unity
IN SOUND
What started off as a way for a group of friends to have fun and exercise their DJ skills, Unity has developed into a collective worth keeping an eye on. Booth Monitors spoke to Aidan Carrick, a member of the team behind Unity to learn more about what they’ve been getting up to over the past couple of years since they were established. The group started off by putting on nights before the blog, podcast and record label came along. Aidan explains: “In the beginning we were just a club night. It was our first experience of anything like this and the idea was to run a monthly Thursday night in the Keller Club, now known as TUR. The monthly night developed into a weekly residency which lasted a few months and taught us some lessons about running a night.” It’s a strong sense of identity which has helped to build the Unity brand since it was founded in 2014. Aidan gives some more insight into what they aspire to achieve: “Our website used to say something like 'Promoting house and techno music online and in the club'. Glasgow is big on
dance music but it can be difficult to get noticed because there is so much going on and there are so many big names. The likes of Slam, Jackmaster and Harri and Domenic are the main focus here so we felt that Unity was the best way to create a new platform for ourselves and younger artists who will struggle to compete on the same level.”
in Scotland. His music creates a certain atmosphere that you will struggle to find in the bigger techno nights here and that was one of the main reasons we wanted to book him. He was a gentleman and his set was more than we could have hoped for.”
So after that, what can we look forward to from the group? Aidan reveals some of their plans for the near future: “Right Flash forward to their most now we are 100% focused on recent night last month at promoting our label. We have Stereo, where they brought in had two releases so far and have Edit Select as their guest. The another out soon by our resident venue was transformed into a techno paradise, where the music Nois. He has been gaining some big numbers on his listens was accompanied by moody through Soundcloud and recently lighting and industrial imagery released with a label from Bristol projected behind the DJ booth. so things are looking up for him Aidan elaborates: “Edit Select is a really special artist who doesn't and it can only be positive for us as well.” get the recognition he deserves
Glasgow’s best dancefloors Booth Monitors’ definitive list of where to be when the clock strikes 11pm.
The Berkeley Suite 237 North Street As well as putting on smashing nights for the techno troops of Glasgow, The Berkeley Suite is a go to place in town for disco dancing on a Saturday night. If you last until Sunday night they also have The Watermelon Cafè, a night for the last defenders of the weekend or those who are lucky enough to have no responsibilities on a Monday morning...
art school 20 scott street The Assembly Hall at the Art School is the place to go for a more high spec night, with events regularly being accompanied by dazzling light shows. They also have the Vic Bar for smaller nights if that’s what you prefer. Expect to see a lot of creativity - it is the Art School after all!
stereo 20 - 28 Renfield Lane Stereo’s versatile basement holds host to an array of events day and night. Booth Monitors’ top picks are Push It for unleashing your inner girl power warrior whilst listening to tunes by music’s most talented ladies and Hullabaloo for dancing yourself silly for four guaranteed fun packed hours.
La Cheetah Club 73 Queen Street After drinks at Max’s bar take a trip down the stairs to La Cheetah Club to dance the night away to some of the world’s best electronic artists. This space has recently been refurbished so get down and enjoy it while it’s still all shiny and new!
Flat 0/1 162 Bath Street One of the newer venues on the list, expect to feel at home at Flat 0/1 - literally. The lively locale puts on Glasgow’s best house parties in a setting that looks more like your Granny’s front room than a club. Go there to get Taps Aff and drink Bucky to some of the finest tunes in town.
sub club 22 Jamaica Street An institution in Glasgow nightlife, Subbie has been throwing legendary parties since it was founded in 1987. Go there to see world class DJs in an intimate setting or to fall in love with some new up-and-coming groundbreakers. Expect to dance, prepare to sweat.
He’s an outstanding DJ who understands the importance of putting the dance in dance music and an all-round wonderful guy. You can catch him every Tuesday at Sub Club if you wish to treat your ears to some musical delights that are bound to get your hips swaying. Beat Monitors sat down with Kappa aka Matthew Craig to hear more about the tale behind the tunes. Matthew first took to the decks after being inspired after nights out at The Arches and Sub Club. He explains: “I didn’t know much about DJing until I started going out at probably about 18 or 19 years old. For me, DJing began when I’d been out dancing so many nights there wasn’t just one moment I went ‘Oh wow that’s great I think I can do it or I’d like to do it’, it just grew on me. I really liked being out.” He was led to his first taste of DJing through The Arches - a venue that we have now sadly lost yet still it lives dazzlingly through those in which it inspired. Matthew took up DJ lessons with one of Death Disco resident DJ, Kirsty Munro, where he built up his skills week by week.
He recounted those earlier memories: “On a Monday or something I’d cycle up to hers and she’d show me how to do it. In the beginning, I was like ‘I didn’t know you could touch records!’ I’d seen people DJing but sometimes it’s dark and smoky. She would sit and give me some simple-ish tunes, basic kind of drums and that. She’d basically put them on and asked what kind of style did I want to play. Mainly Detroit techno was my kinda sound at the time - that’s what I was into, that’s what I wanted to buy. She put on some simple-ish house tunes and said let’s see if you can get the speeds matched up
and that. From there I just went up every week. She’d sit on her bed on Ableton programming her sets for that weekend or for maybe making tunes, remixes - she would just sit and put up with me doing car crash mixes. So I did that for about a few months and then I bought turntables.” Since then Matthew has been playing many nights across the city and beyond as well as throwing his own parties but what ones stick out especially to him? “The most memorable nights are always the ones you can’t remember,” he chuckles before elaborating “For
me, some of the best ones are the first ones you did. They’re always really special. How I got into DJing myself, really, was by booking myself - that’s why I put on parties. That’s why a lot of people do it - if you’re not playing people don’t think of booking you. So I thought I’d book myself.”
Matthew’s first night which he ran with a friend from university was called One More Tune. He explains: “It was in Blackfriars basement, we were doing a monthly party. I think we had 40/50 people the first night, 50/60 the second night. It wasn’t like an instant success thing - there were ups and downs but it gradually got a bit busier.
See those first nights, there was something special about them. We had guests, people like Kirsty, Affi Koman from Sunday Circus... people I’d bumped into. We didn’t have a lot of money. I didn’t have a lot of money to lose definitely. But you know sometimes at 3 o’clock, sometimes the most memorable things aren’t the big, big guest
nights; Sometimes it’s just that feeling you get, sometimes there is just a synergy. Those are some of my fondest memories. ” He now throws parties with The i AM who get the Sub Club basement bouncing every Tuesday night. He says: “Tron parties have always been good. It’s always nice
to see people’s reaction when they come into Subbie or Art School because people do actually go ‘wow!’. I’ll go up to the door and just wait for people to come in like a wee creep - not in a bad way - just because I know people will come in and they’ll see all of the production in it and all of the lights and you can see it looks like Tron and they go ‘wow!’. That’s always nice, that’s a special feeling I think. The nineties rave we did at Subbie and then Art School, that week was really fun - there was a lot of buzz and a lot of excitement from people about it and that rubs off on me. Particularly the Art School one. The Subbie one was great I can say that myself, but the Art School one... there was just something really magic about it.” So, as a man who throws a lot of different parties, what kind of party does he dream of throwing (given that the sky was the limit)? He
reveals: “I like funk a lot, so obviously Prince doing a DJ set - if he could DJ and was any good - who knows he might be shite. It might be one of those things you pure regret but imagine that! Billie Holliday is my favourite performer of all time - singer especially. If you could resurrect her, get her singing over Prince tunes but maybe Keith and Jonnie (Optimo) are playing them? Maybe do a live PA with Prince doing some live drum shit with a bassline and maybe a band comes in...” Whether the stars align and science advances enough to allow Matthew to throw his dream party is yet to be seen but judging from what we’ve already seen from him, whatever he has in store for us next is bound to be pretty spectacular.
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Personal never ha experien night
Silverback, otherwise known as Rory Graham, has been getting dance floors bouncing recently at Mode and FLY nights as well as throwing one of the wildest St. Paddy’s day parties in town last month at Flat 0/1 with Goldy Biscuit and Mark Wilson. Booth Monitors caught up with him to find out more about the man behind the decks. Rory’s formed his early skills for DJing through playing with computer programs and apps which have opened up the craft to a whole new generation of DJs. He explains: “At school I used to
have Virtual DJ on my laptop and I would mess around with the effects and loops, never actually doing any proper mixing... but then in halls during my first year at university, my friend had this wee DJ app on her iPad so we used to just mess around, it all started out as a bit of a joke really, but then I got more and more into it and eventually put the iPad to the side and started using proper decks.” Since then he has found great inspiration from Glasgow and its rich and unique club culture. He says: “I think living in Glasgow and working
lly I’ve ad a bad nce on a t out
This rich culture has resulted
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for Sub Club have been the biggest things that have inspired me, I used to live in the countryside so coming to Glasgow and being thrown into it’s incredible club/music scene made me want to get involved. PR’ing for Subbie has also exposed me to so many ridiculously talented DJ’s and given me something to aspire to, and as a PR it’s my job to go and research who’s playing, which has vastly expanded my knowledge and opened the doors to even more incredible music I potentially wouldn’t have found otherwise!”
in a real melting pot of unique and interesting nights and sounds. Rory elaborates: “I think the best thing about the Glaswegian nightlife is the diversity and range of different nights that are on, and the fact that there’s something that caters to near enough everyone. Personally I’ve never had a bad experience on a night out, and I think that the mentality of the clubbers is one that’s very positive and accommodating, everyone’s out to have a good time and that adds to the amazing atmosphere!” In a fantasy world where
Booth Monitors could offer the him a sky’s-the-limit type voucher to throw on his dream night, what would he do? He reveals: “If we’re being reasonable I’d love to warm up for Stephan Bodzin doing a live performance at Subbie with a 5AM license, that would be insane, but if we’re not being reasonable I’d throw a mad all-nighter in a ridiculous setting like Macchu Picchu with a full on Eric Prydz-y light show, stupid amounts of pyrotechnics and J.E.S.u.S on a b2b2b2b, though I don’t see the people of Peru being too keen on that...” Let’s hope he can win the people of Peru over to let him throw that party one day. Until then, catch him on a dance floor in town - you’re sure to be in for a treat.
Silverback’s top dance floor picks
Sunchyme - Dario G The Mara - Duke Dumont Flutes (Sasha Remix) - Hot Chip Alan Wilder War Whoop - Arnauld Rebotini Sleepless (Stephan Bodzin Remix) - Pan Pot