Make Some Space : Tuning Into Total Refreshment Centre by Warren Emma

Author:Warren, Emma [Warren, Emma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sweet Machine Publishing
Published: 2020-01-08T00:00:00+00:00

Siyabonga Mthembu, The Brother Moves On

Performed live shows and hung out 2014–2018

“We travelled over from South Africa as we’d won a battle of the bands through the British Council, opening for Little Simz at the Roundhouse. We went outside to smoke when Shabaka Hutchings walked past. We had worked and chilled in the same house with Shabs in Cape Town. He invited us to Lex’s birthday party at TRC to open for The Comet Is Coming.

“We hadn’t heard of TRC prior to that. When we first arrived we were thinking we were in the wrong place when a big burly Guy Ritchie type fella stepped out of the dark and asked, ‘You bunch looking for Shabaka?’

“It was our perfect setting. We likened it to a spot in Johan-nesburg named Kitcheners. Smoky, vibrant and not your over-the-top type art space. There was always something cool happening a day before or after we played. We put it to acts in South Africa as an approachable space. Now it’s a regular for the fam. That has a lot to do with Shabaka’s affinity to the space as a sign-off on it not being exploitative. Lex’s curation makes it quite a gem when most venues are entertainment consortiums rather than organic and creative. TRC’s the closest we’ve come to our Johannesburg audience in the UK.”

Scratcha DVA, musician

Based his studio at TRC 2014 – 2015

“My first impression was: ‘What is this place?’ It’s a load of studios but it’s not like walking into Abbey Road. It’s got a character about it.You think of studios and you think plush lights, someone’s going to make you tea, but it’s not like that. It’s more down to earth, more homely.

“I planned to just lock myself away and get on with it. It didn’t really work out like that. Not in a bad way – everyone was so cool and there was so much stuff going on. A lot of collaborations happened, everyone helped out. It was fun.

“The most London-y thing about it is the mix of different people and cultures. One day it’s like somewhere in South America, like it was Cuban day. The next day it’s some crazy experimental wild ting day. Or a rock band. It is always a different vibe and a different mix of things going on. That’s London to me, d’you know what I’m saying? I can’t think of a specific Queen’s English London thing about it. There was nothing about that in there.”

Ahnansé, Steam Down

Regular performer

“TRC confronted the narrative of the city, which is very fast-paced, individualist, single-minded. A more collective mindset started emerging, a kind of resistance to the nature of the city. It was like TRC was saying: ‘Here’s an alternative way of being, this is one way it can happen, within the city, within London.’

“There’s a level of openness that happens in these spaces which creates safety and freedom within yourself. The freedom that comes from the safety allows you to feel joy in all its fullness. All of us want some of that in our life, especially in the city.

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