054. Gatecrasher: Red & Black [13-10-2012]

At the turn of the Millennium, Sheffield based clubbing promotion Gatecrasher was in the decided ascension. Throughout 1998 Trance was fully establishing itself in the collective clubbing consciousness, leading the way as the underground and overground dominant paradigm genre. By 1999 it had defined itself as the sound of the era, it's own production values seeping into artistic styles of other genres (think dubstep now). Trance was the zeitgeist. Gatecrasher was central actor in this process.

Unlike Ministry of Sound, which while commercially larger and around longer and having carved itself a niche as a trendy place to club. Gatecrasher had succeeded in a way MOS never could have imagined. It had spawned its own youth subculture. Like the Ravers, Goths, Punks, Metal Heads and Teddy boys before them the Crasher Kid was its own, if rather niche youth sub-culture which was essentially linked with music. Gatecrasher had it set out: the music, Trance, the new clubbing sound with european influence whit a harder edge, clothes from Cyberdog and a vaguely, but certainly undefined and often unacknowledged, Cyberpunk/cyber goth leanings. Oh, and that’s forgetting a little bit of a drug connection with MDMA and amphetamines.

Things change a lot in 14 years and all signs of that core cultural connection had long since been replaced by trendy handbags, shoes and shirts done up to the collar button.

Gatecrasher Red & Black was headlined as part of Gatecrasher Birmingham's 4^th Birthday. While the Gatecrasher brand had been around for much longer, the club had expanded from its Sheffield home. In way of celebration, a classics night featuring Tall Paul, Seb Fontaine, Judge Jules, Scott Bond, Solar Stone and Signum.

During that era Judge Jules was at the peak of his DJing career. Listening to his two weekly shows on Radio 1 was the reason why I got decks and started DJing in the first place. Seeing him play the tunes I owned, and remember playing on the radio would be tempting to say the least.

I have always attributed to Jules the skill of 'understanding' as a DJ - recognising the time he was playing, who he was playing between and importantly what kind of night he was playing at. I regarded him as a 'safe pair of hands' who could be trusted to keep the course true. I distinctly remember Jules adapting his sound the the particularities of any given night. Sadly, he got this horribly wrong at Red & Black, playing only a handful of 'classics'. While I understand the incentive to play some contemporary music to keep modern, younger fans interested, the balance last night was poor to say the least.

Things were amply atoned for with the arrival of Scott Bond on of the main driving forces behind the success of Gatecrasher during its halcyon days. As the average age of the dance floor dramatically increased, he produced a perfectly pitched set full of classic era tunes without the commercial baggage. A set brimming with the sound of Gatecrasher as I remember.

Pulp Victim - The World (Moonman Remix) by dcp84

Ticket Price: £13.55
DJ of the Night: Scott Bond
Tune of the Night: Pulp Victim - The World (Moonman Remix)

004. Eddie Amador - House Music (Full Intention Remix)

‘Not everyone understands house music,
It’s a spiritual thing;
A body thing;
A soul thing.’

With these four simple lines, Eddie Amador captured with such uncomplicated precision one of the most fundamental differences in the ascetic appreciation of not just house music, but electronic music and DJ culture in general. Specifically this clash of beliefs runs as such: ‘I don’t know how you can listen to this crap, it’s too repetitive; boom boom boom boom boom…and they’re not even playing real instruments. Hardly music is it!?'

To which the reply is given:
'I just can’t explain it, you either get it or you don’t. You get sucked into the repetition and it just makes so much…sense.'

Anyone who appreciates or has a passion for any form of electronic music above and beyond making a brief appearance at a shin dig in town every now and then will have had this conversation multiple times with numerous people.

Then again, this could just be the pretentious ramblings of someone who’s been reading too much into nothing as is making a lack lustre attempt to pass a philosophy masters degree. When all is said and done, this is simply a heavy weight house tune to get your groove on to. A tune which will get the electronica stalwarts reminiscing about raves gone by while the new followers are left wondering what on earth this awesome tune is. A tune which demands you to close your eyes, dance your heart out, and experience what house music really is all about.

First introduced personally to this tune by a certain Mr. O’Riodan on an old Ministry Annual, Full Intention take Amador’s original and add the extra thump it was so sorely missing. Unfortunately though, nothing in this life is perfect, and the inclusion of additional vocal ramblings towards the end of this track just add nothing, accept for an unnecessary element of commercialism to a track which already had a high level of accessibility to begin with. Then again, production oversights like this are what two copies, samplers, and the skilful DJ are apt at erasing.

Eddie Amador - House Music (Full Intention Remix)
[Pukka : TPUKKA 18]
(1998)