Eclectic Ballroom Presents: District listings

District is a new monthly Thursday party for 2012.

We have a varied musical policy playing Disco, Boogie,

Balearic, Electronica, Funk, Modern Soul, Roots, Rock,

House, Punk, & Afro.

Were keeping things simple but most of all enjoyable...

Musically, just about anything goes, we play for us and for the crowd.

For us, District is about the music, the vibe and the atmosphere.

We want to share our love of music and love of a good party,

we hope this night will do just that:

So forget Friday, Thursday night at District is the place to be.

Come join us on a musical journey from

DJs Frankie Valentine, Zed Malik and Jim Norton,

prepare to be enlightened and surprised.

Doors open from 9 p.m. till late.

£5 on the door.

Search us out on Facebook District @ The Shoreditch

Tweets https://twitter.com/#!/District00

Hear the music and spread the love!

Frankie Valentine:

Frankie Valentine is a well known DJ and Producer, but information about him has been one of the best-kept secrets in the British music industry so far.

Frankie first began his DJ career in the mid 70s in London at the age of 13 lifting reggae sound system speaker boxes. After serving his apprenticeship as a boy box he began to explore his musical taste more in depth. Frankie's love for new and old sounds has established him as one of the major British exponents of dance music; his talents were inevitably recognised abroad where he has spent much of his time DJ-ing the world over and producing dance hits and albums one after the other.

As one of the pioneering club DJ's during the dance music revolution in the eighties, a time when Britain was experiencing an historic explosion of dance culture with youth uniting in vast numbers, Frankie was DJ-ing to tens of thousands at Sunrise, Energy, Biology and Back to the Future. It was at this time that Japan took a real interest in Frankie, extracting him from Britain's thriving dance scene to help kick start it off over there for them.

Frankie quickly established himself in Japan so that he could pave the way for his fellow DJs back home, inviting them to join him and so opening up the floodgates for other DJs to flourish there also. Then came a demand from the rest of Europe where he was supported by many internationally known acts such as: Underground Resistance, Electribe 101, 808 State, Ultra Nate Bah Samba, Yoruba Jazz People , also Pocho and his Latin Soul Brothers..

Although known globally as a superstar DJ and successful producer, Frankie Valentine remains intriguingly elusive as he quietly works away at his next projects, making time for rare appearances DJ-ing in London and Europe.

Jim Norton:

Jim Norton began his DJ career in the mid 1990s in his home town of Cambridge by playing the underground circuit of late night dance venues across the city. He was often referred to by the citys promoters as the wolf for his ability to rescue any party and get the people dancing wildly again. Whether it was an RnB club night, a reggae party or a jungle rave-up in the countryside, Jim was generally found in the middle of things and keeping it lively..

The end of the nineties brought about the birth of the Solid Sounds sound system which Jim co-owned and used to put on countless parties around Cambridgeshire. The rig could be heard in room 2 at the Junction nightclub and also attended some of the legendary free parties of that time such as Privilege and Life4Land.

Having the opportunity to work alongside music scene's major stars doing warm up sets for Aloe Blacc, Hercules and Love Affair ,Horace Andy, Fenech-Soler, Cubic Zirconia ,Calvin Harris, Example, Katy B, Devlin The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. Quantic and his Combo Barbaro Mulatu Astatke & The Black Jesus Experience

His musical variety is still present in his DJ sets today where raw funk now blends with disco, reggae, soul, hip hop and more to achieve same old desire to see people getting their groove on with happy smiling faces.

In 2006 Jim joined forces with Zed Malik and created The Eclectic Ballroom their main aim was just to make people dance. The Eclectic Ballroom has played every major UK based festival becoming regulars at the Glade,Glastonbury, The Big Chill , Eclectic Picnic (Ireland ) and Beautiful Days.

Zed Malik:

Zed Maliks fixation with soul, funk and electronic dance music dates back to the 80s. He started djing in 1997. Heavily influenced by the his idols Larry Levan and David Mancuso, he spun his way onto a pirate radio station whilst at Preston university where he was nick-named The Professor due to his encyclopedic knowledge of the music he played. After getting the vinyl bug, he began promoting nights in Preston playing eclectic sounds mixed up of rock funk soul disco and hip hop. Like a Professor, an alchemist in the mix, he created sonic landscapes which resonated with the crowds he engaged with. Like alchemy, the fusion is all about timing and Zed extensive music collection was on the button, current, edgy, dynamic with the ability to titillate all palettes.

In 2005 he decided to start running his own nights on at a now defunct bar called Bogarts. The night was named The Eclectic Ballroom. He built up a loyal following and came across a like- minded Dj Jim Norton. A chance meeting between Zed and Jim created a DJ team with vast musical knowledge and a shared love of all things FUNK. They put together a mix of music not heard in this sleepy city before and got people grooving to Eclectic Ballroom's hypnotic sounds of disco, funk and soul.

In December of that year, Eclectic Ballroom promoted their first major night along with the legendary Dr Bob Jones, dropping heavy sets that simply rocked!

After early success in Peterborough for Eclectic Ballroom, the next stop was Stamford. And the old school cobbled streets guided Zed and Jim to a hidden gem.

At a Latin bar called Mi Familia, they spotted the potential for something big. The bar's terrace became Eclectic Ballrooms playground as they created a divine funk experience. Word spread like wildfire. The music drove the crowds to get up and dance hard and when space ran out on the dance floor they used the tables to groove to the funky beats and unstoppable vibe. The Eclectic Ballrooms keen sense of music and art soon saw the next establishment in Stamford, Mama Lizs voodoo lounge basement club benefit from a hook up with Shepard Fairey's obey Giant through Zeds long time friend Stuart noble. The cellar that was once used for wine storage had been Metamorphosized by the art of one of the worlds most iconic street artists. http://obeygiant.com/headlines/obama.

On one of the hottest nights of 2008, one of the organisers of Glade Festival popped into Stamford and was blown away by what they heard. Eclectic Ballroom were booked for the festival there and then. After the musical vistas created by Zed and Jim at Glade, word spread and more festivals followed. The Secret Garden Party was next followed by Beautiful Dayz Festival in Devon and then The Eclectic Picnic in Ireland.

3 Glastonbury's and 2 Big chills, a host bars across the country they have done warms up sets for huge artist such as Aloe Blacc, Katy B, Sharon jones and the Daps Kings, Roy Ayers, Candi Staton, Tinie Tempah and Plan B to name just a few. The Music Box Radio Show on Fridays 6PM till 8PM which is produced by Zed on www.peterborough.fm (click the link to listen live), sticks to the philosophy of playing music that makes you feel good.

The Shoreditch

145 Shoreditch High St