Venue Q&A: Juliet Kennedy, Project Manager and Creative Director at Ninety One Living Room, Brick Lane
As part of an ongoing series of interviews with artists and music industry professionals in London, today we’re sharing a quick Q&A with Juliet Kennedy, Project Manager and Creative Director at The Old Truman Brewery, with a particular focus on their newest venue, Ninety One Living Room.
Envisioned as an ‘idealistic living room’, the venue segues effortlessly from remote working space in the day to a chilled out music venue at night, showcasing some of London’s very best live music acts.
What was your journey to your current role? How did you get into the industry?
I spent a lot of years travelling and always seeking out live music in obscure places (try the Rhodesia Social Club in Mexico City or the Grand Opera House in Calcutta!). For me, experiencing music in a new place brings it into focus more — it’s about how the crowd receive the music, the role it’s given and the setting, as much as the incredible genres of music you may stumble upon when far away from home. I was also playing in a number of bands and collaborated with a wide spectrum of musicians at home at the time, and to discover the music that the locals are making when I travel is always the most rewarding for me. Finding beautiful Balkan street buskers in Croatia or live jazz on the streets of Harlem, NYC, inspires me just as much as a sell-out show at the Royal Albert Hall, if not more.
My experience in the hospitality industry came with the territory of being a traveller and after some years I started to feel that having a space to curate would be the most exciting and creative use of my passions and my learned skills put together. I love everything about it — creating visual beauty, warmth, good food and drinks in a space and then injecting it with the right music — it’s like a chemical reaction when you get it right!
What’s your vision for Ninety One as a music venue?
I wanted to create a space that feels like a living room in every sense, including the music that’s played, so Ninety One is an extension of my own tastes and what I play at home. To me, living rooms are for jazz, soul, rare grooves, funk, disco and world sounds. This is the music that both relaxes me and wakes me up simultaneously. You can expect to hear anything from Brazilian disco at the start of a night to some Afro beats, broken beats, heritage hip hop and house by the end of the night. As well as the live shows, I work with local DJs who I’ve met who share my tastes in music. It’s more about sharing record collections with each other, and delighting ourselves with new purchases than running a bar — just like you would at home. I think people pick up on that and it contributes to the living room atmosphere: there’s an inclusive and energetic vibe to the space.
Do you find Brick Lane to be a good area for live music?
Brick Lane has changed a lot over the years but I think it’s kept its authenticity and yes its credentials as a live music destination in London. We showcase an incredible array of world music at Juju’s Bar & Stage in Ely’s Yard. There’s also 93 Feet East and Café 1001, which program everything from reggae to techno — so there’s something for everyone ‘round here.
When the Old Truman Brewery was taken over by creatives in the 90s it was the hub for creative innovation in London, with musicians such as Talvin Singh and Ray Keith renting studios and recording here, while Bjork, Tricky and The Noisettes were all passing through the Old Truman Brewery event spaces. Some venues have closed over the years, however, such as the Rhythm Factory and the Spitz, both of which showcased excellent live music. So there is a little hole that we can fill again with the birth of Ninety One Living Room on the Brick Lane block.
Where do you go to discover new music?
These days I know my haunts. My favourite little gem for discovering what London’s best musicians are up to was always Jamboree in Limehouse until it recently and tragically closed (look out for their new pop up that’s open until 26th January though!)
I like the The Haggerston for jazz on Sundays, XOYO in Old Street for dancing all night long and Brilliant Corners for sitting down to dinner and appreciating the pure quality of their Klipschorn sound system any day of the week. The Jazz Café in Camden never fails to deliver on quality and diversity in its international live acts. I recently went to see a 10 piece Cuban All Stars band put together by the legendary musician and community Godfather, Noda Sambroso. They played a full rendition of the original Buena Vista Social Club album. I was in heaven…
What excites you most about London’s music scene at the moment?
The jazz renaissance that’s happening! Have you noticed? I keep talking to people and finding the most surprising new jazz aficionados from all walks of life. It’s the next big wave that’s hitting the scene. It’s always been there but it’s reaching new audiences and that’s so positive. I think people just got bored of music dumbing down everywhere — sorry to say it, there’s a place for all genres of course, but the really mass-produced commercial stuff just seems to be losing its grip on people. I feel Londoners want more authenticity and they’re turning to something more intellectual too, which is jazz — it’s a natural cycle from one extreme to the other. I’ve started programming live jazz every Saturday at Ninety One, it’s always free entry and it’s always amazing to see the diversity of the people who come in to enjoy it each week. That, for me, is the most exciting thing at the moment.
Can you tell us about some of the other venues you look after and how Ninety One fits differentiates itself?
I curate two venues at the Old Truman Brewery — Juju’s Bar & Stage and Ninety One Living Room. Juju’s specialises in world music and global beats but we mix it up with a live 20s -30s era swing jazz night too, which runs every Saturday, called ‘Juju’s Jazz Band Ball’. It’s a melting pot of vintage fashion, swing dancers and local virtuoso musicians who manage to play the most beautiful of melodies despite the whisky and the rollicking crowd. I can’t recommend it enough as a night out! We also work with several of London’s Latino communities, with regular Cuban music fiestas, Brazilian Forro nights and our monthly ‘Barrio Latino’ party, which is a cross-genre night of live music, film and photography celebrating South American music and heritage.
While Juju’s is a multicultural fusion of colour, International communities and world music, Ninety One, on the other hand, is more for the Londoners looking to discover new jazz artists and niche DJs from the area. The Living Room theme curates the programme as much as I do, with DJs playing more disco than techno and live musicians bringing world-class jazz to the stage every Saturday and anything from blues to soul and electronic sounds on Sundays.
What should our readers look out for at Ninety One in the coming months?
Our new Sunday Rising live sessions start on 27th, which are a new weekly series of intimate gigs showcasing a hand-picked selection of up-and-coming UK music talent. It’s a chilled Sunday-vibe event with comfy sofas, good food and drinks and excellent music. We’ve programmed mostly duos and trios for January, spanning genres from soul, blues, urban, world, electronic and new sounds. In addition to Sundays, our Jazz Lates series runs every Saturday until the end of March, showcasing the best of London’s rising jazz stars. We’ve plucked our favourite artists from the London Jazz Festival 2018 and you can come for dinner and enjoy live jazz while you dine, with a roster of jazz-fusion DJs taking over afterwards and keeping the place alive until 2 am. Fridays are all about DJ nights, but they won’t disappoint either. As you can guess, we’re strict and highly selective on who plays and our Funktion One sound system is a pleasure to listen to good music through.
Where can people go to find out more about Ninety One, The Truman Brewery and the other associated venues?
Ninety One Living Room: www.91bricklane.com @91livingroom
Juju’s Bar & Stage: www.jujusbarandstage.com @jujusbar
Old Truman Brewery: www.trumanbrewery.com @trumanbrewery
Thanks, Juliet!
That’s all for today, but we’ll be back with more Q&As from London’s most exciting venues soon. For more news and info on the latest live music events in London, be sure to follow HUM on Facebook and Instagram. If you’ve got a venue that you’d like to be featured on our blog, feel free to get in touch!
