Koochie Koo Turns One

Electronic dance music: electro, techno, trance, house, minimal, hi-NRG, skacid, ghettotech, breakcore… sometimes it seems like you could fill an entire dictionary just with its sub-genres. Where the music geeks of the past were content enough just alphabetizing their cassette collection, our generation has a newfound obsession with genre-pigeonholing - and it is an obsession that is starting to make artists uneasy. How many times do you hear new acts describing themselves as 'genre-defying' or 'uncategorisable'? Everyone lives in fear of being pigeonholed, and dance music these days seems to promote a unique form of genre-related claustrophobia: the fear of being 'boxed in'.

This is where new Glasgow club night Koochie Koo comes in. Founded last year by Gary Curley and Chris Monty, it was all about celebrating a plain and simple "love of dance music."

"I was getting bored of purist genre nights so I wanted to create a night where all forms of dance music get spliced together and mixed with a bit of attitude and style," explains Curley, "A no-holds-barred party where pretty much anything goes."

The philosophy behind Koochie has remained the same over the last 12 months, but its popularity has grown steadily. "We moved from our original basement because it was getting so busy," says Gary. "On our last night at our old venue there were 80 or so people locked outside by the management. We're now at The Admiral which has a deviously dark and dirty basement space. It's a better size and thankfully, has better toilets."

Thus far Koochie has welcomed innovative stars such as Streetlife DJs, Silicone Soul and Riva Starr, as well as local talent from Sunday Circus, Death Disco, and Club 69. This month it celebrates its first anniversary and, as a fresh new night on the scene, who better to invite along to play than one of the freshest new musical talents around: Don Rimini.

Already creating a stir with his recent releases Let Me Back Up and his infectious remix of Young MC's Bust A Move, it appears Rimini has a neon-bright future ahead of him. Growing up in France, Rimini (aka Xavier Gasseman) was inspired by the likes of Jeff Mills, Plastikman and Dave Clarke and began mixing at the age of 14. Since then he has produced the EPs Time to Panic and Absolutely Rad alongside an ever-growing list of remixes.

His latest EP Kick 'n' Run is a relentless techno assault, combing brutal pounding melody with Justice-esque grime. It will surely be as well received here as it has been in France, despite variations between the two music scenes. "The sound in France is different, sometimes more radical and violent," explains Rimini. "Some producers like the Ed Banger or Institubes crew are really good, they successfully brought in a new sound. I also really like the UK sound. At the moment, I am totally into Fake Blood, Herve, Trevor Loveys, Sinden, Machines Don't Care... I definitely think that the British have a real club culture, and a more accurate taste for the music."

Koochie have the privilege of hosting Rimini's first ever Scottish gig, inviting him to play because "he totally represents what Koochie Koo is about. He cuts up house with electro, techno and anything else you can dance to. It's crazy." Rimini himself seems equally enthusiastic about his venture to Scotland, saying, "I am really looking forward to it. I've heard very good things about Scotland and especially the Scottish crowd. I am very excited!"

Without getting too technical, it is about time that someone remembered that 'dance' is not a genre - it's a verb. Remember your primary school English lessons? That's right, it's a 'doing' word! So forget the pigeonholing, get down to it and boogie your unpretentious socks off.