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Things change a lot in 14 years and all signs of that core cultural connection had long since been replaced by trendy handbags, shoes and shirts done up to the collar button.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

033. Judgement Day: XFade’s Judge Jules Interview (2000)

Judge Jules polarises the dance music community like no other. Everyone has an opinion on him. Everyone has at some point seen him play. Everyone falls into two categories; hailing him as an iconic figure of dance music, or crucifying him as its nemesis. I fall into the former.

This might seem a funny position to take considering that Jules is no longer what I would consider a personal highlight of a DJing roster. Sadly, his current musical position and my own are several stages removed.

However, for the period between 1997 and 2001, Jules’ radio show felt like a personal institution. I was obsessed. I had to listen religiously and study the playlists. And, without doubt, devoid of Jules I wouldn’t have started collecting records, got into DJing, become station manager of my university student radio station, started my own mobile DJ business, or promote my own nights.

While not the most technically gifted, he did extol a number of very important values which I attempted to emulate and have stuck with me though my DJ career: the importance of interacting and engaging the crowd, the wisdom of tailoring your sound to the night and audience, and finally the confidence to explore multiple genres within a set. He was the people’s DJ, playing not what he though he should because it was popular or expected, but what got the crowd going.

With this hero worship came the habit of collecting as much related media as possible. I stockpiled as much as I could. These scans come from Xfade, February 2000. Xfade decided to take on the pretentious hegemony of DJ mag who had monopolised DJ journalism. Xfade had a refreshingly down to earth candour though quickly changed names to International DJ and became a bit more serious.

While I may be somewhat in the minority with my opinions of Jules, thankfully I am not alone. The Judge Jules Archive is a vibrant community dedicated to documenting and preserving the history of the DJ. And, like a number of scans I did previously these will soon join the rest of the archive. The JJA is well worth a visit for anyone with similar views.

Pitchin’, the track alluded to in the article, and the first release under Jules’ north London Hi-Gate alias, seemed the appropriate audio accompaniment to this post. Back in 1999, I vividly recall the agonising wait for its vinyl release after Jules had been spinning it months on end - a situation frustratingly repeated with the follow up singles.

While his music may be different, and my tastes may have changed. Two thing stays constant. Firstly, I won’t ignore or denounce the massive influence he’s had. Secondly, I’m sure that he’s still inspiring many young men and women, just like he inspired me. These two facts still keep me as one of his biggest proponents. I just hope the next generations of Jules’ tutees have as much fun ten years on as I have.

Hi-Gate - Pitchin' (Original Mix) by dcp84