Brian Tappert and John Julius Knight @ Opium

April 1, 2004 3:00 PM
by

It’s funny how the unwritten rules of life really do govern situations. The unplanned nights that seems to materialize as the night progresses is a prime example of such “unwritten rules”.

These occasions are rare but oftentimes more memorable than well planned outings. Friday the 19th of March fate knocked on my door and my unplanned night was about to become alot more interesting.

Around 10:30 I get a call that Brian Tappert and John Julius Knight were going to be at Opium. The head honchos over at Soulfuric, it was odd that there not be any promotions for this party but for what I understand it was a last minute thing, a favor you could say.

Those two names alone are enough to shake the fatigue out of you (which is exactly what I did) and so I hurried to meet my informative friends, looking forward to a night of soulful deep house delight.

WOW! The door at Opium was a United Nations display of diverse ethnicity, carefully planning their strategy to finally reach the doorman.

After a bit of strategic planning ourselves, so did we finally make our way in at around 11:45 and sure enough, and to my surprise, John Julius Knight was on the decks throwing down some Junior Jack “E-Samba”, however, it was not the mix played by Oscar G but instead a deep groovy mix with I think is the original version.

A hint of exotic spice dominated the room. Opium was hosting a party for NETA (Network of Indian Professionals) and the room was plentiful in flavor. The diversity matched perfectly with house musics’ lyrics that express feelings of love, happiness and “Global Togetherness”, if you will.

Feeling more energized and happy to have been “dragged” out I settled in behind the DJ booth and let the choons sink in. Hanging on the side was Brian Tappert analyzing the crowd, sipping a drink and enjoying his counterparts’ set.

After half an hour of some knight soul, Brian took control of the decks and headed in the same direction dropping some low bass, electronic background tunes in conjunction with funky piano, guitar and drums. Such nice seasoned house !

Dance floor was moderately packed but it was still early and little by little the stream of party-goers trickled underneath the flashing lights. The vibe for the night was starting to take shape and Groovy seemed to be the word-du-jour. Proper house fans were being pounded with loads of soulful lyrics and danceable instrumentals.

By 1:00 a.m. the floor was packed, John was spinning again and the tag-team set was turning to be clean, elegant and classic in flavor. The classic house sound is indeed a perfect match with the Opium look.

Although it’s roots are urban, the idea of sun, beach, heat and house harmoniously blend. Open air clubs with beautiful décor match perfectly. Enjoying the night breeze, my vodka soda and a nice conversation with Brian was enhanced even more when Mr.Knight dropped DJ.Gregory’s “Tropical Suntan”, I just happen to really dig that track.

Besides playing with more bass-pronounced tracks, they also played around with vocals songs. Both John and Brian presented a smorgasbord of lyrics that included dreamy repetitive, hard male and Baptist choir soulful, richly delivered in vinyl.

Samples all over the place, some instantly recognized & cheered, others lending character to the mix. The diversity of the same genre is great and these guys know how to do it well even dabbling in some disco-esque tunes . Ultimately it was the Soulfuric sound that prevailed in each set; tracks with huge breakdowns like Jet Lag’s “So Right” (one nice toe tapping, feel good song).

Word must have spread as Prive elitist made their way down and several hands-in-the-air were adorned with the emblematic VIP wristbands.

As for Brian and John, For two guys known to be overly meticulous with their sets, they seemed extra relaxed. They told me that night was more about fun and so they were keeping true to their word.

I suppose a relaxing moment is what these guys needed as they have been busy, working on a compilation CD which will be released under the UK’s omnipotent Defected records.

And so the night slowly came to a close and again the laws on unpredictability reigned supreme, turning my night from a dull drive home to a night of great music, beautiful ambiance and all around positive vibe.

This was indeed a rare treat and if you missed it you can catch the Soulfuric guys on April the 10th at Nerve for the Soulfuric in the House CD release party. I know I’ll be there, hands in the air and music in the soul !