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Dada Life

Dada - Last Waltz's avant garde house night in Newcastle

Not for resting on the ordinary, the Last Waltz crew, a trio of producers, DJs and promoters from Newcastle made up of Geoff Leopard, El.Dee and Mick Rolfe, are exactly what Tyneside needs. Residing in a scene prided for its deep house and techno offerings ruled by juggernauts such as Jaunt and Shindig, these guys are more about subverting established norms of clubbing in a bid to bring the city's party-hungry punters something other than your average club night. 

Their night Dada, named after the avant garde art movement valuing absurdity over logic, is not the sort of knees-up you'll find within just any old bricks and mortar clubbing establishment. Starting its life within the humble environs of the Cosmic Ballroom, it has since switched its sights to unrooting hidden corners of the city and turning them into unlikely places for underground dance events. Previous parties have included a lock-in (with a drinking up time of “whenever we decide to finish”) and regular sittings at City Town Hall, a traditional concert venue opened in the '20s. However, it's not just the location that's slightly out of the ordinary. Hell-bent on opening Geordie minds to the more far-out sides of the house and techno spectrum, the Last Waltz boys have tested the boundaries more the weirder their locations have become. Stretching from bookings such as Glimpse and a DFA tastemaker like Felix Dickinson to, as with the next event on 28th July, Force of Nature's DJ Kent and Japanese talent such as Chida, they have continually taken more risks as the unconditional trust of their loyal clientele has grown.

“Our ethos is to put on parties in obscure and exciting venues rather than the conventional nightclub set-up,” explains Mick. “We were also very keen on the idea of a night that focused first and foremost on residents, taking a cue from nights we admired and would travel to, such as Optimo, Subculture, Bad Passion, World Unknown, Electric Chair and others...”

Drafting in the obscure house and hip-hop-influenced dancefloor sounds from the otherside of the globe for the last event on 28th July at City Music Hall, Dada's next party will set another precedent for a city more famous for Brown Ale than genre-exploding dance music. Want more? Check the sublime harmonic house of the trio's release as Last Waltz, out on Futureboogie (31st July) below...

Last Waltz - Trinket Preview by Last Waltz