time.
we urge you to support this new local business, simply so that there is somewhere to buy amazing music in town and we all don't end up buying all our music via the internet.
thanks.
stay tuned for more!
NOVEMBER / DECEMBER UPDATE
it's been a while but here's the latest update with some long, long awaited news! (it's also a long, long update so bear with us!)
three weeks to go!
yes! the sub club is almost ready - woooooo!
the final optimo night at mas will be sunday november the 24th which coincidentally is also optimo's 5th birthday party (it's off to school for us soon). no one is more amazed than we are that we have lasted so long or that we still enjoy it as much as we ever have. it seems most other people do too! on the website questionnaire (of which we have received over 500 back), an outstanding 94% of you think it is as good as it used to be.
anyhow, for the final night / birthday party, we really want to go out with a bang so we have booked a very, very special guest to take over the bar room for the night. ladies, gentlemen and freaks - we very proudly present mr. william bennet from whitehouse who will be performing a dj set. probably unknown to most, whitehouse have been around for over 20 years and are thee pioneers of extreme noise. extreme is really too mild an adjective to use - mr. bennet is going to leave rubble in his wake and add fuel to the fire to the ongoing optimo dj booking ethos - if we're going to book a dj, we want it to be someone who can do something that no other dj can do. this is going to be fucking mega and will seriously sort out the wheat from the chaff. i just wish we had the balls to put him on in the main room.
we were originally going to have a sticky bun fight and buy in 1000 sticky buns but we were worried that those of you who actually spend a bit of cash on yr attire might get a tad upset!
then.....drumroll.....
december 1st - we ask all moaners, too cool for schoollers, folk who get too wasted, lechers, stinkers, posers, homophobes, rude pushers through the dancefloor and any other losers to find somewhere else to spend their sunday nights.
the rest of you, please make yr way round to jamaica street for our return home to the sub club after three years out in the wilderness. we have no need to hype this up. it's going to be ace. to kickstart the proceedings we have two very special live mystery guests. we're not going to tell you - you'll have to check the fliers - as it's no doubt going to be very busy anyway. saying that, i think this isn't going to be that busy as everyone will think it's going to be too busy and stay away!
then, on december 8th, we bring you the rescheduled add n to x show from a few weeks ago. we're going to do something a little different this night. it's going to be £7/£6 to see the band. but, we're going to open the doors at 9.30 and put the band on at 11.00. we reckon this way, we can create more of a 'gig' type atmosphere and avoid the scenario where half the crowd are moaning about not being able to dance. then, once the band have finished, if you want to just come to the club it will be £6/£5 (of course if yr already in, you can stay).
regarding the price - after 5 years, we have decided to add £1 to the admission price. we feel this is still the best value for any night in glasgow and the price increase is not out of greed, but so that we can have a little extra money to invest in the night. this also means that on some of the guest nights when we would charge an extra £1, we will absorb this cost ourselves. again, if you think this is outrageous,there are plenty of sunday night alternatives out there.
we are really determined to make this a new start for the club and while we are not going to radically change the non-formula of the night, we will take it as an oppurtunity to try some new ideas and make some changes. we still maintain that we never started optimo for any other reason than for us to have some fun on a sunday night. inevitably the bubble will burst sooner or later, but what the fuck - we'll still be doing it as long as we get a kick out of it and we'd much rather have a crowd who come because they love the night than for any other reason.
we certainly want to avoid the following scenario -
i got this anonymous email from a certain serious glamour which made me laugh so much i nearly choked on my camel filter. here is how she imagines what it will be like back at the sub club -
....having overcome the obstacles that stand in your way and actually made it in to the (sub) club, you will quickly discover that all your efforts have been in vain, as everyone inside is so heart stoppingly cool (y'know, that torn-pussed, skinny, pale, miserable 'oh christ look the new people are smiling and dancing god how pathetic' kinda cool that those optimo regulars do so well) that any attempts to dance, talk or smile will result in you receiving frosty glares all round. signs on the walls warn you not to attempt to combine all three. is this true or a nasty rumour?
thanks ms. glamour.
when we go back, we will try to make sure that folk on the guest list queue with everyone else and that there are no special priviliges for so called friends of the sub.
this update is too long so i'll save the details of our christmas night, the fourth annual hogmanay bash, details of our new black rabbit whorehouse monthly and upcoming oscarr news until the next time to give you a chance to digest all of this.
ONWARDS AND UPWARDS!
keep contorting!
STOP PRESS
Due to illness - Add N to (X) have cancelled. Many apologies - if and when it can be rescheduled, we will let you know.
September / October Update
It has been a bit quiet on the guest front in September but we more than make up for it in October -
Sneaking in on the last Sunday of September (29th) we proudly welcome Timeblind from New York City. Timeblind is Chris Sattinger, once a renowned techno artist and now a renowned weirdy electronic artist. He co runs the mighty Polar Bear club in New York City who gave Twitch a gig one time he was over there. Chris shares the same open music vision as Optimo and his live set will fit perfectly into the warm up / getting the dancefloor going section of the night. If you want to hear what he's like, there's some mp3's here.
Then, on October 6th, we present Optimo (Germania) with not one but two German bands playing. In the bar, we present , from Berlin Mitte Karaoke who will be doing their crazy all singing, all dancing thang. In the main room, we present Jeans Team, also from Berlin and renowned on the Optimo dancefloor for their 'Keine Melodien' track. Twitch and Wilkes saw them play in a field outside Munich last summer and can't recommend them highly enough. By the way, these two bands are totally unconnected despite both hailing from Berlin. It just so happens that we got offered them both on the same night and couldn't say no.
Then on October 13th, we are very pleased to finally welcome Add N to (X) to Optimo. Their drum n' moog live show is a sight to behold and will give yr ears some serious loving. As this is likely to be very popular, there will be 100 tickets available in advance (details to follow) so the die hard can ensure entry..
As many folk outside scotland visit here, we thought we'd put up our forthcoming dates in case you can come along and say hello.
friday september 27th - optimo (belfastio) - the menagerie, belfast.
thursday october 10th - chromeo - paris
saturday october 12th - stockholm (venue tba)
wednesday october 16th - stockholm (venue tba)
saturday october 19th - electric stew - great eastern hotel london
That's it for just now though no doubt there will be more to follow, along with some news of upcoming OSCARR stuff
Take care.
AUGUST / SEPTEMBER NEWS UPDATE
First up, the long awaited Optimo Aquatio boat party 2002 has now been confirmed for Friday September 13th (lucky for some!). We apologise for the dithering on the exact date but full details will be available imminently.
This Sunday (11th) we present the Glasgow debut of Michael Drakula. Both members are fixtures at Optimo (indeed, Twitch and Wilkes have missed more Optimos than they have in the last year!) and thus should know what will work at the club. They will play a short but to the point 15 minute set. If we like 'em enough, we may even sign 'em!
On the 18th, we have Midnight Mike (Flesh / Output records) who was going to be in town anyway and asked to play. His set will be short and sleazy (very sleazy!)
On Sunday 1st September we are very pleased to present a Telle records night. Best known for unleashing Royskopp and Kings of Convenience on the world, this Norwegian powerhouse of talent will bring some old Optimo friends over for the night. Dj'ing in the bar will be (the gorgeous) Annie and Telle records head honcho Mikal Telle. In the mainroom we will have the UK live debut of And the Left Handed featuring a couple of Opel Bastards in their more Kraut / Garage rock incarnation.
Then it's Aquatio - pray for sunshine!
Then we shall be preparing to leave Mas and head back home to the Sub Club (not a moment too soon!!!)
On the OSCARR front, the Pro Forma EP is out now in Glasgow and the rest of the country from September 2nd. As always, you can also get it from here.
Hopefully the folowing releases will make it out before the end of 2002 - An EP from Electronicat, a split 12" from Mount Florida / Mary Hill, the long awaited first Plundertones EP, the long, long, long awaited Fuck You Spammer LP and EP 2 from Creme De Menthe. Phew!
That's all for now but stay tuned for Aquatio info and details of the next long overdue Optimo Tape Night
Later xxx
JUNE / JULY NEWS UPDATE
***stop press***
A hello to any visitors that stumbled on this after seeing the club featured on BBC2's Money Programme.
This Sunday (21st) we present Gramme from London - another very Optimoesque band (if such a thing exists). Here's a description - "Recorded by The Underdog, Gramme draw on a vast range of musical influences, raw funk, punk, disco jazz and pop, they've found their sound somewhere in the early '80s, think Rip Rig & Panic, Public Image, Liquid Liquid, Slits, but twisted with a streak of no nonsense contemporary suss."
More guests to follow as well as details of the Aquatio boat party....
In the meantime, the new OSCARR release from Pro Forma is in all good record stores now.
That is all.
How do? Apologies to anyone who attended the Jubilee Bank Holiday and was a little annoyed by the repeated fire alarms. This was a result of the caretaker of the building Mas is housed in seemingly losing the plot and 'testing' the alarm!!! This was totally beyond our control and we hope it didn't spoil anyones night too much
Anyway, here's what we have coming up at the club over the next few weeks.
This Sunday (June 9th), we are pleased to welcome TEAMSHADETEk from New York. A mixture of live and turntables, their music is raw, raw, raw! electronic music with a messed up ragga / r&b twist. They will be taking over the Espacio lounge for the night.
On Sunday June 23rd we are delighted to welcome Murcof from Mexico (His Flash website is here). Signed for the UK by the groovy Leaf Records, he is part of Tiujana'a Nortec movement which they describe as -
"The future music for the rest of Mexico was born here today,"claims a young clubgoer in an improvised dance club situated in a fifth floor artist's loft overlooking Tijuana's hyper-busy Revolution Avenue. Vinyl records became extinct more than a decade ago in Mexico, but today DJ Tolo slaps the first ever vinyl produced in the country's post-rave era. The music the young dancer refers to is known locally as 'Nortec', a hectic mix of norteño music, Tex-Mex sounds, ranchera guitars, banda sinaloense horns, and beats mixed with electronic sounds that glisten with depth, echo, groove and reverb. The music starts, everybody slides and moves. A sound like this only could have been dreamed up in a place like Tijuana.
Murcof is from the more gentle end of the musical spectrum (perfect for the warm up) and will be doing a live set early on in the night. Here's a brief biog -
Hailing from Tijuana, Mexico, Fernando Corona’s musical background runs the gamut from an acoustic rock to experimental multimedia. A phase of composing for dance ensembles led him to develop a taste for 20th century classical music, particularly the emotional music of eastern european composers like Henryk Gorecki and Arvo Pärt.
Corona was born in Tijuana in 1970 but lived most of his life in Ensenada, a small port eighty miles south of Tijuana. Returning to the city in mid-2000, Fernando finds himself at the peak of his creative powers as a sought after musical producer working with local bands, remixing other musical projects (including the Kronos Quartet), producing musical scores for short films and video games.
A former member of the Tijuana-based Nortec Collective of electronic musicians and artists (whose members also include Panoptica), his debut as Murcof was the Monotónu EP, released through Sutekh’s Context label.
Then we have a few weeks without guests until -
Sunday July 14th when we welcome The Rapture from New York City's impossibly cool DFA records (hear them here)
Anyone who has been to Optimo recently will be familiar with their 'House of Jealous Lovers' - an invigorating mix of funk and punk which could almost have been made with Optimo in mind - and which is surely destined for Optimo Classic status.
Apart from that, on the OSCARR front, the Pro Forma EP is imminent and will be swiftly followed amongst other releases by a split Krautrock tribute EP by Mary Hill and Mount Florida. There will also be an 'Optimo Live' CD which will initially be made available for £1 at a forthcoming Optimo night.
We are hoping there will be another Optimo Aquatio day on the waves during the summer and will post details as and when we have them.
And finally, the never ending 'When will the Sub Club reopen?' saga seems to be entering its final chapter and we should be back there for the end of the summer - hooray!
When we return, we will also be starting a new monthly Friday night - The Black Rabbit Whorehouse - stay tuned for more........
APRIL / MAY NEWS UPDATE
yr probably sick of the hype but next up will be our barrowlands event and tikiman and scion on the sunday. barrowlands tickets are now available via shoptimo
whorehouse special!!!!
then, we are very, very pleased to announce the live scottish debut of Akufen on sunday may 19th. hailing from montreal, this guy is singlehandedly responsible for making house music interesting again and truly taking it into the 21st century. it's a bit hard to try to describe his sound but it is truly unique and mindblowing. we went on an all out mission to get him to come over here and thankfully he has obliged. merci beaucoup monsieur leclair!
that's about it for the mo but i'm sure there'll be a couple more minor updates over the next few weeks.
MARCH / APRIL NEWS UPDATE
Firstly, we're a bit late on this one but Bis will be playing this Sunday (24th). They will be doing an all electronic set, performing their recent O.S.C.A.R.R. EP as well as a couple of other songs too.
Then on the 31st, it is the Easter bank holiday. Doors will open at 10 (ish!) and the night will go on until 3.30am (whoo!). We will have a live set from Creme De Menthe and the Easter Bunny may make an appearance in the bar.
On the 7th of April, Optimo will be hijacked. We can't give any details about this for security reasons - you'll just need to see.
On the 14th April we have a Disko B night featuring some guests who (shock horror) have nothing to do with OSCARR. From the Bavarian city of Munich we present Upstart. Upstart is an old friend of Twitch's and has had him and Wilkes out to his Ultraschalle club several times. The first time Twitch went over, Upstart set out to prove that the Bavarians are far more accomplished drinkers than the Scots. Boy was he right! The second time Twitch went over, Upstart was using crutches as the previous night he had decided that rather than go down three flights of stairs to the toilets, he would be much quicker to jump out of the window instead. There was then an instant realisation that this was our kind of man and ever since we have been trying to persuade him to come to Glasgow. And finally he is coming! Another reason we love him is that he is even older than Wilkes (no, really!) and has a record collection to die for. He is also the most together party animal we have ever met and has been releasing records since way back in the days of the German new wave. As well as running a club and the label, he also owns one of the coolest record stores in the world - Optimal - and has recently licensed our Creme De Menthe EP for release on Disko B (Darn it, I knew some OSCARR connection would creep in here somewhere). He will be taking over the bar for the night so go and say hello - he's a very funny man and a very fine dj.
In the main room on this night will be a live set from Parisian Disko B artist Electronicat. He has played Glasgow before but his electronic Stooges / Spacemen 3 esque sounds were made to be heard in the confines of Optimo. If you have been to the club in the last six months, you will recognise his distinctive sounds instantly. Prepare to freak! If you get the chance, try to hear his recent EP or check out his remix of the new Depeche Mode single.
Then it's all a build up to the Barrowlands - Yee haa! Tickets are now on sale from Virgin (Buchanan Street), FOPP and Shoptimo.
We should have the next OSCARR release - a super 4 track EP from Glasgow's Pro Forma with us in the next few weeks, so stay tuned for more on that.
That's more than enough for now. See you at the club. XX
BARROWLANDS / TRIPTYCH NEWS FLASH
we are very pleased to announce details of the confirmed optimo (espacio) in association with triptych event at glasgow's barrowlands ballroom on friday april 26th.
the line up is as follows -
ESG will be headlining. They are the legendary South Bronx all girl band whose music has always been a crucial part of the optimo sound. they have only played in the uk 3 times in the 20 years they have been around and we are flying them in especially.
they will be ably supported by RICHIE HAWTIN who needs no introduction. he will be doing his dex, fx and final scratch thang.
next up is german dubmeister POLE who will shake the barrowlands to its core with his live bass vibrations.
last but no means least, MATTHEW HERBERT will be performing a piece under his RADIOBOY guise which will involve creating an audio soundtrack live on stage by destroying 'the totems of global capitalism' and sampling the ensuing sounds!!
also in attendance of course, will be twitch, wilkes, mac and roland.
tickets will be available imminently from fopp and virgin (buchanan street) as well as shoptimo at the price of £18 (plus booking fee).
we think it's going to be a good one!
in addition there will be a further triptych related event at optimo on sunday april 28th featuring SCION (part of berlin's chain reaction / basic channel enclave) with TIKIMAN on vocals. righteous!
NEWS UPDATE - JANUARY to MARCH 2002
Firstly, belated happy new year to all of you and thanks to everyone who attended the hogmanay party - the best yet?
As we all begin to get in the swing of all things 2002, we thought we'd better let you know what's up in Optimo land.
The big news is that work on the interior of the Sub Club begins in February and if everything runs smoothly we should be back home for the end of April - hooray! We have had a sneak preview of the plans and we can assure you that the new Sub Club will be one of the very best in the world (not that it wasn't before mind, but now it will really be a 21st century club). Believe the hype!
Optimo also has some big plans for this year including an Optimo spectacular at the Barrowlands, details of which will follow in the next couple of weeks.
Following the success of "Eglitchio", we are looking into making this a monthly Friday night although we have no concrete dates for this.
We have a few guests coming up over the next few weeks but are going to go a bit easy on this front until we return to the Subbie. Here's what we have planned -
10/02/02 - Optimo (Valentino) 'Love Freak' party. If you didn't find love at previous Optimo Valentines parties, perhaps this will be your lucky night! This night will also feature a preview of the new Cornelius album and some Cornelius lp freebies too.
17/02/02 - The Dudley Corporation live. Future stars of a forthcoming OSCARR compilation, all we can say is that live - they rock! They are also three of the nicest Irishmen you are ever likely to meet, so please give them a warm Optimo welcome.
03/03/02 - Twitch's birthday weekend. Jack Daniels and Coke please.
10/03/02 - Elizabeth Esselink aka Solex will be dj'ing in the Espacio lounge. If you haven't heard her mighty new album Low Kick and Hard Bop, all we can say is why not?
That concludes our Matador Records hype campaign for 2002.
Apart from that, we may or may not have live performances over the next few months from Vitalic, Adrian Sherwood, Tikiman and Pro Forma.
It's all systems go for OSCARR this year - watch our baby go! The Creme De Menthe EP has had a fantastic response and will now be reissued by Disko B from Germany. Next up, we have -
Bis - Factory Records Covers EP. This will be the first OSCARR release to have a picture sleeve - whoooo! - and should be available from 04/03/02.
After that, there will be an EP from Pro Forma.
A split 12" from Mount Florida and DJ Mary Hill (tbc).
A 10" from Pig, Cat and Cow (Khan, Electronicat and DJ Mingo go) with a Twitch remix (tbc).
"Fuck You Spammer" - An LP that will shock, scare and confound followers of OSCARR. This is the ultimate geek compilation as the Scottish, Irish, Dutch and American contributors to this compilation have only ever met on the internet.
Another EP from the mighty Creme De Menthe.
Phew!
There are also rumours abounding about a label called Plundertones for releases that are not entirely legal on the copyright front but our lawyer has advised us to deny any knowledge of this, so we will.
In the next few weeks, an online shop will be added to the website where you can buy all these releases and have them delivered to your house (cool!). The shop will also sell advanced tickets for bigger Optimo events, possibly some Optimo merchandise (sell out!) and any old junk that we have lying round our houses.
Finally, in our never ending mission to expand the website to ridiculous proportions, we have added a photo page here. If you have any photos you have taken that you would like to see included, please email them to here
Well, that's quite enough for now. See you at the club.
Lots of love,
Twitch, Wilkes. Mac and Roland xxx
ps - For Optimo freaks outside Glasgow, there is a possibility of a series of Optimo nights in London, we will be appearing in Belfast on the 15th February, Helsinki on February 23rd and New York City on the 5th and 6th of April. World domination, here we don't come.
DECEMBER UPDATE
- Optimo (Espacio) Hogmanay Party
At Glasgow School of Art Monday 31st December 2001 - Tuesday January 1st 2002, 10.30 'til 5 (possibly 6)
featuring... Twitch, Wilkes, Lady Miss Roland, Mac and Creme De Menthe upstairs.and Dj Mingo go, Disco X and Pro Forma downstairs.
CD tickets (it's a good 'un) £20. Available from Saturday December 8th.
- AS this is on a Monday, we WON'T be doing Optimo the night before. Instead we will be presenting Optimo (Eglitchio) at MAS on Friday 28th December. We are taking this oppurtunity to do something different so instead of the unusual Optimo soundtrack, we will be playing some of the most futuristic dance music known to woman. Known as micro house or glitch house, this is a weird, fucked up form of house music for which a suitable drug has yet to be invented. Think clicks, pops, the sound of cds skipping, dubby, funky, sexy, intricate programming and progression.
Both Twitch and Wilkes have a deep love of this music but rarely get the chance to play it out as it really needs a whole night to develop.
Try it, you might like it.
- Sunday December 23rd - Optimo (Efestivo) - The Optimo Christmas party featuring Detroit Grand Pubahs of Sandwiches and One Hump or Two fame live (tbc). Hailing from Detroit (you don't say), they are a p funk, booty bass wet dream with a totally OTT live show. Dj Mingo go will also be presenting her festive music selection in the bar. Bring yr mistletoe.
- Sunday December 9th - Lapsus Linguae live. We'll get it to work this time, honest!
- Oscarr 003 - Creme De Menthe's sizzling EP will be available from Fopp, Missing and Rub a Dub later this week.
- We will try to have the cloakroom facilities improved asap.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all at Optimo xxx
NEWS FOR NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2001
Wow! The Halloween Espookio was fantastic - big thanks to everyone who made an effort to dress up (we loved yr costumes) and hopefully the night wasn't too scary for you. You can see some of the costumes here - thanks Jack for the photos. (hit refresh if yr not seeing them).
It's a quiet month on the guest front in November as a couple of things fell through due to peoples' reluctance to fly in the current political climate. Hopefully though, OSCARR 003 - Creme de Menthe's EP should be with us sometime this month. This will be available from various Glasgow outlets (info to follow) and the club, though not from FOPP who have decided to stop stocking 12" vinyl - boo!!!!! This will be closely followed by OSCARR 004 - Bis - Fact 2002 EP, an EP of cover versions of classic songs from Factory Records featuring covers of Joy Division's 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', A Certain Ratio's 'Shack Up', Section 25's 'A View Fron A Hill'; and New Order's - 'Hurt'.
Twitch and Wilkes will be participating in an event organised by The Scottish Coalition Against The War In Afghanistan on Friday 16th November provisionally to be held at Caledonian Uni Asylum (more details as we get them). The night is a benefit to raise funds for the campaign so if you feel strongly about this please come along and show your support. If you feel strongly against it, you could always come and throw projectiles at the dj's!
The next Sunday night guests will be Lapsus Linguae on December 2nd who will be celebrating the release of their very fine mini album - 'You got me Fraiche' which I'm listening to as I type and thoroughly enjoying. If you saw them last time they played, you will know that they sound like nothing else and are likely to bleed for their art on stage!
So far that's all we have lined up for December although as we tend to be very last minute about our bookings, please check back for an update along with details for the third Optimo Hogmanay Party which will be posted imminently.
As ever, feedback is greatfully received, cogitated and sometimes even followed up. You can do this by posting on the bulletin boards on the website. A couple of new pages have been added - one for 'Optimo Classics' and one for 'Optimo Playlists'. Also, if you have anything at all no matter how irrelevant that you would like to contribute to the website, please do as we are aiming to make the Optimo website eventually become one of the most sprawling behemoths of a club website ever seen. Why you may ask? Who knows we reply, but why not?
Oh, and those Roland mp3s will be here soon, honest!
More to follow....
WE LOVE YOUR EARS
NEWS FOR OCTOBER 2001
Hi there everybody and welcome to the new Optimo News Update Page. This will make it far easier for us to bring you all the latest Optimo news much more quickly and accurately.
So, after a few teething problems we seem to have settled into our new temporary home at Mas and we greatly appreciate all the feedback and suggestions we have received. As always, they are greatly appreciated, so keep 'em coming.
Our next extra special night is the now near legendary annual Optimo (Espookio) Halloween Party on Sunday October 28th. This night will feature a 4am license, some very special production, DJ Mingo Go in the bar and of course, a grand prize for the best costume. We have decided to make this a predominantly tickets in advance affair (although we will hold back 100 for availability on the night). Tickets will be available as of Tuesday October 16th from FOPP on Byres Road and will be £7 plus a small booking fee.
For those of you with a fondness for MP3s, there are a plethora of these which have been contributed by various Optimoers and are available from the side links on the bulletin board page. If any of you have an MP3 page online and would like it to be added, post on the board and we will add it to the links. In addition, the long overdue Roland MP3s will be up very soon and Roland apologises for the delay which she says is due to a creative block total slackness on the part of Twitch.
The next OSCARR release should be with us in a couple of weeks and is a super 4 track EP by local electro pop hero Creme De Menthe. After that, expect a more or less monthly OSCARR release including EPs from BIS and PRO FORMA.
That's all for now. but as ever, stay tuned for more
WE LOVE YOUR EARS
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