sef 3: a typology of club nights
sonic edge fog 3
merging the mindsets of two current projects - Kinesis club night coming up on 27th Jan, and Paradigm Junction tech consulting work - I here present the beginnings of a typology of club nights.
broadly, club nights / parties / raves can be designed around:
a genre
a community
a concept
a vibe
there is significant crossover between these.
genre-focused nights often bring together a certain community (the first edition of dub stepping did this the other week for, you guessed it, dubstep heads)
communities bring a certain vibe - smiles or screwfaces, chains and mesh or bucket hats and bum bags (often this vibe is also associated with a genre)
sometimes the concept is simply a merging of the others in unusual ways - DnB for mums and babies, an introductory hardcore night with pastel colourways and soft furnishings, techno for sober people (I admit to making these somewhat similar-sounding nights up, but someone has almost certainly done them before)
some nights, like Unfold, combine genre (techno), community (queer, kink) and concept (Sunday afternoon, DJs in the middle of the crowd, lineup unannounced, tickets otd only) to create a vibe, and build a steadily stronger community through that.
(venue can also be core to the design & presentation of a night - forest or squat, basement or warehouse, wine bar or club - but typically reflects the other areas rather than being distinct in and of itself, I think)
all nights give some consideration to at least genre and community, and usually through that consideration arrive at something concept-like. the vibes often make themselves. but most nights really lead with one of the four.
genre is the most common focus in a club setting. it is what differentiates any given night at your Drumsheds, Fabrics and Printworks-of-yore (hard techno, soft techno, happy house, deep house, disco, DnB, dubstep, or whatever else). it’s what tries to grab your attention on those signs at traffic lights for big parties out of town: garage and UKG, hard house, amapiano, jungle. sad rap, digicore and live experimental synth nights at smaller venues also lead with genre, bringing a particular niche community with them.
leading with community is more normal at the 'party' rather than club end of the spectrum. a party is most commonly for a community made up of your mates, after all. but you still see it in clubland: collectives/crews like Eastern Margins, Daytimers, Koshari, Pxssy Palace and more cater explicitly to different BIPOC audiences which have historically been underrepresented in London club culture. they're all associated with certain genres, but that's secondary - what sets them apart is the community they’re delivering those genres to and for. in a more banal sense, student nights, too, arguably lead with community, playing whatever they think will get that community in and make them buy drinks (80s one week, 90s the next, 00s basically all the time...).
leading with concept is more unusual, but it does happen. our friend Alex is planning a night in March (which you should come to when it happens!) where four DJs play around each other, organically, all night long, with no predefined set times or genres. jano, the night before Kinesis at the same venue, starts with the premise that each DJ will play two sets: an experimental and/or live one, then a dancefloor-oriented one later in the night, exhibiting the different sides of their musical personality. both ideas sound great, would love to see more like this.
perhaps more unusual still is to lead with vibe. venues often have a vibe at their core (do we want this to be a swanky wine bar or scuzzy dive?) but club nights not so much. possibly because vibes are difficult to describe or market, and they're hard to create and control. but of the various options, it’s the closest fit for what we’re doing with Kinesis (at least in my understanding!). yes, the music will follow certain genre-ish paths by virtue of being (mainly) fast, but it doesn’t feel tied to that. there’s no distinct existing community we’re trying to bring together (although we'd like to build one). and there’s no obvious concept. but we want to create a space which is fun, playful and open, while delivering an intensity of energy and emotion which you'd normally only get at more 'serious' or obviously 'edgy' events. examples of others doing similar things would be welcome!
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not the post I expected to write, which was on the need for new instruments to push music in different directions. but this reflects where my head has been at lately. feedback on this typology is much appreciated - am sure I've missed things. hopefully it helps you make sense of the nightlife landscape and that you spend the coming months channeling your inner consultant and placing nights you see or attend into the various buckets. and I look forward to seeing you on the 27th!