CAFÉ PARFAIT is set to give an opportunity to artists as it celebrates the one-year anniversary of its relaunch in March.

The Southampton nightclub will play host to up-and-coming DJs as the new bi-monthly club night titled, Codename: Amen – named after the Amen drum break – serves as a creative hub for local musical talent.

David Hammel, promoter for Codename: Amen, is keen to reinvigorate the city’s nightclub scene with the type of electronic dance music made famous in the 1990s by the likes of DJ, Andy C.

The 51-year-old told The Echo: “It would be nice to put Southampton on the map for a particular style of music and attract up-and-coming local artists from diverse backgrounds.

“Rather than having London promoters coming down to the club for a night and going home again, it would be nice if we could take their place and be the local promoter of choice.

“Jungle music had a huge explosion in the 90s before being replaced by UK garage as it was very London-centric.

“We’re now seeing the genre creep back into consciousness again after it dropped off, so it’s something we’re looking to increase interest in.”

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The brainchild of old school friends, Jon Moakes and Gav Muldoon, both 45, Codename: Amen was originally scheduled to launch three years earlier in 2020 before plans were scuppered due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the intervening years, Jon used his time to get back in the music studio and hone the DJ skills he had learned in the 1990s to create new jungle and atmospheric drum and bass music, readying for the anticipated relaunch.

David then joined the team as both promoter and part-time DJ, as Above Bar’s Café Parfait agreed to become the venue for the trio’s atmospheric acoustics.

The event launched on Friday, January 20, with the next club night scheduled for Friday, March 24 as it’s to be headlined by a DJ flying in from New York as the club marks the one-year anniversary of its relaunch, that took place in March 2022.

Speaking of the event, David said: “It was a great night in terms of atmosphere and feedback.

“We got plenty of people through the door, but we know that we can get closer to capacity with there being plenty of students in the city that this will appeal to.”

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