[Giles Walker]

So it is now pretty much common knowledge that kef is closing at the end of next month, the 19th of april so i heard.

I have had some good nights in there, seen some pretty awesome guests and got to support some amazing artists because of this venue (and Tez)

But...

Has anyone been recently? It has remained reasonably busy so i have heard but the music policy has remained firmly routed in the 90s and the guests they have been booking have been far from inspiring.

The biggest shame is that Jungle Nation will be without a home. I remember going to that night when it was a poorly attended night at the Pelican (on a thursday i think) so to see it still going after all these years and still pack them in is testament to Tez's passion for the genre.

From what i can gather the nights have been left in the hands of the djs and Angela took a back seat not offering much in the way of help or assistance. This is fine for the seasoned dj/promoter, but apart from Tez the djs there have little or no experience promoting and booking guests. Quite a lot of the djs seem to treat their gigs as a hobby and not take it too seriously, which doesn't always bode well for the music selection.

I reckon it is a shame this venue is closing but hopefully it will inspire some sort of diy ethos in the remaining djs who want to put on nights to showcase new, underground music.

The Quannum, Herbaliser, Kool Herc, Africa Bambaataa, Grand Wizard Theodore gigs, amoung many many others will always be remembered fondly by me though.