London Clubs: The little guys have their say Pt 1, Disco Bloodbath

London Clubs: The little guys have their say Pt 1, Disco Bloodbath

19 February, 2008 | 11.41AM

• Section: Music News Topics: Beatport Blog
• Written by: Mark Treadwell

Most people have never heard of Bob Mcgilpin. That’s fine, I mean we are not all educated are we? I think I even read somewhat worryingly, that the literacy rate in England is actually going down!

I blame the Kids, as the parents have come in for enough stick over the years.

Our hero (Bob) then was not much of a player on the late 70’s disco scene, but whilst this post has pretty much nowt to do with Bob, his biggest hit ‘Super Star’ has I can say without any qualms provided me somewhat with the inspiration for how I approached writing this post. 

Bob can do this to a person you see, start writing about one thing and soon you will find that you are completely engulfed in… Bob.

Keeping Bob in mind then, have any of you gotten a little tired of queuing for hours, paying through the nose only to find yourself in a club devoid of emotion and atmosphere, surrounded by punters who have no idea of which DJ they are there to see, in some cases even having no idea which particular corporate sweatbox they are actually in? 

With the loss of such club juggernauts as the Kings Cross Triumvirate of The Key, Cross and Canvas (plus a special mention to Manchester’s Electric Chair) a small yet sizeable void has opened up within this well worn and perpetually stale fabric. 

A hole then that is being filled with a host of intimate, diverse, statement making, loud as fuck, yet hard as hell to find nights. 

With a series of interviews over the next few months I will be speaking to those promoters who may in time become household names but for now at least aim at putting some attitude and personality back into the mix, foregoing designer bars, flouting the smoking ban and aiming to treat their customers like friends but no longer relying solely on their friends as customers.

Back to Bob then. 

Whilst now living happily in Nashville he once made a statement that encompasses everything that these promoters believe in and which the punters at their nights may well take on as their own anthem.  No longer simply a face in the crowd or a DJ behind a booth, in Bob’s words then all shout:

“You can be better than you think you are, just clap you’re hands and sing it loud, for everyone tonight’s a superstar”

First up then Disco mavericks Ben, Damon and Dan Bloodbath tell us what it is that made them start their infamous Disco Bloodbath night and how a little purple basement hidden away in the backwaters of Hackney in London’s East End can be transformed into glorious space, full of intrepid nightlife travelers in search of a night where it’s always disco o’clock!

What was your aim or reason in starting your own night?

Damon - To put on a party where our friends could come and have fun listening to great music. 

Ben - Same as most people I guess, just wanting to play records you love & dance with your friends but also to put on something that’s good value for money.

What made you decide to throw parties in the venue that you do.  Was using a smaller more obscure venue a conscious decision to use this type of space or was this forced upon you in some way?

Ben - Damon was djng somewhere when the owner of our venue came up to him & said if he gave him a venue could he fill it. It was about a week after our original bar we were looking at to put a night on at went bust.

Damon - I think that at as a new night starting out having a venue like ours is an advantage because it gives you the ability to create something unique that would be more difficult in a normal club.

Dan – The crowd make an effort to get to our party – they travel from all over London to get there and that adds to the very special atmosphere.

What would you say is the ethos behind your night?  Do you have one or is it simply to have fun, or is there a bigger picture involved? Describe what it is that you believe you’re party brings to the London nightlife map?

Dan – Music, music, music. It’s great introducing people to stuff they may not have heard of before and also we get to reintroduce people to music in a new context that makes them reappraise tracks they may know already but have never really listened to properly. A lot of our crowd are regulars at electro or minimal nights and it’s fantastic to be able to “convert” them!

Ben - not take it too seriously but still put on interesting nights. We’ve got Nadia Ksaiba who’s mainly known as an Electro dj playing a disco set in March which I think is a really good thing.

Have there been any specific parties or DJ acts that really made you think “this what I want to do” or “that is something I really want to make sure I avoid”?

Damon - A couple of DJs that have been an influence on me personally are Rub ‘N Tug and Prins Thomas. As far as parties go - assorted dodgy warehouse raves that I attended during my first year or two in London .

Dan – Quirky and interesting music-led parties with a sense of excitement are always a breath of fresh air. Horse Meat is obviously a massive influence on our parties as is Bugged Out.

Ben - Horse Meat’s always really inspiring, it’s a proper Disco club.

Your sound as given away by the name of your night is hugely influenced by Disco, would you describe your selves as Disco whores and has it always been a big influence on your musical style and taste?

Dan – Over the years of record buying and going out to clubs and parties in London all the styles and genres of music from deep house to electroclash all seem to lead back to disco in some form or another.

Damon - I’m not really sure about the term “disco whore”. I’ve always enjoyed a wide range of music and I think the format of our party allows that. Although all of us include a lot of disco, whether it be old or new, American or European, in our sets, we also play everything from house and techno (again both contemporary and classic) to rock, pop, psychedelia and anything else that can make people dance.

London (as well as the rest of the world) is without a doubt going through something of a Disco resurgence, do you see this as a positive thing or do you worry that Disco may explode and die in a mushroom cloud of TV adds and match of the day goal of the month accompaniments?

Ben - There’s a lot of press talking about it but there’s not loads of Disco nights or anything. There doesn’t seem to be to me. I wish there was! We play loads of other genres at our night - it’s just good music really.

Dan – Hopefully this resurgence will draw in loads of new people – the whole point of our night is to share music. If it gets hyped to death then the masses may move on but there’ll always be a core of people in London who want to broaden their musical horizons.

Damon - I guess there’s always a fear that once something gains a level of popularity it will be chewed up and spat out by the hype machine or that what was once a broad thing will be pigeonholed by the media in an attempt to package it. I think the best thing any individual can do is keep doing what they love and try to stay true to their initial ideas.

Record Stores such as Phonica have begun to plug the Disco/Nu Disco scene much more recently. Whilst Beatport itself seems to be getting more and more disco influenced releases, especially with the addition of labels such as Eskimo, Tiny Sticks, feedelity and DFA to its expansive roster of labels.  Have you noticed that the records you want are becoming harder to get hold of? Or are you hearing what were once tracks only played in a specific type of party, crossing over and being played by other non traditionally Disco DJs?

Damon - I think most of the labels you’ve mentioned have always had an appeal beyond just disco DJs. Most of the newer records are relatively easy to get hold of. It’s the old ones that require a bit more effort in tracking down.

Dan – I’ve just noticed more and more great disco-influenced records coming out. The new stuff is easy to find – especially if you’re digitally inclined. Older stuff can be difficult to get hold of but looking for it is half the fun.

Be honest all three of you both promote and DJ at your night, was starting Disco Bloodbath in anyway associated with giving yourselves a chance to play out more?

Damon - Absolutely. It’s just a DIY sort of thing really. Why wait for someone to book you to play or try and whore yourself to promoters, possibly compromising your sound at the same time, when you can put on your own party and remain in control of your own destiny?

Ben – Personally I think getting booked to play at other venues is pretty far from your mind when you’re putting on a night. You just hope people turn up & it’s a good party.

If Disco Bloodbath outgrows its current home would you consider moving or do you think the atmosphere you have managed to create so far would be lost in a different venue?

Damon - It’s a possibility. However, if we were to move it, I think we’d still like to find somewhere off the beaten track and away from the usual London club “circuit”.Ideally I’d like to keep doing it at our current venue in some form, though, perhaps with one-offs in larger venues.

Ben - There’s definitely some magic in the air in that little basement! I love it but it is very small, it’s getting tricky making sure your friends get in.The atmosphere’s down to the amazing crowd of people that come down. They could have a good time in a morgue.

What specific types of marketing do you do? Do you believe in flyering, posters or word of mouth solely and what are your reasons behind this?

Ben - We do a flyer & usually send the listing to Time Out, DJH, Faith (dance music forumboards) & Facebook & Myspace. The last party took on a life of it’s own press-wise, it all got a bit scary for a minute, we were praying it wouldn’t be mentioned anymore.

Damon - know they’re both owned by neo-fascists and all that, but Facebook and Myspace are fucking great for promoting events.

Is there a certain song or moment that really for you encapsulates a specific moment at Disco Bloodbath when you thought “yep this is why I did this” ?

Dan - At our first party we know we were onto something. In the early hours of the morning I remember looking around and thinking it was special.

Ben - Damon playing Dennis Parker - Like An Eagle at the Glovebox party we did with Severino, people were just hugging & had these astonished looks on their faces, Lee Douglas playing his track New York Story turned up to 11, Rune Lindbaek playing the Todd Terje edit of I Want Your Love, people were screaming their heads off when the chorus came in! We’ve yet to have a duff guest.

If you could compile a Disco Bloodbath mix CD that as the adverts on TV say includes all the anthems of your club night, can you give us the names of 10 songs that would undoubtedly be on it.  Important though lads, these cant just be your 10 favourite songs but ones that have some form of attachment to your night! (perhaps give me a mini blurb as to what they mean or a story behind them etc)

Damon
The following have all been big tunes for me when I’ve played at Disco Bloodbath…

The Doobie Brothers ‘What A Fool Believes’
Chic ‘I Want Your Love’ (Todd Terje Edit)
Rune Lindbaek ‘Til Lippo Lippa’
Gatto Fritto ‘Invisible College’
Eurythmics ‘Love Is A Stranger’ (12” Version)
Glass Candy ‘Miss Broadway’
Salon De L’Herbe ‘Let’s Hold Hands’
Dennis Parker ‘Like An Eagle’
Cerrone ‘Hooked On You’
Desmond Child ‘Our Love Is Insane’

Ben
Farah ‘Law of Life’ (instrumental) - Creepy Murder Disco, sounds like it was made for Disco Bloodbath.
Street Choir ‘Workin’’ - Wicked remix of Van Morrison that always gets the party going.
Debbie Jacobs ‘High on your Love’ - One of those records you just have to dance to, there’s no other option.
Change ‘Angel in my Pocket’ - Massive vocal belter that always takes things up a notch.
Lee Douglas ‘New York Story’ - I remember thinking Doug had just given our night a new anthem when he played it, everyone went bezerk!
Ralph Falcon ‘Every Now & Then’ - Really beautiful but disturbing House music, Severino played it & I hadn’t heard it for years.
Magnus International ‘Kosmetisk’ - Incredible rushy, shimmering & totally euphoric outer space music.
Dennis Parker ‘Like An Eagle’ - Swooshy & soaring - ideal!
Desmond Childs ‘Our Love is Insane’ - Massive end of nighter with a brilliant vocal.

Do you compete with each other music wise? If your unearth something amazing would you keep it to yourself or would you be so excited that would have to share it before playing it at one of your parties?

Dan – I think we all influence each other musically, although we’ve got quite distinct and differentsounds. It’s always fun playing a record you’ve justgot your hands on that you know one of the others is going to love. These days when I’m record shopping it’s like I’m buying for three! Having said that, if Ben plays Whitney again there will be trouble.

Ben – Dan punches me when I play Whitney Houston ‘Love Will Save the Day’, because he was playing it before me.

Damon - I don’t know about being competitive as such but we all really love our music and are very enthusiastic about it, meaning that whenever we see or talk to each other the conversation invariably turns to “You should hear this new thing that I got. It’s AMAZING!!!”. I’d never keep a particular track a secret. If anybody asks me what I’m playing I always tell them or show them the sleeve.

Who would be your dream DJ booking, if cost and availability (living or dead) were no object?

Dan – Danny Wang, Ron Hardy, Maurice Fulton, Harvey, Nicky Siano

Damon - It’s always the unattainable things that you want the most so I would say either Larry Levan, for obvious
reasons, or Harvey , as he doesn’t look like returning from the US in the foreseeable future.

Ben - Tim Sweeney, James Murphy, Todd Terje, Rub & Tug, Maurice Fulton are all quite obvious ones but I know they’d be ridiculously good in the basement.

Where do you see Disco Bloodbath or any associated nights heading in 2008?  Do you have any plans that you could tell us about?  Or are they all top secret?

Ben – There’s so much going on at the moment it’s really exciting. We’re doing a monthly Friday at brand new club East Village . On 22nd Feb we’re doing the opening party with us & The Idjut Boys upstairs & Stuart Patterson & Karizma Housing it up downstairs, can’t wait.

Damon - Beyond that we just want to keep putting on parties and giving people a good night out.

Last chance for a Plug then, when and where is the next Shindig?

Ben - March 1st with Nadia Ksaiba in the basement, East Village opening party on 22nd of Feb & we’re playing in the lounge at Bugged Out on 15th March from 3.30-6.30.

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