Sunday Lunch DJ Collective.
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A brief history:
Back in the Autumn of 2002 Dj Scot James was encouraged to join a friend for a beer at a small café on söder in Stockholm called Svaj. Little did he know when he walked into the music filled establishment that the foundations of a dj collective would be layed. In attendance that fine September day was no other than Dj/producer/artiste extraordinaire Mark O`Sullivan, who just happened to be there to listen to close friend and fellow dj Pete Skinner (who spins under the psuedonyms: AlienDog/mr skinna).
James fixed a gig for himself the following month and had a few friends there to listen, taking up an idea from another friend to "get together a few lads and spin some tunes", he assembled a dj line up consisting of himself , Skinner, O´Sullivan, Chris Parnaby and Chris Latham. The first Sunday Lunch special took place on Sunday 8th December and was well recieved.
The intrepid Dj`s had their next outing on the 16th february of the following year with each dj finding his own style and the addition of dj,club promoter and generally nice guy, Morty McCarthy to the ranks. An eclectic blend of music was now being appreciated by Svaj`s regulars, from the ambience and soul and reggae of the early sets to the deep house, acid and electro dub being provided in the late sessions.
Apart from these occasions being a chance to uncover some old gems it was also the perfect chance for the established dj`s to try some new tunes and especially for Mark O´Sullivan to test the publics reaction to his new productions under the alias The Mighty Quark.
Another tradition established was the emptying of Svaj`s fridges of beers by Dj`s and supporters alike,something the Svaj crew hardly experience. In fact to this day when Scot James books the gigs there they always comment that they will make sure the fridges are well stocked.
We then moved on to 27th April and the 3rd Sunday Lunch Special with the same line up as the previous one and some great tunes being executed by the lads. This time a classic club set by Dj`s Tiny and Shiny (Mr Latham and Mr James) rounding of the evening to the unforgettable tones of "Shine On" by Degrees in Motion.
The summer came and went and the next planned gig was on 26th October as usual a good crowd of supporters turned up adding to the "homeliness" or should I say "housiness" of the proceedings. This time was to be Chris Lathams final Sunday Lunch at Svaj as he then moved to Gran Canaria to ply his trade.
The year 2004 came around and on the 25th January the boys took to the decks this time minus Chris Latham and although missing his chirpiness and tight mixing they mamaged to pull off another lovely session. Tune of the day being Mark`s excellent DK7 track which later became a great club hit throughout Europe. After this gig Svaj`s owners Anna and Ola asked James if the guys would play in March as part of a special month featuring established dj`s and collectives.
Spring rolled in and by this time Sunday Lunch Special had become The Sunday Lunch Collective. To mark the occasion t-shirts were printed bearing there new logo and flyers were distributed to ensure a good crowd.
March 28th saw the collective appear with the absence of Morty and the introduction of Mårten Andersson a well known radio and tv profile (television not transvestite) and d.j to the ranks, his style fitting well into the agenda. This gig proved to be one of the best so far with excellent sets from all involved, we even had a guest who provided music solely with the use of a game plugged into the mixer, obscure but brilliant was the general concensus. A humorous happening was the newly installed Andersson getting his head down for a nap...we were thinking of calling him Dj Sleepy but there is already a chap with the same name. A good crowd provided a nice atmosphere as did the bongo drum player.
A rainy summer past with various members of the SLC having there own projects particularly Mark O´Sullivan whose collaboration with renowned dj/producer Jesper Dahlbäck was proving to be very fruitfull. Svaj again was the next venue for the chaps and to the line up appeared two new names Richie and a Scottish fellow by the name of Mole(probably named so because of his love of underground tunes).
It was on this very day that Mr Skinna and James were plotting two new adventures, firstly to take the collective to a club environment and secondly to lay the foundations of a radio station.
Friday 5th November saw them take over the spacious lounge bar at ÖST 100. The boys put out some flyers using there well known logo and spread the word round town. A master stroke hours before by James and Skinner ensured a healthy and enthusiastic crowd. As they descended on a local pub frequented by members of the ex-pat community and press ganged a good number into joining the jovialities. Richie kicked off the evening with a fine set of laid back house, followed by Chris Parnaby and Mr Skinna who then handed over the ones and twos to Mr O´Sullivan. The evening was rounded off by James who delivered an hour of Club Classics to ensure it was hands in the air as this Bonfire night drew to a close.
2005 rolled in and saw the collective back at Svaj with the welcome return of Chris Latham or CJ as he is known in dj circles a cold day ensured a large crowd and once again music of the highest quality. Another positive thing about this January gig was a decent amount of coverage in the Stockholm Press. It was also here that James and Skinner were talking in serious tones about there project,to have their own radio station.
In May we saw the addition of Kidwest aka Todd to the ranks and he made his debut on the third of April with a fine blend of electro and house. Another summer prevailed and saw the Svaj venue closed for a couple of months and things generally quiety on the dj front for the boys collectively but individually James and Mark O'Sullivan continued their private gigging. The Autumn winds blew as the boys got together again with the addition of Joe Lampard from Scotland who provided a lovely eclectic set to keep things rolling. Mighty Quark was missing this time due to other commitments but great sets by James, Skinna and Parnaby more than made up for his absence. The session was also recorded all be it partly for Pete and Scotties project FuseRadio. This session was also a hit with other club organisers who invited the lads to participate in a popular house club in Stockholm.
Through the years we have seen a developing style and public recognition for our spinning disc heroes. Who knows where it may lead..
/Scotty - SLC dj/Fuse Radio initiative
SLC online for Internet DJ mixes
