Reviews - Events

Mr Scruff

venue: MATTER, LONDON, UK

what we think: The one and only Teajay in the world!

words and photos by Stefan Klenke

Have you ever heard of a DJ who sells his own brand of tea, mugs and biscuits and matching pie catchers at his gigs?

Well that's Mr. Scruff! And when this seems awkward to you then you probably have never been to one of his gigs. Mr. Scruff is the sort of DJ who wants you to feel like you are at home, your parents are away and you invited loads of good friends, who put by far too much brandy into their brew and you are rocking to daddy's dusty old records that you just discovered in the basement.

A blast just in the past?

The last time I enjoyed this unique Mr. Scruff feeling was way back in my student years in Birmingham probably in 2002 or 2003. And amongst us students he was a Must-Hear-DJ famous for playing tunes that would nail a big fat smile on your face – unless you had sold it to the devil or were just a miserable bastard.

Mr. Scruff always gave you more than your money back. He was one of those DJs who really worked for their cash and for their crowd. He had the reputation to play from the start of the night right up to it's end with his epic long sets of leg-wobbler-tunes (leg wobbling is the sort of word that he would use).

Sometimes for up to 6 hours he would brew you a big hot cup of what I would describe as Latino-Jazz-Funk, Soul-Groove, Roots Reggae and a hint of Underground-Hip-Hop flavours (to name a few). Very often stuff you never hear elsewhere, maybe except at your parents' Golden Anniversary party or in an underground night club in New Orleans.

a clinical venue right for scruffy tunes?

When I was told that Mr. Scruff was playing in London – I was thrilled! And when I heard he was playing at Matter – I was surprised (not in a good way though).

I have been to this quite new venue in the UFO-like 02-centre before – and I kind of doubted it would be the right venue for him to create that cosy but banging student-party atmosphere that I used to love.

Matter seemed to me a bit too clean-cut, slightly cold, soul-less and too much on the minimalistic site for the likes of Mr. Scruff. It seemed to me that it would not be the type of venue that fans of his would be drawn to. So my big two questions for the night were: would he:

A) Live up to my high expectations and would he

B) Manage to fill a seemingly odd choice of venue?

And unfortunately it didn't look too hopeful for him.

When I arrived at Matter at around 22.30 I was slightly shocked that me and my friend were almost the only people in the main room - which could easily fill up to 400. The only other people were a handful of equally lost looking fellas and Mr. Scruff himself who was already mixing away on his 3 (!!!) vinyl and 2 CD decks. He was only accompanied by two big screens showcasing his self-made animations.

The fact that he was already playing put instantly a little smile on my face. It felt comforting to know that he hadn't changed in that aspect. But I also started to feel a bit sorry for him, fearing that nobody would bother to turn up.

When we walked around the club it all had a bit the feel of an empty hospital at night. There were literally no people in the second room either.

The few early-arrivers were enjoying a brew or buying souvenirs from Mr. Scruff's merchandise hut which was packed with records, shirts and his collection of teas, coffees, fruit and biscuits all decorated with his very own style of cartoon characters. It seems like he as become a proper brand since the last time I saw him!

A turn for the good(s)

By 23.00 the place was still filling up with the pace of a granny in a supermarket. To our amazement we counted more than 30 crew members behind the two bars in the main room. That was more than all customers in the whole place! It seemed to me that the club owners had completely over staffed. But maybe they just had more confidence than me in the pulling powers of the good old Scruff and braced themselves for a massive wave of his devotees.

It took a few long 90 minutes until I was finally convinced that I had worried too much. By midnight the place had magically filled with the mix of 20s to 30s that I would expect to see at one of his gigs. Easy-going, unpretentious, sympathetic people who could be students, musicians, graffiti artists, graphic designers or just generally people who you would like to invite to a party at your place (maybe except the 2 or 3 slightly orange girls who looked slightly out of place but still very happy).

Despite the crowd being happy and dancing, the music felt like it was slightly muted by an invisible wall. The sound levels were quite low and the music itself was grooving but not rocking – which slightly disappointed me. It felt like I had earmuffs on.

But at 00.15 I realised that Scruff had only been waiting for the dance floor to be packed. Almost like throwing dynamite into the fire of a steam engine he suddenly increased the noise and pressure of his set . He threw out sounds that I would describe as galloping Lindyhop-Jazz-Jive. Instantly it felt the engine had let out the steam that it was holding back for too long – and it was keen to speed up the dance moves of the crowd who cheered and smiled and danced in happy unity.

pulling and pulling and pulling... it off

What I also liked about Mr. Scruff is that he looked like he had as much fun as the crowd – in my opinion a good DJ is someone who entertains the masses by his sounds AND by his presence. And people seemed to appreciate it equally, often coming up to him shaking his hands and taking photos with him like he was a mate of theirs.

"He really had pulled it off!" I thought and felt transformed into my student days. I would only criticise that a few parts of his sets felt a bit stretched. Sometimes I think he played it a bit safe. There were quite a few long Latino/Brazil tunes which started to bore me a bit – but only because I always expect that he surprises me with every tune. Maybe I asked a bit too much of someone who plays a 6 hour set?

But it seemed Scruff could read my mind when two hours before the end of the night he pulled out one of his joker-tunes. In a split second he had me and the masses in ecstasy. His hit "Get a move on" smashed into the crowd like a sledgehammer into a glass house. Nobody could resist it. People were storming onto the dance floor and nearly brought it to over-flow.

Unfortunately I had to leave on this peak – knowing I would miss out on another 120 minutes of scruffy sounds. But I was happy - my legs were tired but my mind was wide awake. Mr. Scruff, if I d be drinking a cup of tea right now – I d raise it to you. Teajay Number One!

check the scruff online on: www.mr.scruff.com

and on his myspace: www.myspace.com/mrscruffofficial