The broadcaster and DJ makes his directorial debut with a comedy about UK garage fans trying to celebrate the turn of the millennium in style. He explains why it’s time to portray Black British youth with joy
When you consider the cornucopia of subcultures that have been fictionalised in film, it is criminal that the golden age of UK garage hasn’t yet had the cinematic treatment. This was a hyper-vibrant, multicultural scene, born and bred in mid-90s London during a brief economic boom, where jewel-toned satin shirts and rhinestone cowgirl hats ruled the dancefloor and rounds of “champers” were racked up at the bar. Its soundtrack – a form of US house music sped up with a twitchy restlessness – was a ruffneck-yet-futuristic, soulful-yet-boisterous blend that encapsulated the push and pull of the new millennium, before grime twisted MC-led music into tougher shapes. Bold, brash songs such as Sticky’s Booo!, featuring Ms Dynamite, and So Solid Crew’s Oh No were surely destined for big-screen drama.
Reggie Yates recognised all this, which is why he has put UK garage (including both those songs) at the heart of his big-screen directorial debut, Pirates. The comedy caper, for which Yates also wrote the screenplay, follows three teenage friends as they try to get into the ultimate Y2K New Year’s Eve party hosted by the seminal club night Twice As Nice, with garage dons Heartless Crew, DJ Spoony and Pied Piper among the cameos.
Continue reading...by Kate Hutchinson via Electronic music | The Guardian
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