Baby Soul - Women rule, okay?
I made a mad dash over from Avalon to Palace of Wonder in an attempt to catch Baby Soul 's set at the Crystal Palace on Saturday night. Even so, I only caught the last couple of songs. Baby Soul (aka Elinor) is a Swedish DJ and artist/ illustrator from Stockholm who has been living in London for almost a decade. She is also the yin to Gaz `Mayall's yang.
Her specialty is 50s and 60s r'n'b, soul, New Orleans funk, blues and good ol' rock 'n' roll. That being said, she was playing some funky old swing style blues number when I hit the tent. And I was sorely disappointed when she only managed another song before Noboru Yamana took to the decks - not that I was entirely disappointed by this turn of events. Yamana played some rock 'n' reggae classics - like Desmond Decker's "Israelites." Love that tune!
And then, after Barrence Whitfield's awesome live set, DJ Tommy hit the decks. Tommy owns one of THE record stores in Japan - Drum 'n' Bass Records in Osaka. But don't be mislead by the name. He delivered a sublime set of obscure 50s Jamaican r'n'b and early 60s ska. This guy's catalogue is so deep it's impossible to name the tunes, but I one track was obviously called "Mother Goose" and featured a kick-ass female vocal.
After Rude Pressures finished their live set, Gaz came on stage and announced that they were going to have a competition, with Baby Soul, Tommy and himself taking turns on the decks and competing for audience appreciation. It was mad. Around and round they went trying to out-obscure each other. But the reaction from the audience was pretty much even, that is, until Baby Soul flipped Nancy Sinatra's "Boots" on the decks. The crowd went wild - me included. And so did the other DJs. Everyone from the backstage area was suddenly up on the stage dancing. Baby Soul and Nancy got my vote. Women rule...
