Soul Strut

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<blockquote> When A Man Called Warwick parted ways with the Movement crew, it seemed like a potentially foolhardy decision. Would he be able to pull enough of that scene out to his Turning Point parties? Well, judging from the packed house in the back room of the Gladstone Hotel Saturday, it's worked out well. He's defined an esoteric identity for the monthly party, and brings in guests who complement it (this week it was local vinyl junky Prince Budgster , aka Kevin Laverty ). While the rare groove and funk roots are still there, it's more about a tropical funk feeling: Afrobeat, Latin, Brazilian, calypso, ska ??? basically vintage funk from very hot places. Without much visible promotion and without famous guest DJs or a big street team, the night has acquired a regular following of dancers who come specifically to hear this take on world music.</blockquote>
 
 <blockquote>Serious record collectors, or crate diggers as they're affectionately known, are a dedicated bunch. Scouring sources local and international, they hunt for everything from specific, rare releases to previously unknown gems that catch their eyes and ears. 
 
 Some collectors dig purely for personal pleasure, others to share with the world. A Man Called Warwick falls into the latter camp. As a teen growing up in England, Warwick loved vintage cars as much as rockabilly, rhythm and blues, and Northern soul. When he moved to Toronto 10 years ago, his focus had shifted to gathering Latin, Brazilian, jazz, rare groove and funk. These days, you can add a serious interest in Ethiopian and other African music to his list. 
 
 "I like to keep this music alive," he says. "It's history; we easily forget how important that is in our society." 
 
 Coming to Canada was a wise move: there were tonnes of rare, very expensive records in the UK to be found cheaply here. "I still remember finding Preston Love's Omaha Bar-B-Q," Warwick says with excitement. "I started picking records up like I was an old lady at an Honest Ed's sale." 
 
 He also found a community. Warwick met DJs and collectors Paul E. Lopes and Jason Palma early on, and started exploring the soulful scene then developing in Toronto. Eventually convinced to play his records out, he dubbed himself A Man Called Warwick and shared his collection at venues like the Cat Club and the infamous Octopus Lounge in the mid-'90s. 
 
 Though completely not into the hype that now surrounds DJing ("I'm a hopeless DJ -- I'm a selector: I play a record, and then another record," he laughs), Warwick found himself playing to increasingly large crowds as a member of the Movement collective. Formed with like-minded music lovers and collectors Palma, Aki, Nav and John Kong, Movement started small and grew quickly, opening diverse audiences to dancefloor jazz, soul and funk both old and new. Though he's still in contact with his former Movement mates, Warwick chose to split earlier this year and start anew with downsized events better suited to showcasing his collection of mainly historical gems. 
 
 "I don't even have that many records really, considering," Warwick admits. "I tend to pass them on to other people if I don't play them anymore. It's a recycling thing to me. I like bringing records back, giving them life on the turntables at an event where there are people dancing to them. It's better than the records sitting in the Value Village, not getting any love." 
 RIGHT TURN 
 
 It was a Turning Point in Warwick's life when he formed an event of the same name with longtime DJ and collector Le Tone. The pair have dedicated themselves to bringing forward heavy, generally unknown African, Brazilian, jazz, funk, soul and reggae sounds. Audiences are responding, dancing up a sweaty storm from the first party at The Ancient this past winter, and driving the party to a new, mid-sized location at the Gladstone Hotel. 
 
 "Warwick and I aren't real big club people," says Le Tone. "We prefer more intimate settings. We both actively search out undiscovered funk, and it's great to have a forum to share the music. It's amazing to see how people react to tracks you've dug up in someone's basement." 
 
 <img src="http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_05.29.03/thebeat/photos/extended.JPG" alt="" /> 
 </blockquote>
 
 <blockquote>www.ducktape.ca</blockquote>
 
 <blockquote> <a href="http://www.waxingdeep.org/radio/21_10_04.mp3">October 21, 2004 (A Man Called Warwick shares ridiculous tropical heat)</a> 
 
 <a href="http://www.waxingdeep.org/radio/25_03_04.mp3">March 25, 2004 (Super special guest AMC Warwick, starting at 28 minutes)</a> 
 </blockquote>
 
 K in Canada.

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