Five for the Funk: Dom Chung (Chibuku Classics)

Image: Chibuku Shake Shake

Liverpool clubnight Chibuku Shake Shake turns fifteen on Saturday 14th March, armed with a typically wide ranging line up covering most bases of electronic music in a three roomed extravaganza at the Camp & Furnace.

That template of barn-storming eclecticism has been the norm for the latter stages of that decade and a half, but for a club that originally took place in the infamous Lemon Lounge (which we also looked at lovingly this week in a Five for the Funk), the sound was very much focused on one type of groove - French house.

Over the years the residents have played varying roles in the differing Chibuku generations, but perhaps the one who has stayed along the ride the most has been Dom Chung.

He was a fresh faced darling of one of their DJ competitions during the hallowed times at the Lemon Lounge, and encapsulated the early years of Chibuku's crusade against the staid nature of clubland at the time, most memorably with his mix being picked by Seb Fontaine as the best offering from a UK resident for his BBC Radio One show back in 2002.

He has since represented the club at festivals like Creamfields, as far flung as Russia and at the myriad of venues they touched down in across Liverpool; Nation, The Magnet and of course Arts Club, what was once the Masque.

With Chung repping the resident old guard alongside original tag team Luke Carr and Wandy on the 14th, we asked him what five records best summed up his experience of it. Eventually he managed to narrow it down to the following...

Cassius 'La Mouche' (DJ Falcon Remix)

This track is the definition of the early sound of Chibuku. It's funny to think now, but Chibuku's routes were firmly built around US house and the French sound that was coming through at the time.

'La Mouche' became the anthem of that period, no question, and this track sums up the party atmosphere that was so important to the initial success of the club. People would literally be hanging off the ceiling in the early days. 

Rhythim Is Rhythim - Strings of Life (Original Mix)

It was a toss up between this and 'Knights of the Jaguar' from DJ Rolando for an end of night classic, both featured heavily over the years. This one stands out to me particularly from one NYE at The Masque as the midnight track, where it was dropped it in the Theatre.

I always compared dropping a big tune in the Theatre to scoring a 30 yard free kick in front of the kop. That's always what I imagined it felt like when you got it right, and it nailed it then.

Gus Gus 'David' 

'David' is more of a personal inclusion as it was the stand out track from my Radio One Mix, which was important at the time as it seemed to coincide with everything taking a step up for all involved in the Club and me personally. 

Spektrum 'Kinda New' (Tiefschwarz dub)

The Masque had now become our home and this track defined a period when the sound started to change slightly. For me, this period was when Chibuku really came into its own, and enforced itself as the number one event in the City.

There was a period when the club was literally untouchable in terms of line ups, atmosphere and the community vibe it created. Chibuku was always about the people, and I always felt the club was the best local pub in the world. 

Vitalic 'La Rock' 

Total mayhem, everytime! 

Tickets are no longer available for this event