CLICK THE DATES TO LOOK AT THE ULTIMATE CHILL OVER THE YEARS
The Ultimate Chill (2007)
Location: Caird Hall. Date: 15th/16th September 2007. Audience: 1263.
Audition: Volunteer Scouts were used across the country who encouraged bands to submit demos plus they organised and Open Audition Recording events rather than gigs to ensure the usual diverse mix of ages, styles and experience. Total of 90 bands actively involved.
Best Band 2007: Callel.
The Ultimate Chill that Chika Inatimi did not organise! WoooHooo! Andy Lainson led it. The U-Chill became Urban Chillax; it was such a wonderful high-energy experience and has since gone on to be an event in its own right. The Hedrons ran a song writing workshop with Mark Thomson and the Hazey Janes did The Ultimate Chill finale performance. There was also a notable performance from the Brother Louis Collective – which was the coming together of two of the foremost luminaries of The Ultimate Chill experience, yes Louis Abbott and Joe Rattray!
The Ultimate Chill in China (2007)
The Team: Mark Thomson (poet), Ian MacGregor (musician and storyteller), Jaimini Jethwa (filmmaker) and Sonnet65 featuring Steven Gibbons – guitar & vocals; Ben Marrett – drums David Kerr – bass guitar & vocals; and Fiona Taylor – violin
Off da hook! There was around 30,000 people at Dalian International Beach Carnival… It was really full of a huge family feeling with lots of performers, live television, dancers, roller bladders, martial arts… It was a lively colourful family parade, lots of flags, and school children making human waves on the beach; it was full of reporters and presenters. The team made a huge impact. They were literally surrounded by photographers and people wanted to take photographs of the kilts… They got the audience involved in a live Ceilidh - a mixture of poetry, Scottish music, a Sonnet65 song along with Ian’s singing and pipes – all went down a storm; people loved it!
The Ultimate Chill (2006)
Location: Caird Hall. Date: 15th/16th September 2006. Audience: 2950.
Audition: Took place in Angus, Dundee, Fife, Perthshire, Edinburgh, Borders, and the Highlands. Total of 50 bands actively involved.
Best Band 2006: Sonnet 65.
U-Chill takes place. Dance with serious attitude! Oh and Capercaillie do their thing with contemporary dancers from the Space – dancing with hip-hop steps!. And Beyonder, and jazz maestro Keith Tippett plus the awesome display that is Martial Dance… OK this event was off the hook. Pretty awesome really. Second full audience vote declared Sonnet 65 the winners. They had an awesome year with us – they performed as part of the Dalian International Beach Carnival. The Ultimate Chill abroad – the result of the seed Adam Varjavandi planted! Off da hook!
The Ultimate Chill Festival (2005)
Location: Caird Hall. Date: 9th/11th September 2005. Audience: 1479.
Auditions: First year heats are introduced across the country: Lochgelly, Arbroath, Dundee x2, Fort William. Total of 35 bands actively involved.
Best Band 2005: Beth Wilmshurst.
There has always been a strong belief that The Ultimate Chill was more than just music, or indeed more than just standing on a platform proclaiming personal greatness. The various other art forms involved – the dance, the art, the film, the theatre – they all added ‘drama’ to what The Ultimate Chill was. But what was it? We thought of it as an opportunity to bring the community together, to celebrate the best parts of who we are, to generate opportunity, to be a platform for free expression, to bring a little hope and lightness. I do not know if we always understood that, but a good number of us have since achieved much, thriving on the energy and possibility this remarkable event enabled. 2005 was no different – there was a seminal performance from Bill Posters Is Innocent supported by the Stacie Murdoch’s dance group Unique, Drop the Box, Rumba Tabla, The Everything Treatment, Rac C, Burt MacDonald Quintet, Kakatsitsi, Beyonder, Ellens Glen, Lady Birds Can Fly, a sprinkling of performance poets, some incredible art led by Kim Guz (Sweet Chaos) and Emma Goldstraw (Through The Looking Glass) all held together by the technical skills of Phil Carus… Memories.
The Ultimate Chill Festival (2004)
Location: Caird Hall. Date: 3rd/5th September 2004. Audience: 750.
Auditions: 1 day of auditions at The Workshop in front of a music industry panel. Nine auditioned and were recorded and distributed as a free compilation.
Best Band 2004: The Lease.
Yes Ken. KenART Live experience in fact – artists led by Gillian Ferguson painting as the singers wailed, the drummers thrashed and the guitars roared. And Kwesi danced for us; and 100% Dundee did their thing with a posse of brightly clad dancers; and this was the first year in which Joe Rattray did not compete in the Best Band competition. He did perform with his new band Bill Posters Is Innocent – Funky See Funky Do lost Adam Varjavandi (who moved to China!!), and over summer recorded music at CaVa studio in Glasgow with a band which became known as Surco featuring Ashley Christie on vocals and produced by Nicky MacDonald and Dave Paterson, and Sarah Waine did the artwork for the EP, and Oh, Beyonder came up at some point and did his thing which was mixed by Louis Abbot’s take on Paul Smedbeck’s marimba piece ‘Rhythm Song’ – well the guitarist of Surco – Robs Ward – sauntered off to America and as a result Surco couldn’t perform so Bill Posters Is Innocent did, and at the Festival finale they and played alongside Biggs, Burt MacDonald Quartet and Drama Dragons (who later became Random Theatre). Hope you got all that. The Lease were picked as best band by the very first audience vote…
The Ultimate Chill IV (2003)
Location: Fat Sams. Date: 5th July 2003. Audience: 270.
Auditions: 1st – 4th July 2003 at Fat Sams – 21 bands took part with a music industry panel plus young people presiding over selection of the finalists.
Best Band 2003: Funky See Funky Do.
Root Chord was formed as a tripartite partnership between The Ultimate Chill, Tuesday Records and Pure Media UK. We got money from Scotland Unlimited towards that end. Yes Tuesday Records ala Jim McKinven (One Dove & Altered Images) and the mercurial Nicky MacDonald (Burt MacDonald Quartet). Root Chord was originally set up to support and develop the talent coming through The Ultimate Chill. So Jim McKinven personally picked the winning band, which (to the cries of fix!) featured Joe Rattray and his friend Adam Varjavandi…
The Ultimate Chill III (2002)
Location: Reading Rooms. Date: 29th June 2002. Attendance: 231.
Auditions: 1st December 2001 @ Kirkton Neighbourhood Centre – 19 bands took part.
Best Band 2002: Spunj Munky.
This was Pure Media UK’s very first Chill. A group of pupils in which Sarah Waine was a member raised over £6500 to make it happen, and took the event to the home of the homeless nightclub. Oh and we had our very first best band competition which was proceeded by nineteen different acts descending on Kirkton Neighbourhood Centre on 1st December 2001; there was a bouncy castle; there was a sizzling bbq; and there was the amazing Ali MacDonald an artist who brought an amazing splash of colour to the proceedings; Elliot George had refashioned himself as 100% Dundee (with Craig Stevens) and Spunj Munky split up shortly after winning the Best Band title… The spin-offs: TUC Launch Night (Nov 2002) featuring Evaluation Booklet and winning band. A day of DJ, MC and culture exchange workshops followed by Valentines day gig (Feb 03) featuring local acts in support of Gambian Hip Hop outfit Da Fugativz.
Since the beginning...
There have been many musical notables over the years: Tragical History Tour, Layla Brown, Mexico, Fall of Boss Koala, Erin Mackey, DJ Frankie D, The U-Collective, Eyes of My Enemy, Tropical Dog, Catapult, Twisted MOM, Luva Anna, Dagon, Spanky’s Heroes, Craig Barr (as himself!), Liquid Blue, Sunjoy Is Obsolete, 100% Dundee, Taylor Kayne, Crashdown, plus all the winners mentioned above… So thank you Elliot George and the rest of the Mollycoddle crew: Joe Rattray, Paul Byrne, Craig Stevens and whatever happened to the drummer? You have been an inspiration. Continue doing your ting. Much love has been shared over the years. Keep playing hard. You cannot determine how much time you have, but you can determine what to do with the time you have. Life is BIG! Be all you can be!! Peace.
Chika
