The End Of Clubbing Culture
It’s been a long 6 months. We’ve walked (oh… how we’ve walked) and we’ve talked (over zoom) and we’ve waited and we’ve hoped. We’ve worn masks, stayed off buses, taken up strange and fascinating hobbies, baked and baked and baked banana bread until we can bake no more. However, there’s one thing I (at least) haven’t done in a very long time: danced – in a sweaty, crowded room, with all of my best friends, whilst the DJ plays an extended remix of Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber’s ‘I Don’t Care’ for the third time in twenty minutes (Mbargos – you know who you are).
Naturally, I have accepted that it will be a very long time before I’m back on that chequered dancefloor. Naturally, a hot, sweaty dark room is certain to be a breeding ground for coronavirus, and social distancing in clubs is not only usually impossible, it is also undesirable, as the whole experience of clubbing hinges having your drink spilt and feet repeatedly stood on by strangers whilst you shout in your friend’s ears. However, what I have discovered that I am not prepared for is the extremely likely reality that I have already stepped on that chequered dancefloor for the final time.
Although we have seen the re-opening of restaurants, pubs and galleries, helped along by government initiatives like ‘eat out to help out’ and a £1.57bn funding for arts venues, most of our clubs and late-night venues still remain shut indefinitely. Unable to re-open safely due to social distancing guidelines, the majority of these venues now find themselves unable to generate even a fraction of the income they need to survive. Despite making amendments to their service (such as only opening smoking areas or setting up designated tables), the future of these venues are in jeopardy – especially as they have received none of the financial support that other cultural spaces have been granted.
For many, the impending mass closure of clubs might be considered a case of ‘goodbye and good riddance’. From their close association with the excessive consumption and circulation of drugs and alcohol to their perpetual dirtiness, clubs are a reflection of the seedy underbelly of humanity. However, the erasure of these venues and the potential decline of club culture is, I believe, set to be an extremely significant loss.
We tend to think of clubs and going clubbing as a self-enclosed aspect of life – confined to the night, shrouded in smoke. However, the reality is that remnants of club culture live in everything we do. From being fundamental to the development and circulation of music genres like house, techno, trance, disco, garage and drum’n’bass to providing a safe space for LGBTQA+ communities to express themselves to influencing architecture, fashion and even political movements like punk, club culture is literally everywhere. In failing to provide a suitable support system for these venues, we stand to lose this not so self-enclosed world entirely. However, perhaps the most potentially devastating consequence of the lack of funding and support for late night venues is the lack of support provided for those who rely on these venues for their livelihood.
In order to better understand the impact on those in the industry, I spoke to a couple of friends who have found themselves directly affected by the pandemic: Noah Tucker, DJ/producer and former BIMM student operating out of Brighton and London, Liam Callanan, current BIMM student and DJ based in Bristol, and Joseph Mathiszig-Lee (aka ILL EVANS), DJ and creator of Kindred, a former North London club night now turned shop and radio show.
As DJs, do you feel that the pandemic and lack of funding for independent late-night music venues has directly affected you and your capacity to do what you love? How?
NT: I think the lack of funding hasn’t necessarily immediately affected my capacity to work. However, it does certainly raise a lot of concern for the future when club nights and parties can finally happen again. As a DJ who’s playing smaller venues, bars and clubs which are most at risk of closing due to lack of income and government funding, I’ll potentially lose work in the future as there will be the same number of DJs competing for even less gigs in even less venues than there was previously.
JML: The lack of suitable spaces has really had a big effect on me, most of the music I play is built for dancing and large sound systems and the removal of those things in the last few months has made me have quite a large disconnect from it all. We also had quite a few parties planned before lockdown, we were planning on going monthly with Kindred and the year was looking really promising … we were really disappointed for the year coming to an abrupt end.
How have you adapted to moving your work online?
NT: Working almost solely online now definitely comes with positives and negatives. As there’s now only a fairly limited number of ways to generate content for and access your audience (live streams, radio shows etc.) it definitely alienates the more casual fan as it takes the physical experience away from enjoying club-oriented music and instead puts the focus on the more technical side of DJing which doesn’t appeal to everyone. Not to mention that the internet is now flooded with DJs and producers all trying to do the same thing and reach the same audience.
LC: I personally have been focused on online work pre-pandemic, posting music and mixes to SoundCloud when I feel the time is right, so it hasn’t been too much of a switch for me.
JML: In the last few months we’ve opened a brick and mortar space for Kindred, turning it into a record and art shop run by me and my girlfriend Scarlet, with a radio station operating out of it once a week. I guess the radio is our way of moving online and sharing music – at the heart of lockdown listening to radio every morning became very ritualistic and added some structure to the countless days.
What are your thoughts on the way clubs like Brixton Jamm (now Brixton Courtyard) and The Cause are now adapting to the pandemic?
NT: The parties Brixton Courtyard and The Cause (etc.) are hosting at the moment make sense from a business perspective, but honestly still aren’t the most thrilling idea to me. Ultimately, it’s always going to be impossible to emulate that true night-out feeling, that complete immersion in another world, so I think as long as we stop looking at these new parties as a direct replacement for that then it will be less disappointing. I can see myself attending a few of these events simply because I miss going to clubs so much and the other option [of attending illegal raves without proper social distancing measures] seems even less attractive than sitting in a car park at a table listening to a DJ play.
LC: I think the use of garden space in response to government guidelines is good – DJs need to do something to support themselves right now especially since they can’t get funding from the government and it supports them getting back on their feet. However, it would be nice to see them push the boat out a bit with bookings and get smaller artists back on the circuit.
JML: To be honest it’s not for me, day parties in general don’t give me the same excitement that a club night finishing early in the morning did. A luxury style beer garden/outdoor club will never capture the atmosphere that we all miss but I do understand these clubs are doing this to survive. I think if this lasts any longer the whole economy of nightlife will be changed forever – you could argue it already has. Looking at the line-ups of these new adapted club spaces we’re seeing a return of local crews, leaving touring DJs questioning the long-time viability of their careers.
What do you think is the most inimitable thing about the experience of going clubbing?
NT: The things I miss most about DJing and attending club nights are the sense of togetherness through shared experience and enjoyment and, from the DJ or promoter side of things, being lucky enough to be the one providing that shared experience to a crowd of people. As I said previously, it’s practically impossible to genuinely emulate the feeling of massively enjoying yourself surrounded by strangers. It’s a sense of community and togetherness that I think everyone desperately craves/misses in such difficult times and hopefully we’ll find ourselves back in that environment in the not too distant future.
LC: I ultimately miss the whole experience clubbing provided. Regardless of how the week went, I could always get into a good mood to watch my favourite DJs play. As the weekend arrives I feel like a child on Christmas. There’s nothing like hearing a tune on a night out and trying to take it down over the next week or knowing a certain DJ has a tune you want to hear.
Written by Ellie Rowe
Ellie Rowe is a recent English Literature graduate from the University of Bristol. Although she hopes to pursue a career doing something vaguely related to her degree, she is currently working as a salon assistant in her local hairdressers in Hackney. In her spare time, she likes to drink with friends and fantasize about living in a small Italian village with a dog and some lemon trees.