the roustabouts

The Burning Beat: Every Saturday at House of Wolf

I've been quite busy recently, but not with photography work, which I'm afraid may start to take a back seat until I get into the swing of my new routine!

As you may know, I am also part of a DJ duo known as The Roustabouts. For some time we have mused on the wish of starting our own club, something different from the cabaret we all know and love. And funnily enough, we got a call from David of the infamous Boom Boom Club, and The Burning Beat was born!

 

 

 I obviously didn't think I had enough strings to my bow!

The venue, House of Wolf, is a three floor Victorian pleasure palace, located in one of my favourite places, Upper Street in Angel. Each month the house plays host to a new resident chef, bringing their own brand of experimental cuisine to the venue. Not to mention the exciting looking experimental cocktails to be found in the Apothecary Bar upstairs (I haven't tried them yet, but you can BET I will do).

The interior of House of Wolf harkens back to it's historic beginnings (the front porch of the building is still the same from it's music hall days as "The Hare and Hounds" in the 1830s) with exposed brickwork, drooping steampunk-esque chandeliers, and embellished stag skulls. 

 

House of Wolf still shares the same location and porch as The Hare and Hounds, a music hall from the 1830s

We are lucky enough to take to the floor each Saturday, bringing a new brand of AUDIO, CURIO and CABARET. Last week we kicked off with the likes of Felipe Reyes, Roxy Velvet, Lisa Lottie and AMAZING band Tankus the Henge. Not to mention music galore from ourselves and David Harris!

 

To keep up to date with who will be performing each week, and what else will be going down at The Burning Beat, make sure you follow our Facebook page!

This Month in Pictures

For more follow me on instagram - @Swiczeniuk!

 

My outfit for attending the UK Lingerie Awards last night! Wearing a frame bra by Karolina Laskowska.

 

  

 

Top Left - I went to the Lingerie Awards on behalf of Playful Promises, as Emma, the designer, couldn't make it. We didn't win in the categories we were nominated in, but feel proud of Kiss Me Deadly for their award! They happened to leave it with me while I was guarding my skull vodka (which is now happily in my own home!). 

Top Right - The venue for the awards was beautiful!

Bottom Left - Last week The Roustabouts were honoured to DJ the closing night of Marisa Carnesky's Tarot Drome. We also watched the show, which was fantastic and creepy. At the start of the after party a few of the performers took to the stage to show off their own acts. I absolutely loved H. Plewis, and managed to take this surreal shot of Vicky Butterfly's Moth act (which I had previously taken studio shots of).

Bottom Right - Suri Sumatra also took to the stage - she is so stunning, and I love her style. She also used a piece of music that I recognised from The Fall - instantly winning my heart.

 

 

Top Left - Last week we also DJed a wedding, which was absolutely beautiful. Such a sweet couple, and the bride had BUILT a booth for us!

Top Right - Mark and I and Miss Miranda and her boyfriend Anthony all went to go and see Cantina. I'm so glad I grabbed tickets to go, as it was the best piece of cabaret I have ever seen. I loved every minute, and I'll have to write a post about it.

Bottom Left - Dressed up ready to DJ Torture Garden - taking my kokoshnik for it's first outing.

Bottom Right - On the 31st of August we DJed a lolita themed late night event at the V&A museum, called Loli POP! Rather than play typical Jrock or a sweet set we opted for a video-game electro set, which seemed to go down a treat. To celebrate, we put out a special mix of just part of the set we played, which has almost reached 1000 plays (as I'm writing this)!

 

 

In August we were also honoured to play a Time Out Paris event at La Bellevilloise in Paris! I haven't been to Paris for a very long time so this was a new experience for me. Unfortunately, despite learning French at an early age, my ability to speak any other language is terrible, but we did eventually manage to find the hotel! 

As we were only there for one night, we wanted to squeeze in as much as possible, but I just cannot wait to go back. It was so beautiful, and so art nouveau everywhere. When we first got there we walked down to the Notre Dame and sat at a brasserie listening to an accordion player (so typical but so lovely!). 

The night itself was incredibly fun, and sponsored by Monkey Shoulder whiskey, which sure does create some yummy cocktails (bottom image). 

The next day I just had to go to see the Palais Garnier, the famous Opera house! We went on a tour, and seeing the beautiful golden hallway (top right image) brought tears to my eyes. The inside of the auditorium was equally beautiful, with an exquisitely painted stage curtain (top left image) - which was an illusion!

Who is Anna Krohnistic?

 

Anna Krohnistic is a Ukrainian countess, a Golden Age silent starlet, a voodoo priestess, a glittering showgirl - she is the stage alter-ego of Anna Swiczeniuk. 

After working hard on getting our DJ Duo, The Roustabouts, up and running I felt that I needed a punchier name that would really sum up the many guises I take on.

I'm a fan of pretentious and tongue-in-cheek pseudonyms (my partner in crime does work under the name Markabre Charade, after all) that will hopefully bring a slight smile when read!

I'll still be working on my photography under the name Anna Swiczeniuk, but DJing, performances and modelling fall under the reign of Anna Krohnistic. 

The Roustabouts: Histrionic Phonics

 I'm planning to completely re-vamp this blog fairly soon, with the help of Amelia Arsenic, so forgive me while blog posts are a little sparse! 

I've recently been busy developing a new project with my partner, Markabre Charade - a DJ duo known as The Roustabouts. Using our theatrical style and varied musical taste, we play everything from Balkan Beats, Carnivalesque Cabaret, Electro-Swing and the filthiest guilty pleasures. Our outfits are usually based around the type of event we will be playing at, and the style of music requested. 

We recently played at Club Vicious in Rome (you can read about our trip over on The Roustabout blog), at Torture Garden Valentine's Ball and last night at Circus in Covent Garden. You can catch us again at Circus on the 3rd of March! 

A few months ago we had the pleasure of a visit from Maria S. Varela, one of my favourite photographers, who shot some promo photos of us. You can see some of the results here, but I thought I'd post 2 more that I absolutely love.