Few nights have changed the face of clubbing in Glasgow like SUBCULTURE. Darren Watts looks back at ten years of excellence.
ire. tlood. devoted
t‘ollowers. rrrorrtlrs of
rrorrradic wandering. then a triumphant return to a resurrected spiritual home. 'l’herc's a biblical quality to the history ol‘ Subculture. with late apparently conspiring to do away with this world famous club at eyery turn. Against all odds though. Glasgow‘s Subculture has suryiyed. In fact. it‘s positively flourished as the club’s tenth birthday proves.
Subculture really is a clubbing curiosity. [or one thing. it‘s stuck to its guns from the word go. Plenty of other nights haye rrrade it to their tenth birthday. but they've chopped and changed rrrusic policies along the way. Subculture is all about Iiotrse music and the occasional spot of techno - always has been. always will be. 'lhen there are the DJs. Guests are a rarity at Subculture. with residents llarri and Domenic Cappello rrrarrning the decks most Saturday nights. Yeah. they’ve played host to some of the biggest l)Js around m er the years. but it's Hard and Domenic who till the floor ol‘ the Sub Cltrb week in. week out. And while these boys are hugely talented. they‘re also very modest.
‘I can‘t believe we‘ve been going ten years.' says Domenic. ‘But I think the reason it‘s lasted that long is because we‘ve never rested on our laurels. We've never thought we‘ve made it. I suppose it‘s like being a football player. eyery w eekcnd‘s different and you’re only as good as your last set. So we‘ve just kept pushing. trying to get better and better. looking for new sounds.
‘Bet’ore the fire at the Sub Cltrb. we were rammed every week. bttt it had taken its live or six years to get to that stage. People behind the scenes at Subculture work really hard to keep the night where it is. It might look like we jtrst turn up and get drunk and have a laugh. but that‘s just a disguise.‘
So alter tires and lloods at the Sub Club. two mix CDs and countless top nights. Subculture is now ten. And in another twist. this birthday tits in nicely with the 20th anniyersary of the release ol‘ the lirst ever house record. 'Un & ()n' by the ground-
breaking producer and DJ Jesse Saunders. Of
course. this was too good an opportunity for Ham and Domenic to miss. so they‘ve lined up an eight- hour extrayagan/a of a party to celebrate.
Kicking off at 9pm. with a screening ol~ The Real Story. a still to be released documentary on the history of house. the night also promises sets from
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THE RECOR BEEN WAIT
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Jesse Saunders back in the heady days of $984
Jesse Saunders himself. Chicago legend Chip ii and. of course. Harri and [)omenic. And because the whole night‘s being run in conjunction with the ()n 8.: On Tour. the I)Js are going to be road testing the new 'l‘echnics CI) turntables (only available in Japan) and the new Pioneer l)Vl) visuals decks.
‘I think Jesse and Chip li will be playing a lot of old acid house-style Chicago stul’l'. btrt I don't want the whole night to be old records.’ explains Domenic. ‘1 think a whole night of acid house would bore eyer‘yone's tits off. So I‘ll probably bring along some stuff that‘s been inspired by those old sounds. some of what the Chicago labels are putting out now. and maybe just a few old sneakies that I really like.‘
And while the birthday looks set to be an ama/ing night. the Subculture crew are already planning new twists for the next ten years. ‘We want to start adding to the night.‘ says Domenic. ‘Rather' than just two guys behind the decks. we want to have l)Js. vocalists. strings. stuff like that and build it up from there.~
It's ideas like this that make you think Subculture will still be going ten years from now. We live in hope anyway.
The Sub Club, Glasgow, Sat 10 April
clubs@list.co.uk
WORDUP
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Jazzy Jeff
WE’RE LITERALLY overflowing with festival news this fortnight. The biggest, of course, has to be the Slam Tent at T in the Park (10 & 11 July). So how do Felix da Housecat, Chemical Brothers (live), Slam (live), Josh Wink, Tiga, Funk D’Void (live), Tiefshwarz, Adam Freeland, DJ Yoda, Vector Lovers (live), Mylo (live), Carlos Adolfo Dominguez (live), Jim Hutchinson, Smoke and Sidewinder grab ya? And if that ain’t enough they’ve let slip that there are three big headliners still to confirm. NEXl UP ll'S COLDURSl-‘EST 2004, back again at Braehead on 5 June. No names as yet but the clubs involved are enough to get the juices flowing. Gatecrasher. Soma. l-led Kandi and Back to the Future wrll each have an arena. AND THERE’S MORE. WE mentioned a new one-day fest in the city from Smirnoff last issue. Well, a few headliner details are leaking out as Experience Central takes over the CCA, King Tut’s, the Garage, the Arches and the Art School on 15 May. Hip hop legend Jazzy Jeff will be bringing his new live outfit the Philharmonics. Also across Glasgow expect shows from Ty, London Elektricity, Black Strobe and the Youngsters. And there’ll be a plethora of club related movies, art exhibits and workshops throughout the day.
till? FIN/\L PIECE; OF- FES'l
news is the Dark City Festival taking place across Edinburgh this Easter weekend. /\ celebration of the world of goth with clubs (kicking off with Gotham, 8 April). markets. lifestyle and live music (including a performance from the Mission). Check mundarkcity (~)(llltl)Urgll.(20lll for full details. THE VENERABLE JOHN PEEL is the guest scribe for our final Charity Fabulous strip inked by David Alexander (p85).