"Death of the Nightclub"

[Zover]

Re: "Death of the Nightclub"

music taste has got a lot to do with it but so has boredom, the big dj's just don't seem to have the same energy/passion these days... tell me the same people that went to see them in their prime will say that they are still as passionate about them in today's world. chances are the passion has faded for them too

Depends what you mean by Big DJ's, Guetta, Aoki, AVB are still packing out venues, week in week out. If you're taking about the progressive DJ's from the 90's, they are no longer big DJ's. Their time has passed. Most of the people who went to see them in their prime are no longer going to see them, just a handful of die hard fans. Most of them die hard fans seem to spend more time cring about the nubreed.

[Jenks]

Re: "Death of the Nightclub"

Depends what you mean by Big DJ's, Guetta, Aoki, AVB are still packing out venues, week in week out. If you're taking about the progressive DJ's from the 90's, they are no longer big DJ's. Their time has passed.

Seen Dubfire's tour schedule recently?

Instagram

he's probably just playing small venues though...like this one...

Instagram

[lockedgroove]

Re: "Death of the Nightclub"

I attribute it to the burgeoning amounts of festivals one can attend on any given weekend these days.

[Garrick]

Re: "Death of the Nightclub"

^ I thought the same thing. unfortunate, as I see them as simply un-intimate binge fests with the probable exception of a few.

[Zover]

Re: "Death of the Nightclub"

Seen Dubfire's tour schedule recently?

Instagram

he's probably just playing small venues though...like this one...

Instagram

Dubfie still gets gigs, and your point is? The venue you posted is at a festival, he didn't fill that space all on his own.

edit. Most of Dubfire's gigs on that list are at festivals.

[Zover]

Re: "Death of the Nightclub"

Last year I went to Matter to see Sven Vath. I had previously been to Matter on several occasions to See John Digweed. The Vath night was rammed. All of the Digweed nights were nowhere near.

[Jenks]

Re: "Death of the Nightclub"

Dubfie still gets gigs, and your point is? .

that he is a 90s progressive dj is still a big dj...tho he has completely reinvented himself into a techno dj.

I actually agree with you though. For the most part, nobody is lining up to see anyone from the GU series these days, except Tenaglia when he occasionally decides to play, and well, he's not a progressive house dj.

[simonr]

Re: "Death of the Nightclub"

The whole scene has changed ... much like it always has. The people we like are a snapshot in time. Some survived. many didn't.

The EDM thing has created an expansion of non-underground music. 'Underground' just being a term really for care, love and attention to making great music with conviction. The social media / non forum / image driven thing is a completely different animal.

It will be interesting to see how long the likes of Calvin Harris fare - but the vast money for them makes even a short lived career on low talent reaps massive rewards ... just look at Nervo .. pre-mixed image driven drivel playing to the crowd. And there's no doubt much worse.

The fact is, most people have bad taste in music, as its a limited passion and many want a quick fix and a day out without the commitment of listening to DJs and doing research. The EDM phase just means the scope it limited for the others - and other scenes are over populated. Too many names now.

People are more interested in a festival/event type things, and also a name to drop : All Day I Dream appeals than Lee Burridge & Matthew Dekay. Also people are selective - a residency is a big commitment, so it's unlikely people would turn up week in week out.

Personally, travel had become wider e.g. I can fly to Holland in 45 mins for not much more than the price of a return train to London which can take 3 hours. I like to time events and set length. And have been very lucky at times.

I can't see people going week in week out to the same club any more. There's more to there.

[unkle]

Re: "Death of the Nightclub"

we are living in a new generation, boys,
the kids today prefer the big festivals
to see an idiot throwing cakes
than see to todd terry in a basement in chicago,
or whatever, The edm is in vogue right now and
its great for some people and It is big business.

some clubs they closed, some clubs they opened.
can there be less but they will not die, especially
by people who still choose it.

[feather]

Re: "Death of the Nightclub"

Berghain still rocking it.

[Zover]

Re: "Death of the Nightclub"

Germany was on a different musical path than the UK. They have always been more Techno oriented. They didn't have the explosion we had in the UK in the 90's

[ddr]

Re: "Death of the Nightclub"

recent chat with Paul Louth on this very topic..

Yeah I still play bits here and there, not chased it as much as I probably should, but you know how it is. This mix was actually a warm-up for a gig that following weekend. But yeah, the music scene has changed quite a lot in the past 5 years or so. It's no longer enough to be a good DJ, you need to produce, and do PR, and have a facebook page, and blah blah... all the stuff not related to DJing. I always did it for fun and for the love of it, a lot of what's needed now isn't the opposite of that.

I dunno what it's like in your part of the world, but London at the moment is pretty dull music-wise, it seems most people are happy to settle for 'average loopy house'. I did a few parties with amazing line-ups (like Alex Smoke, Swayzak, etc.), nobody came, and I lost a ton of cash in the process. Losing cash I can handle, but when you put on epic line-ups and nobody bothers, something's wrong.

It goes in cycles though. Music that I thought was super underground 10 years is now mainstream to an extent. Once the haircut and shades brigade find something else to latch onto, it'll return to being interesting again I reckon.

Still, the music buying session that I did to record this mix was a real surprise. I was on Juno going through tracks and wanted to buy nearly everything. That never happens, normally I have to wade through a ton of shit to find the good stuff - even with buying vinyl only, which used to be a decent filter. This time was gold. Like 2005-2007 gold. So perhaps the fun times aren't that far away

Anyway, thanks for the continued support. It's good to know someone still has working ears

...

I think it's more subtle than that. It's a symptom of the digital era. I think 'the youth' haven't found a way to be individuals with music. They haven't had their acid house or their punk 'moment'. I think so much about the way music is consumed now is purely as a throwaway commodity, so a lot of kids have very little attachment, or build a character that's intertwined with their music scene like I and many people of my generation did. I was lucky enough to start going to raves in 1990 and I bought my first acid-house record in 1987. I feel blessed to have been part of that era, and so much of what I play now is a reflection of what I listened to back then.

I have some friends who have just turned 20 and I've had quite in-depth conversations with them about this. Some of them get it, but if I do a gig at one of their parties you can just tell there's a lack of involvement. I'll play some stuff that I know will get them going, then maybe test them with a cool as fuck Levon Vincent track, and they're off the dancefloor. It's kinda crazy really, I feel sorry for them. Not because they don't like Levon Vincent, but because they don't really like anything.

The ones that do get it do disco nights, or play 90s house. But that's not their music, that's the previous generation's music. They have very little of their own to attach themselves to. What do they have? EDM. Commercial pre-packaged shite.

The clubs in London are busy, they're just average, safe, run by kids with money, doing parties cos they want to be cool, but again having no emotional link with what they're doing.

I'm sure it will fix itself at some point, music always does. I'm eternally optimistic when it comes to music. I think when the kids have their punk moment it will be incredible because it's been such a long time coming, it'll just be utter carnage (in a good way!).


mix in question:

https://soundcloud.com/paullouth/paul-louth-lux

[sbando]

Re: "Death of the Nightclub"

A contribution from Belgium:

2manyDJs blame for decline of clubs

a few interesting points there.


Cocorico, a prestigious club and a mainstay in Best Club polls, has been temporarily shut down after a kid died after taking ecstasy. Even if E can't actually kill you, the backlash in Italy was huge.

[Zover]

Re: "Death of the Nightclub"

A contribution from Belgium:

2manyDJs blame for decline of clubs

a few interesting points there.

Though anyone who went to early raves or squat parties would be used to poor sound systems. Saying that I saw Sasha at Space last week and he sounded brilliant, I can guarantee if I listened to the same set at home, it would not sound half as good.

[Zover]

Re: "Death of the Nightclub"

Cocorico, a prestigious club and a mainstay in Best Club polls, has been temporarily shut down after a kid died after taking ecstasy. Even if E can't actually kill you, the backlash in Italy was huge.

My other half used to go to that club.