With pleasure we would like to introduce to you, Lucinda Slim. Another fine DJane in the land of Funk. Together with Guy Hennigan she regularly opened for Keb Darge at Madame Jojo’s for his Legendary Deep Funk night on Friday nights.
Brother Gu also had the pleasure of sharing the turntables with her at the infamous (and sadly extinct) London club. I am sure, you will enjoy the following insights into the music and inspiration of Lucinda Slim as part of Our “DJanes you should know” series.
Which style / genre do you mostly play:
Rare Sixties Soul/Northern Soul , Deep Funk, Jump blues, Fifties Rhythm & Blues, the odd Sixties Garage
Residency (current or previous):
2017: 68&Boston, Friday nights, Soho, London
2008 to 2010: Deep Funk, Madame Jojo’s, Soho, London
DJ gig farthest away from your home:
Tokio, Kobe and Osaka, Japan
Most memorable DJ gig and why?
Nude Restaurant, Osaka. Amazing crowd, great dancers, dressers and super open to the unconventional set I played, one of the best clubs I have ever been too. One punter stood in front of the decks all night and enjoyed watching the 45s, vinyl by vinyl. People really were passionate about their music and the atmosphere was electric.
Other memorable gigs were at Deep Funk where many a Friday Deep Funk nights were amazing, with breakers getting down on the floor, a fantastic mixed and open minded crowd dancing all night, people going absolutely crazy and we would get a regular share of musicians, actors and famous folks in too. Guy Hennigan and myself were Keb Darge’s warm up DJ’s, alternately.
Since when have you been a DJ?
I think it was 2007, Madame Jojo’s, Deep Funk, collecting was much earlier, mainly rare soul, rare groove and funk.
What was your first ever record?
I think it was a Public Enemy record, Fear of a Black Planet.
Favourite record of all times and why:
Slim Harpo, Shake Your Hips. I borrowed his first name as part of my DJ name as I love his sound and groove so much. There is also something about Trouble Man, Marvin Gaye which always gives me chills and goosebumps and I don’t care that it is not a rare record, it just moves me. Whatever he was dealing with in that period in his life, come through in the recordings, it is really deep and strong.
Record that surprised you most and why:
Chick Corea and Flora Purim, Light as a Feather. Although I don’t usually play Jazz Fusion, this album really shook me in terms of sound, vocal interpretation and I found it incredibly inspiring. That is the singer in me speaking now haha.
Record you usually play at all your DJ gigs:
Stick together, Prince and Princess. I love the production, voices and grooves on that single.
Vinyl or other media:
definitely without a doubt, vinyl! I really hear a sonic difference in comparison to a digital sound. Analog is warm and it takes me back to a special magical time. I love album covers and sleeves too although I mainly play 45s. They are heavy to carry and fragile but it is totally worth it. I am a bit of a record geek and can get really upset when I have lost a record I was chasing. Is that sad? Hahaha.
Favourite club to play at:
Deep Funk at Madame Jojo’s was my favorite club to play at ever. Best crowd and atmosphere, club, the lot.
Your favourite DJ:
I know I sound biased as he taught me everything but Keb Darge was and is still my favorite DJ. He is a dancer/DJ and knows exactly how to build and maintain a smoking dance floor while always pushing the boundaries record wise.
Band / Musician you strongly recommend everyone should listen to:
ooh that is a hard question as that means I have to pick a genre and I love so many different styles of music…..I would say Muddy Waters and Ali Farka Toure, as they represent original West African Blues and American Southern Blues. These styles lie at the roots of so much music we listen to today and we don’t hear these artists often in mainstream music while the musical tradition they continued made a huge impact.
Your sound (playlist/mixcloud/soundcloud or where else people can listen to your sets):
I am working on a mix but it is not online yet so for now people can get a feel for the style I play from the compilation by Unique Records – This is DJ’s Choice Volume II. By the way I wanna give a shout out to Henry Storch who owned Unique Records and sadly left us not that long ago. He was such a supporter of good music and a great person. Honoured to have known him and played records at his nights.
[Photo by Holger Menzel]
