Culture Club (Venues)
Photos: Attilio Maranzano - Courtesy of Fondazione Prada, Milan
A
dance club, restaurant and bar have come together in an unusual
installation called The Double Club which opened at the end of 2008
beside London's Angel tube station. The concept came from artist
Carsten Höller whose prominence in the UK was assured through his
Unilever Commission installation, Test Site 2006 at the Tate Modern.
The
Double Club is backed by the Fondazione Prada, the art foundation of
Prada, and was suitably endorsed when Miuccia Prada herself graced the
Double Club launch party. So did Alexander McQueen, Bryan Ferry and
other style luminaries. Not a bad inauguration for a concept venue
designed to have a life of only six months.
Sat Bal (22 Jan'09)
Ethos
The venue's lead theme is "where the Congo Meets the West and the West Meets the Congo." From an old Victorian warehouse it provides a platform for the two cultures, spanning individual takes on music, art, cuisine and lifestyle. Witness, for example, a Cheri Samba painting act as a foil to the Andy Warhol's silkscreen in the restaurant while Western food is served on Congolese tablecloths.
The Double Club encapsulates fashion's ephemeral nature and takes it to the realms of entertainment venues with the mission of providing six months of high impact culture and socialising.
Dancing
An alternating music platter of Congolese and Western tunes is thrown out to a circular dance floor which slowly revolves at around one turn per hour. Depending on which room is entered the floor will belt out Congolese Rumba, Wenge or Ndombolo - or music that's more familiar to UK ears. Live music is taken seriously with a schedule that aims to present the best local and international performers from both cultures.
Dining
Exotic
Congolese and Western food served on Kram and Weisshaar’s famed
Breeding Tables, each of which is unique. The restaurant/gallery fusion
is exemplified by paintings from Carla Accardi and Olle Baertling, a
relief by Louise Nevelson, and an embroidered map by Alighiero Boetti
while from Congo the stage dress of the guitarist Luambo Makiadi,
a.k.a. Franco is exhibited along with art by Mosengwo Kejwamfi, a.k.a.
Moke the Painter.
Unique, for London, is diners having the
choice of a Liboke na mbisi (fresh fish wrapped and stewed in large
leaves) or a comprehensive menu of Western fare.
Wining
Features two Western spaces and two Congolese
-
a large tile garden with Portuguese azulejos (depicting a flying city
originally drawn by Russian architect Georgi Krutikow in 1928)
-a copper bar with a pink neon sign announcing Two Horses Riders Club
- another bar is decked with colourful plastic chairs, parasols, and wall paintings of beer advertisements
-revellers can sip Congolese beer while enjoying a reproduction of Cheri Samba’s J’aime les Couleurs enlarged to a surface of 7 x 4 m.
Supporters & Backers
Jan Kennedy,
Project director of The Double Club. Opened the acclaimed
Michelin-starred restaurant Quo Vadis with Marco Pierre White later
co-founding We Love Sundays at Space club (Ibiza).
Mourad Mazouz of Momo Restaurant Familial and Sketch restaurants fame. Also 404 in Paris and Almaz by Momo in Dubai. He is also founder of record label Mo’Zik
Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram,
founded KRAM/WEISSHHAAR in Munich and Stockholm in 2002. Their
breakthrough project was Breeding Tables (2003-2008) innovatively
designed furniture from computer software.
Guaranty Trust Bank, plc, Nigeria. Also to partner a cultural programme to be presented during the opening months of The Double Club.
What's next?
A book and a music compilation documenting the various stages of the project will be published by the Fondazione Prada.
Info: The Double Club is at 7 Torrens Street, London EC1V 1NQ
Open Tuesday to Thursday 6 pm to 2/3 am. Friday & Saturday 6 pm to 4 am.
Call: + 44 (0)20 7837 2222