Clubs Eleven plus
Ultragroove’s Gareth Sommerville explains to Henry Northmore how the club’s ‘open-minded house music’ has kept the dancefloor moving for 11 years Frank Tope caption here
O ne of Edinburgh’s longest running nights, Ultragroove has been on the go for 11 years, which means DJ/promoter Gareth Sommerville has been putting on two parties every month for over a decade. ‘I’m not that surprised we’ve lasted this long,’ he says. ‘Although I’m quite a quiet person, I’m quietly confident in what I can do as a DJ and our bookings have always been a bit ahead of the game. But also I think that, as a DJ, I understand that it’s all about having a party on the dancefloor and making it rock. You can theorise about it all you want, but if it’s not happening on the dancefloor, your club is not going to last.’
It’s a true appreciation of the music that has stood
Ultragroove in such good stead. A flexible approach to what exactly house music is has meant it has ridden the waves of fads and passing fashions, managing continually to tap into clubbers’ wants and needs. As other more rigid nights have come and gone, Ultragroove still hosts a crowded dancefloor every fortnight. ‘It’s an open-minded house night that incorporates Detroit techno, classic disco records, a lot of re-edits, and we dip our toes into dubstep and UK funky,’ says Sommerville. ‘If you’re quite fluid in what you do, you can’t be pigeonholed. At the moment it’s pretty much techno, disco and house, which might not seem that broad, but when you play a jazzy house record next to a banging techno record next to a disco tune from 76 then that can give the dancefloor an experience you’re not going to get anywhere else in Edinburgh.’
in the city that has existed for more than ten years, although several other nights have tried to emulate the formula. ‘I think there’s a lot of clubs that have taken onboard what we’ve done, probably via osmosis rather than being directly influenced,’ says Sommerville, ‘and that’s great, because at the end of the day it’s about people playing records they love.’ Over the years the club has played host to names such as Joey Negro, Keri Chandler, Dimitri From Paris, Dennis Ferrer, Terry Farley and Pete Heller. It is not skimping on guest action for this 11th birthday party either as the regulars are joined by Basement Jaxx associate and Rooty co-founder Frank Tope. ‘Frank is very much a kindred spirit,’ says Sommerville, ‘He’ll play a disco record next to a jackin’ house record next to something quite soulful, but it’s always about the party. He’s a force of nature in terms of the amount he knows about music and that really comes across in his DJ sets. He can distill it in a way that makes sense and makes a party on the dancefloor,
and that to me is the ideal DJ.’ Even after 11 years, Sommerville is obviously still thrilled to man the decks every fortnight: ‘As long as I’m still excited by music I see as being an Ultragroove kind of record, I’ll still be enthused about the club. Even now, it’s still all about hearing new music, that feeling you get when you hear that record being played, and ideally that feeling being shared by the dancefloor. As long as that’s still there, I’ll continue Ultragroove.’
‘IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PARTY ON
THE DANCE- FLOOR, MAKING
IT ROCK’
Ultragroove has become a mainstay of the Edinburgh club scene, and one of the very few clubs Ultragroove’s 11th birthday is at Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Sat 16 Oct.
www.list.co.uk/clubs
✽✽ HITLIST
THE BEST DANCEFLOOR ACTION
✽✽ Soulsville The swing, doo- wop, soul, rock’n’roll and rhythm & blues night relaunches with a new format, live dancers and a move to the main stage. The Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Fri 8 Oct. ✽✽ Bare Barely (sorry) a month old and already hosting a Saturday night special featuring the mighty drum & bass/dubstep sounds of Nero (Breakbeat Kaos/Formation). Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Sat 9 Oct. ✽✽ Substance Paul Daley (pictured), one half of dubby, prog house legends Leftfield, makes this fourth birthday party rather special indeed. The GRV, Edinburgh, Sat 9 Oct. ✽✽ Red Bull Thre3style The international DJ contest offers aspiring bedroom turntablists 15 minutes of fame alongside host Kissy Sell-Out. See listing for entry details. Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Sun 10 Oct. ✽✽ Cry Parrot & Button Up Warehouse Party Psych- rock, no-wave and other underground happenings, with live bands Naked on the Vague and Prayer Rug, plus DJs. SWG3, Glasgow, Fri 15 Oct. ✽✽ Jungle Nation A DJ set from Chase & Status forms the headline focal point of the biggest D&B night to hit the city in a while. Arches, Glasgow, Fri 15 Oct. ✽✽ Point 4 A new night teaming four different Glasgow clubs on rotation every month, starting with Kreep, Animal Farm, Slabs of the Tabernacle and Hotbox. Soundhaus, Glasgow, Fri 15 Oct. ✽✽ Telefunken One of the greatest DJs Chicago has given the world, Derrick Carter, helps the Telefunken boys celebrate their sixth birthday. Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Fri 15 Oct. ✽✽ Death Disco The ever- reliable Erol Alkan joins the regulars on the decks at this Glasgay! instalment of Glasgow’s busiest glam electro night. Arches, Glasgow, Sat 16 Oct. 7–21 Oct 2010 THE LIST 39