Founders: Rag from Bristol in Motion

Founders: Rag from Bristol in Motion

20 February, 2012 | 12.05PM

• Written by: Dan Cole
• Filed under: Music News: bristol in motion, founders

The third entry in our series dedicated to local promoters takes us to Bristol, England.

Bristol has always been synonymous with everything bass-related, from the early trip-hop era, with the likes of Smith & Mighty, to the Full Cycle drum & bass era with Roni Size and Krust, and the newly established dubstep domination in the Western City, with labels such as Punch Drunk and Tectonic firmly leading the field in new sounds and artists.

Who, then, would want to stir the honey part by starting up a house night, of all things? Rag Satguru, that’s who. From his humble beginnings, Rag has gone on to help establish Bristol at the very heart of UK house music, helping to foster the careers of artists like Julio Bashmore, Waifs & Strays and Eats Everything and the process.

His Just Jack parties have brought some of the biggest names in the international house circuit to the bass-oriented city. In 2010 he orchestrated the Bristol in Motion events, a series of weekly parties at a local skate park that brought together a collective of Bristol promoters in order to bring some of the world’s leading DJs and performers to the city. In 2011 its success was so profound that Pete Tong decided to broadcast the weekly Essential Mix with Eats Everything from the party.

Read on as Beatportal gets the lowdown on one of Bristol’s most dedicated promoters.

What were you doing before you started as a promoter?

I was studying chemistry at Bristol University.

How long have you been involved with promoting events? How did it all start?

My first club event was in January of 2005. I moved to Bristol, and no one was putting on the music we wanted to go and see, especially during the week. It was either R&B or drum & bass… We had to find some house music!

In all seriousness, how long did it take you to start earning money?

My first event made £800, but we had to give half of it to the guy who put the money up. I think the trick is to not spend the money you make, but re-invest it into the party. Your first one should always go well and make money, then a couple down the line you will take a hit, but if you haven’t spent the money already, you will be ok…

What was your first event like? Who were the performers? How was the turnout?

The event went really well. The performers were Tom Rio, Dekoy (now Dwindle), Zak (a guy from my halls who was Gui man from Daft Punk’s cousin) and my driving instructor at the time (Matt). The turnout was amazing, queue down the block. Every student worth their salt was there. It was pretty special, the buzz was amazing. I’m still chasing it!

Bristol has always been synonymous with drum & bass. How difficult was it to run a house night in this infamous city?

I mean, when I arrived here and mentioned that I was into house music people, would actually look at you funny. My music knowledge wasn’t amazing then, I mainly liked going out to party, but I knew which tempo and beats that I preferred. Drum & bass was always the mainstay of Bristol. Our scene was super underground, and the house music parties were only pulling 300 people (of which probably only 150 were bang into the music). A major factor that’s changed that over the past few years has been the producers making 4/4 music in Bristol.

Why do think it is that Bristol has now become a haven for future house sounds?

I think that this has so much to do with who is making the records coming out of your town. When a big record hits, this can change the dynamic of the city on a local level. People like being into artists they have an affinity with, and location is definitely part of this. I have seen the same kids that were into listening to Bristol dubstep sounds move straight into being at Julio Bashmore gigs and going mental. This has been quickly followed up by Eats Everything, Waifs & Strays, Lukas, Christophe, and more.

Everyone in this crew is so welcoming and helps each other out. This means other people can consider moving and setting up here, thus making it a haven. Recently both Jamie Russell (Hypercolour owner) & Will Saul have moved to the South West. Increasing the house music vibe.

How would you describe the general atmosphere at your events?

Just Jack is like an interactive electronic circus brought to you by Colonel Wrongface.

What was the best event you’ve done?

It was called The Greatest Show on Earth. We held it over NYE 2009. It included the full Arcadia afterburner, Secret Garden Party in the car park, Seth Troxler, Fake Blood, Vitalic, Tayo and DJ Derek.

What’s the worst thing that’s happened to during a night?

The Police turning up to a slightly illegal 100-person boat party on the Bristol docks. (This was 9am after the night before.)

What performers do you have in store for some of your upcoming shows? How do you decide on your next performers?

We are involved in a festival on Sunday, June 3rd—it is called Love Saves the Day; watch this space for line-up. Our next Just Jack party on March 2nd features Seth Troxler, Craig Richards, Appleblim & Al Tourettes and Cedric Maison. I like putting on DJs rather than producers. In my eyes, the two disciplines are separate. Although you can excel in both, like Jamie Jones or Eats Everything.

Who are your resident DJs? What do you look for when finding local talent to play at your shows?

The residents at Just Jack are Tom Rio and Dan Wild. We founded the party together. The events would not be as special without them; I would say they bring the quality and I bring the vibe. We have also just added three more people to the Just Jack team—Robin, Jethro and Amy, who all make the party special in their own way.

What’s the most rewarding thing about throwing events?

The after-party.

What advice would you give someone thinking about starting his or her own event? What are some things people should avoid doing?

It’s all about having a really big group of mates who want to go to something different than what is already going on. Fill the gaps in the market and put on quality events. When you’re starting out, it is not about big name DJs—people need to come to the party because of you and your brand, not the DJs. Named DJs come later.

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