Soulshakers Bamberg Celebrates 10 Years

------------------------- SoulShakers Bamberg 10 --------------------------

As always there is a little trepidation in the weeks leading up to this event in our house. Will anyone turn up? Will the guest DJ's fit in ?, Will the weather be nice ? Have either of us any good records to play?

Well Malayka left to go there on the Sunday to get everything ready and regularly rang to tell me this and that was fine. I stayed until Thursday to do my radio show and take Soul Sam with me. The radio show went well as a sort of warm up and it was clear we would have reasonable turn out. But then a hick up, Sam felt he couldn't travel and the heat of the venue would be too much for him, so 2 hours before the taxi arrived and with a bit of a quivering lip, he made the decision not to come. So quick call to Malayka to tell her the news and then a further three calls from her and Arthur Fenn, Thorsten Wegner & David David Ripolles agree to step up, so onwards and upwards.

Arrive late Thursday afternoon to a wet Bamberg and the news that the Japanese group have missed their connecting flight in Munich and will not arrive until Friday. Off to the warm up event all the same and arrive to a busier than usual venue with people milling around everywhere. Held in an alternative cinema, the event occupies a number of lounges and a bar with DJ’s spinning and people renewing old friendship. This can take a while as there are people hear from the U.S., Scandinavia, the U.K. and right across Europe, many you haven’t seen for a year. Noako, Stefan, Mr Steven Mister-Fish Clancy kept everyone happy with some cool tunes and then off to bed.

Friday arrived, still wet but as the day wore on the mood lifted as more and more people arrived in the city and regulars heading to the favourite bars to catch up with others. Eventually the Japanese party arrived to inform us that they felt so bad about missing the flight yesterday that they slept on the floor of the departure lounge all night so they wouldn’t miss this one. For the afternoon a football game had been organised, ‘Jumpers For Goal Posts’ but in the end only the Germans turned up, so the Germans beat the Germans on penalties. Come 9pm the doors open and people streamed in from the get go, this was gonna be busy, hard to pick out individual DJ’s as each room was jumpin all night. With a line up of Butch, Lars Bulnheim, Marc Forrest, Brad Hales, Malayka, David Ripolles, Arthur Fenn, Thorsten Wegner, Ryuhei TheMan, Daisuke Kuroda and Myself, most bases were covered. Ryuhei & Daisuke were doing their first sets ever outside of Japan and instantly had the crowd eating out of their palms in both rooms. Butch walked up to me with a big smile at one point and said the modern room was the best ever so much so that a couple of times it was literary impossible to get in the room. The two rooms do have a little overlap musically, but in the main the big room is for big beat ballsy tunes, northern, funk and a sprinkling of similar modern. The smaller room more rhythm base modern, funk & boogie.

Saturday, the sun is shining normal Bamberg conditions have returned. Malayka’s up and out the door as the alldayer starts in 15mins. I’m a bit slower, getting old, so off to do a bit of grocery shopping for the DJ house, then down to join everyone at Caffebar Kranen. Situated on the banks of the river, the afternoon affair is held in a cool cafe bar. I arrive half an hour in and it’s already busy with people spilling out into the tables and chairs out front. Music is jumping, many are grabbing some well earned lunch. This is my first chance to chat to many in a more relaxed fashion, Pat & Peter Bleasdale sit there with beaming faces and ‘Dad’ tells me how much they are enjoying their first visit. It is a cacophony of languages, but everyone gets themselves understood, with more friendships being renewed and many made for the first time. DJ’s inside are just as multi cultural with Brenda Hernandez from the U.S., Giles Morel, France, Raphi Gruenig Switzerland and Hendrik Irmscher, Germany. As the afternoon wears on this is when record boxes appear, from Diggin Dave and others and deals are done on mystic pieces of plastic. As the afternoon ends people make a lot of noise for the DJ’s of the afternoon and then scuttle off for a quick sleep, food before night time manoeuvres.

Saturday night’s all-nighter is much the same as Friday, packed to the rafters, with the doors having to close at 1am for half an hour as they hit capacity of 1000 peeps, special mention to David, Thorsten & Arthur who stepped up with no notice and did outstanding jobs. Over the two nights the music has been a dream, plenty of now Bamberg classics, lots of new tunes for eager ears and dancers and a wide diversity of styles. Then Comes 4.15 and it’s all into the main room with still over 500 there to hear Malayka do her now traditional last set. Many get a little emotional and generally all agreeing this was the best yet.

Sunday, by this time the heart and head is willing, but the rest of the body not so. To hell with it, let’s do it all again, so to ‘Soul N’ Sausage’ the allday breakfast and shenanigans. With the injection of even more DJ’s Edu Movin On, Bjørn Espen Berg, plus any of the previous still standing, the day carried on from one noisy moment to the next, all a bit of a tradition now, but lots of fun. And then Bamberg 10 was over, goodbyes were said and people started their journeys and in some case very long journeys home. A massive success because all those people have made the effort to come in ever larger numbers for the past 10 years. See ya all next year as we start the second decade.