South London Soul Train at Bussey Building

New Year’s is the time to reflect on the amazingness of the past year and to roll into a brand sparkly new one in great spirits with high hopes and full of aspirations. And where better to celebrate New Year’s Eve than South London’s Soul Train at Bussey Buildings! So we sipped on Prosecco, guzzled down some spirits, and hopped aboard the Soul Train in Peckham for a night full of pure funk and old school soul music.

Having enjoyed a Soul Train night a year before, I couldn’t wait to return to the incredible warehouse building. With multiple floors full of different rooms playing a variety of music, there really is something for everyone. Everything from Northern Soul music, dipping into the 1960’s mod scene, to the 70’s much-loved Motown anthems. It feels like a treasure cove exploring the different rooms, featuring different lighting effects and playing host to happy-go-lucky DJs spinning the jams on the decks.

The countdown for the New Year was a mixture of hands in the air, cheers, and a wave of hugging between friends and couples. Boogying continued into the early hours of the morning. And this brings me onto the type of dancing that goes down at Soul Train. Dancing etiquette goes out of the window. Forget two-stepping from the rave scene, it’s all about embracing the soul music vive and dancing how you feel. Think Earth, Wind, and Fire-style dance moves, where hip-swinging, jive-popping, and booty-shaking is commonplace. You can let loose and let your soul speak. It’s a nostalgic feeling dancing to the pure funk and soul tunes; music your parents probably enjoyed boogying away to back in the day. Spontaneous soul-style breakdancing is something you may also expect to see at Soul Train. That and Dirty Dancing-style twirling around on the dance floor.

If you’re in need of a little break from all that grooving you can chill-out in the smoking area outside. It’s more like a terraced festival with interesting castle-like graffiti and cute fairy lights, where the cool kids hang.

Drinks are reasonably priced at Bussey, and you can nab yourself a spirit and mixer for under a fiver. Or go posh and enjoy a glass of chilled Prosecco for £5.

It’s a soul music lovers dream and a haven for Motown music fans. So in the words of Fatboy Slim, ‘check it out now, the funk soul brother’.

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Reviewed by: Sophie Cole | Twitter: @sjcole333