Last night I went out clubbing again, and it has been proved yet again that Singapore really knows how to put on a party! I hit a local icon called Zouk, which celebrated 19 years of Mambo Jambo last night with no cover. What's Mambo Jambo, you ask? I'm not sure either, but the Zouk website describes it like this: "the embodiment of uninhibited flamboyance on the dance floor." Sure, what they said.
The club scene there was rad, as they had a few different dance halls within the one venue. I spent time at both the main Zouk hall and another called Velvet Underground. At Zouk, Mambo Jambo included hits from the 80s and 90s with a few more recent tracks included. My favourite, though, was Velvet, as the music they played closely resembled my playlist on the
Hype Machine. Mash-ups, remixes, all with thundering base and more than one dubstep interlude.
Aside from the difference in music, Zouk had an, erm,
strange phenomenon: choreographed hand movements. Yes. Not only did every Singaporean there know intricate hand motions to each and every song played - from Like a Prayer to Chumbawumba - but there were
official hand dancers on raised platforms wearing white gloves and glowing rings to lead us uninformed people in the chaos. This country just becomes more interesting daily.
Mambo Jambo logo by Zouk, club photo from Time Out, dance photo from @llie's @ttic
Those choreographed hand movements sound ... complicated. Especially for someone like me, who is super uncoordinated. Seriously, I don't even know how I learned how to walk properly.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Singapore, do you ever hear from Robyn anymore? She sort of dropped off the face of the earth for me... :(
you'll be alright, because only the guys do hand movements. apparently you could even purchase sequin gloves at the door.
ReplyDeleteas for Robyn, i heard from her at the beginning of the year, but she's off the map now. deleted her Twitter, her blog, and apparently deactivated her email too, since the last time i tried i got a bounce-back notification. sad, would have liked another local contact out here.
aieah, view count! 76 hits in a single day? where are these views even coming from!?
ReplyDeletefrom here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.facebook.com/ZoukMamboJambo
:D
aaaah, that would explain it! thanks for the answer!
ReplyDeletesequin gloves are not available for sale. those that you probably saw, were probably the few hand-made sequin gloves that were made specially for a particular event years back.
ReplyDeletePS: i know, cause i am 1 of the sequin glove owner. ;)