>> Sunday Best
bio: February 1995 and three men and a dog stumble out of a cold London night into the warm glow of South London's Tearooms Des Artistes. 99p each later and the smallest club audience in the world are enjoying blissful chill out music, mind blowing hallucinogenic visuals and beer. The first Sunday Best might not have been the busiest club debut but it set the blueprint for what is now one of the most respected leftfield clubs in the UK, if not the world. The ethos of the weekly event was and is based on a love of chill out, electronica and an anything goes policy (aside from gabba and flouro trance) combined with dramatic visuals supplied by the Light Surgeons, now infamous for their pioneering VJing. Founder Rob da Bank and fellow residents Giddy and the Loop Professor were joined by fellow luminaries Harvey, Andrew Weatherall, Ross Allen, Basement Jaxx, Mixmaster Morris, Jose Padilla, A Man Called Adam (live), Tranquility Bass, Wiseguys, Patrick Forge, Phil Mison, Ashley Beedle and the Big Chill amongst others. Without the aid of flyers or advertising the Sunday Best name spread slowly but surely ensuring a complete word of mouth crowd and growing solid base. With the emphasis on sitting down, chatting, playing board games and boozing, the DJs could truly diversify with their playlists resulting in a freestyle atmosphere where someone might be dancing to Rachmaninov one minute and Glen Campbell, The Police or The Orb the next. In 1997 Sunday Best Recordings was born and the following two years saw the release of two highly acclaimed eponymously titled compilation albums alongside choice single delights from Mediations (Mr Dan), Lazyboy (Rob?s alter ego) and a fresh faced Bent - all reflecting the label?s varied roots. The first long player featured the then unknown Groove Armada alongside DJ Food, Two Lone Swordsmen and exclusives from Harvey and Phil Mison. Sunday Best 2 furthered the experience by again profiling artists unheard of at the time, such as Lemon Jelly and DJ Skitz, alongside the likes of The Stranglers and Bent. A hook up with DMI in ?99 led to a string of classic Sunday Best single releases. Danmass unleashed the beautiful balearia of ?Happy Here? - ?one of the most adventurous leftfield releases in a while? (Muzik), "Daydreaming Bliss"(Seven) and NME's single of the week. It was followed by the stunning hook up between breaks specialist Kevin Beber and journo Anthony Teasdale with the double A-side of ?Razorblade? and ?Woodwork? and then Blake, aka Magnus Jonsson, brought us the elegant pop of ?Saturday Night?, a record which garnered support from highly respected DJs, Tenaglia through to Ross Allen. The summer of 2001 saw Sunday Best become the first weekly chill out club in Ibiza at Coastline. It attracted over 2500 people for Fatboy Slim and Harvey back to back plus slots from Bent, Groove Armada, A Man Called Adam, Goldfrapp, The Big Chill, Ross Allen and the Cuban Brothers. Winter that year saw the debut live performance from Bent when Sunday Best went to Prestatyn in Wales for the Bugged Out! Weekender. Forward to Summer 2002 and, after a tearful farewell to its beloved Tearooms, Sunday Best took on Glastonbury, Creamfields, the Essential Festival and, come November, hooked up with Jon Carter?s tarted up boozer, the Lock Tavern, for a new monthly London residency in Camden. 2002 also heralded the third Sunday Best compilation following a link up with Cheeky Records, a personal request from Rollo. The album featured a host of seminal artists such as Steve Miller, Glen Campbell and Cocteau Twins amongst others alongside exclusives from the likes of Kinobe, Bent, Harvey, Royksopp and Caia. 2003 saw Sunday Best return to Ibiza to put on some of the best parties the island has ever seen (and that?s saying something!). The 4 beach parties, hosted by Rob da Bank and The Cuban Brothers, were located on some of the White Isle?s most beautiful beaches with guest slots from the likes of Zero 7, Jose Padilla, Gilles Peterson, Dubtribe, A Man Called Adam, Alison Goldfrapp, Magnet, Rob Wood and Justin Robertson. There was also another triumphant return to Glastonbury, with Norman Cook and The Cubans stealing the show once again, and few who were there will ever forget the incredible Jockey Slut party at Notting Hill Carnival where Sunday Best, with a little help from The Cubans and Jocelyn Brown, reduced grown men to tears of joy. 2004 was the year that Sunday Best Recordings kicked into gear as a force to be reckoned with! Most notably it saw the release of Grand National?s stunning critically acclaimed ?Kicking The National Habit? debut album. An album that Q Magazine described as ?One of the years most innovative debuts? and the mighty NME called ?stylish, deceptively complex, yet alive with the giddy freedom of Summer?. Grand National also released four very well received singles ? ?EP1?, ?Talk Amongst Yourselves?, ?Cherry Tree? and ?Drink To Moving On?. Then there was Max Sedgley?s killer underground anthem ?Happy?. After almost deafening anticipation it hit the record shelves in early July, accompanied by mixes from Fatboy Slim, Spiritual South and Soul Mekanik, and found itself soundtracking Euro 2004 and climbing into the UK singles chart! The year also saw the release of Rob da Bank?s debut artist album, alongside Dan Carey, as Lazyboy. ?Penguin Rock? featured collaborations with Lee ?Scratch? Perry, Roddy Frame, Estelle, Earl 16 and Cathy Battistessa and has been described by the pair as a ?beautiful mess?, as it takes in r&b, pop, funk, soul, house and chillout vibes. Other 2004 record hightlights included Boomclick?s debut album ?Halfway Between Tomorrow and Yesterday? and Subway?s ?Testing?. And then came Bestival! To top off an amazing year for Sunday Best, it staged its very own 3-day Festival in the picturesque surroundings of Robin Hill Adventure Park on the Isle Of Wight. The event, hosted by The Cuban Brothers and headlined by Fatboy Slim, Basement Jaxx, The Bees, Zero 7, Lee ?Scratch? Perry and Mylo, was a huge success that saw it nominated as the Best New Festival and Best Small Festival in the UK Festival Awards and as Best Event in the Mixmag Dance Music Awards. Plans are already in motion for Bestival 2005...
