Dancing to diversity
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
In the heart of London's multi-cultural melting pot, a musical event has been brewing for several years, which will erupt into the limelight the weekend of 13 and 14 October 2001 with the Hubble Bubble Festival.
Since its earliest incarnation - DJs playing all-nighters in a small basement bar - the night has evolved; adopting the name Hubble Bubble, moving to a new venue and shifting its focus to live performances by bands of diverse origin, particularly - but not exclusively - North African and Arabic.
For the regular events, three or four bands share the stage. This weekend, no less than 15 bands will appear, plus DJs, dancers and performance artists. It is impossible to estimate how many instruments will be played over the course of the weekend, but it would be an interesting exercise to tot them up; bazookas and tablahs, bongos and congas, udus, auds and nays, violins and flutes, guitars and sitars, accordions and keyboards.
Usually held one Sunday each month at the Union Chapel in Islington, Hubble Bubble's weekend extravaganza is backed by funding from the Arts Council, the Lottery Commission and Islington Borough Council, which has also pledged ongoing support to help cover the cost of venue hire. It is considered to make an increasingly valid contribution to harmony in the pan-cultural area.
Hubble Bubble is an organic event for which word of-mouth has been the greatest promoter. Nonetheless, it is now arousing interest from record labels, such as Miles Copeland's Ark 21 which manages the likes of Sting, The Moody Blues and The Beautiful South. Most of the bands perform regularly on an international circuit; some took to the stages of WOMAD festival earlier this year. London-based acts come, and foreign ones cross the seas, to exploit the unique, sincere atmosphere.
Acts to watch for include Zohar. Blending Jewish and Arabic influences with funky beats, the group creates a luxurious, soulful vibe. They are fantastic live performers, enthusing their music with energy and emotion. Their debut album, onethreeseven, is released on October 15. Zohar already work with industry leaders, and it is rumoured that lead singer Erran Baron Cohen's superstar brother recorded some vocals for the album - Booyakasha!
Tunisian-born, Paris-dwelling Smadj fuses musical intricacies from his original and adopted homelands, adds sprinkles from elsewhere and twists the melange to create "melt jazz". Karminsky Experience's 1996 In-flight Entertainment album is touted as having made easy listening acceptable. The "kings of lounge" will be demonstrating how their cutting edge sounds have matured.
Former Orb member Greg Hunter has an original take on Egyptian sounds, spiced with tastes of the Oriental, electronic, African and Arabian. Juttla from Swaraj Record's Asian collective has played alongside the likes of Goldie's Metalheadz, more recently headlining regular nights in Rome and Paris.
Between the acts, guests will join resident DJ Nelson Dilation, a well-travelled global music expert who has spent 15 years studying and interpreting music of the world, to spin sounds from all-over and everywhere.
The trapeze artists are unfailingly awe-inspiring. By turns - or rather, by twists and by dangling overhead - daring, comic, graceful and skilled, they capture and enrapture the audience. A gorgeous array of dancers - Egyptian, Persian, Shabi, Indian, more - will give delightful demonstrations and encourage participation.
The importance of interaction is paramount; workshops, traditional food stalls, exhibitions and a grand bazaar are there to enjoy. Blue World Illumination will bring the venue "into a luminary life of its own" with an imaginative blend of lighting, drapery and images inspired by the cultures of varied lands on our globe.
"Hubble Bubble has become an important showcase for music of Turkish, North African and Arabic flavour," says Necmi Cavli, the father of the event and a performer with the host group, Oojami. "It is now attracting international attention, but has never lost its grass-roots spirit, and those roots are grown deep in the north London community."
The timing of the event could hardly be better; autumnal October can do its worst outdoors as festival-goers indoors seek to recreate the warm atmosphere of summer highs. Hubble Bubble has established itself as a unique, groundbreaking experience, yet it remains one of London's very best kept secrets. This weekend festival will perhaps blow the lid off the best of world fusion and open up the burgeoning global trend in music to a wider audience.
Ticket info
Saturday: 4.30pm - 1am. Sunday: 4.30pm - 12pm. Workshops should be booked in advance to avoid disappointment.
Weekend £25 (£20 concessions)
Day £15 (£10 concessions)
Call the box office on 0870 120 1349
Since its earliest incarnation - DJs playing all-nighters in a small basement bar - the night has evolved; adopting the name Hubble Bubble, moving to a new venue and shifting its focus to live performances by bands of diverse origin, particularly - but not exclusively - North African and Arabic.
For the regular events, three or four bands share the stage. This weekend, no less than 15 bands will appear, plus DJs, dancers and performance artists. It is impossible to estimate how many instruments will be played over the course of the weekend, but it would be an interesting exercise to tot them up; bazookas and tablahs, bongos and congas, udus, auds and nays, violins and flutes, guitars and sitars, accordions and keyboards.
Usually held one Sunday each month at the Union Chapel in Islington, Hubble Bubble's weekend extravaganza is backed by funding from the Arts Council, the Lottery Commission and Islington Borough Council, which has also pledged ongoing support to help cover the cost of venue hire. It is considered to make an increasingly valid contribution to harmony in the pan-cultural area.
Hubble Bubble is an organic event for which word of-mouth has been the greatest promoter. Nonetheless, it is now arousing interest from record labels, such as Miles Copeland's Ark 21 which manages the likes of Sting, The Moody Blues and The Beautiful South. Most of the bands perform regularly on an international circuit; some took to the stages of WOMAD festival earlier this year. London-based acts come, and foreign ones cross the seas, to exploit the unique, sincere atmosphere.
Acts to watch for include Zohar. Blending Jewish and Arabic influences with funky beats, the group creates a luxurious, soulful vibe. They are fantastic live performers, enthusing their music with energy and emotion. Their debut album, onethreeseven, is released on October 15. Zohar already work with industry leaders, and it is rumoured that lead singer Erran Baron Cohen's superstar brother recorded some vocals for the album - Booyakasha!
Tunisian-born, Paris-dwelling Smadj fuses musical intricacies from his original and adopted homelands, adds sprinkles from elsewhere and twists the melange to create "melt jazz". Karminsky Experience's 1996 In-flight Entertainment album is touted as having made easy listening acceptable. The "kings of lounge" will be demonstrating how their cutting edge sounds have matured.
Former Orb member Greg Hunter has an original take on Egyptian sounds, spiced with tastes of the Oriental, electronic, African and Arabian. Juttla from Swaraj Record's Asian collective has played alongside the likes of Goldie's Metalheadz, more recently headlining regular nights in Rome and Paris.
Between the acts, guests will join resident DJ Nelson Dilation, a well-travelled global music expert who has spent 15 years studying and interpreting music of the world, to spin sounds from all-over and everywhere.
The trapeze artists are unfailingly awe-inspiring. By turns - or rather, by twists and by dangling overhead - daring, comic, graceful and skilled, they capture and enrapture the audience. A gorgeous array of dancers - Egyptian, Persian, Shabi, Indian, more - will give delightful demonstrations and encourage participation.
The importance of interaction is paramount; workshops, traditional food stalls, exhibitions and a grand bazaar are there to enjoy. Blue World Illumination will bring the venue "into a luminary life of its own" with an imaginative blend of lighting, drapery and images inspired by the cultures of varied lands on our globe.
"Hubble Bubble has become an important showcase for music of Turkish, North African and Arabic flavour," says Necmi Cavli, the father of the event and a performer with the host group, Oojami. "It is now attracting international attention, but has never lost its grass-roots spirit, and those roots are grown deep in the north London community."
The timing of the event could hardly be better; autumnal October can do its worst outdoors as festival-goers indoors seek to recreate the warm atmosphere of summer highs. Hubble Bubble has established itself as a unique, groundbreaking experience, yet it remains one of London's very best kept secrets. This weekend festival will perhaps blow the lid off the best of world fusion and open up the burgeoning global trend in music to a wider audience.
Ticket info
Saturday: 4.30pm - 1am. Sunday: 4.30pm - 12pm. Workshops should be booked in advance to avoid disappointment.
Weekend £25 (£20 concessions)
Day £15 (£10 concessions)
Call the box office on 0870 120 1349
