Meet Durham’s latest club night owner Meek For-Bees

Durham’s nightlife scene is finally beginning to live up to its potential, and there’s a whole host of new names bringing a fresh vibe and new funky beats to our cobbled streets.

The Tab spoke to Meek For-Bees, the elusive man behind Manuva, one of the new nights adding variety to freshers’ events.

So what got you interested in hosting a night?

To be honest it was a mistake really.

It was during August exams and there was a filter on the Wi-Fi in my new flat and I couldn’t really think of what else to do. I was in hospital earlier in the year which meant I missed my summer exams, the usual story of a bit of trouble with a previous business partner.

Anyway, I was on a lot of strong medication and one thing led to another and I just called up Fabio. Luckily he was on holiday when I first called up, but I got hold of him later on.

I also needed somewhere to put the money from that previous venture, without too many questions asked.

Why is it called Manuva?

Simply because, in French, Man, Ou Va? Means Man, Where Go?

We want to ask this question while implying Man should come to our little swally to have a leg shake. We believe that coming to Manuva will alleviate man’s stresses and evoke some smiles that will lead to creating a better Durham.

What do you do at Durham?

Theology, and work on my dance moves for this new night I’m starting.

What music are you into?

Mmm, well my most listened to songs on my iTunes at the moment are a Bonobo tune (Emkay), and a Thievery Corporation tune (Sol Tapado).

Do you consider yourself competition to some of the other nights in Durham?

We are not necessarily better or worse than the other nights.

We like some of the other nights and don’t feel we need to replace them, we just want to offer different things; mainly live people spitting mad lyrics at the crowd. Hopefully we can gather the forces of all those interested and get a little community coming to our night.

What do you think is so special about your event?

Manuva is all about love, skanky grooves and not taking yourself too seriously. Our artwork is by a design company called Osara who are really cool, I think their design is much more professional and creative than most design I see for other club events.

I like to team up with people like that because it makes more of a culture than just some night; I think they have really turned us into what we want to be.

Have you had any failed nights?

Well at a night I run in Edinburgh called MAYA, we had The Mouse Outfit playing, and Sparkz, one of the MCs, came back to the after party with us.

We had bigged up the after party massively on the way there with him though when we turned up there were about 20 people in a big living room crowded around some laughing gas and no one else had turned up, it was tragic.

Luckily I think Sparkz was more interested in my friend than partying.

Do you think Durham has the potential to become a renowned nightlife scene?

I don’t think that question is very nice to Durham. I think it’s probably too small to make a presence on the music world like the other big hot spots, though I think with a little effort it can have its own thing going on that is still really cool.

I’d love to see more people starting bands, doing art, creating a culture of that sort, I think it could easily do that. I think Durham can get some little scenes going on for sure with a bit of effort.

How much would you have to be paid to DJ in Klute?

If Klute clean up the venue a bit – I think its actually an alright venue, best smoking area as well.

If you start a petition or something, and if enough people want it, I’ll put Manuva in Klute for a night!

The first Manuva will be taking place at Fabio’s on 13th October, so if you like what you’ve seen, head down there for a crazy evening of hip-hop and reggae.