Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Kopparberg: The Skinny Boat Party 2007

We may have picked the rainiest day of July for it, but we're really pleased with our Skinny Boat Party, which took place at the four-floor converted boat-club-restaurant better known as Cruz in Leith on Saturday 21st July. Under hastily constructed umbrella gardens and cunningly converted brand signs, the lovely ladies from Kopparberg dished out free pear cider with ice to all the landlubbers as we welcomed them aboard the ship, providing a summer vibe, despite the downpour. An incredible barbecue feast, kindly provided by The Fair Trade Cafe of Leith Walk, kept the mood merry as the cider flowed, to a soundtrack of worldwide and home-grown hip-hop, jazz and funk, courtesy of B-Burg (Fat Bird Recordings / Livesciences) and Jonny Faith, recently returned from an extended stay in Australia. Their scratching and beat juggling, along with a few classic cuts from B-Burg featuring local MC Jee4ce, set the boat rocking at the start of what was to be a long day.

Filling in for Profisee, who couldn't make it on the day due to awful toothache (get well soon Prof), The Skinny was blessed with the considerable decksmanship of DJ Junior, of Record Breakin', Philadelphia, who had played to a packed house the night before at Departure Lounge. He and Lounge resident Astroboy spun some serious grooves as the crowd began to thicken. All the while, a crew of ghostly, un-dead acrobatic sailors roamed the ship, interacting with the guests and performing strange and impressive feats of physical prowess. Outside the boat, a lone female sailor twisted alluringly in the rain, spinning a hula-hoop around her middle.

As the skies darkened even further, Nick AKA (Clash) and Richie Meldrum (Pushin' Buttons) stormed the now busy dancefloor with a set of filthy electro bootlegs. Not to be outdone, JD Pyz and Etos (Access) followed up with a genre-bending set that covered shiny filtered disco, Joy Division, and solid techno beats. As the Access boys thundered to a close, the crowd braved the rain-slicked top deck, staggering now from the influx of free Miller, steadied only by their massive consumption of free Red Bull, they watched an incredible display of fire-juggling by the un-dead sailors. As their fire-claws burned, and one sailor leapt about with a ball of flame the size of a watermelon, doing kung-fu like a bad guy from Mortal Kombat, Bradley C (Chew The Fat!) took to the decks, gyrating like a mad thing and throwing shapes as he laid down a set of bass-heavy breakbeat and electro.

Soma Records bad-lad Octogen blessed the panels next, with a blistering set written for upcoming live performances and debuted for we lucky few, that featured twisted, dubbed-out rave, shattering tech-house, and blissed-out electro workouts. This only left it to Ian Brandon and yours truly to drunkenly throw records on, and leap about like baboons until three in the morning. Shout outs must go to the valiant Kopparberg Damsels, who braved torrential rain and long hours, all for the cause of our drunkenness. To the performers who worked so hard to keep the atmosphere random and crazy for everyone - thank you Pirate Ghosts of Beltane! To all the staff at Cruz, for the marvellous hospitality they showed us, and finally to our other sponsors, Red Bull and Miller, without whom the party would not have happened. But most of all to you! The Skinny Partygoers, who crewed our good ship, and made it into the best damn pirate galley I've had the pleasure to hand out free beer on.

Why do pirates think Skinny parties are the best? Because they arrrr. See ya next time!

- Ibrahim