After spending the 1990’s going to raves and clubs, DJing, putting on club nights and worshipping at legendary Edinburgh club night Pure, in 2000 a group of friends started putting on an altogether different kind of night. Cuts ‘n’ Strings was initially conceived as a way of putting on a party for like-minded friends without trashing someone’s flat! The intention was that the music played should be truly eclectic (this was back when eclectic meant more than putting an i-pod on shuffle). So you could expect to hear Carl Craig, James Brown, Aphex Twin, KRS One, Photek, Prince, Herbie Hancock, The Who and Larry Heard all on the same night, and often side by side. As a result, the night’s name came from a record on the diverse Vienna imprint Cheap, by label owners Patrick Pulsinger and Erdem Tunakan under the Sluts ‘n’ Strings & 909’s moniker.
With nights taking place upstairs in Edinburgh’s Outhouse, they felt like loft parties on a very small scale. Soon, word spread and the nights began to attract those of a like mind who were up for a good time and a variety of different music, safe in the knowledge that if they didn’t like the current tune playing, they’d probably love the next one. However due to space constraints, crowds were never allowed to swell too much. And even when it was (relatively) quiet, it still felt like the sort of party that had been initially intended.
A key point of Cuts was to allow other locals to display their talents and different DJs played on every night, alongside residents Paul Mason, Kevin Roe and Sean Keltie. Often, these guest DJs were inexperienced, but more importantly, they were all interested in good and varied music. Local artists also made banners and backdrops and local bands also played brief sets in the most compact of spaces. The nights occasionally saw guests enter the fray and this saw the use of the larger Cocteau Lounge, through the back of the Outhouse. Guests included legendary maverick Andrew Weatherall, drum n bass don Calibre, DJ Pogo and Martin McKay from Club 69.
The night eventually moved premises onto Oxygen bar and gasped its last breath in 2005…or so we thought. Back in 2008 putting on the sort of things it always has – an eclectic headliner in Black Affair; talented local musicians playing completely different musical styles in Found and Bird of Prey; and the usual resident DJs playing whatever the hell they feel like – this should be the sort of night which was a regular occurrence for five years.
Requiem or rebirth? Either way, don’t miss out.