Behind the Scenes: Hustle

A healthy respect for tradition rather than trendiness keeps Liverpool's Hustle in quality DJs

Feature by Jake Hulyer | 12 Mar 2014

You need only glance at the slew of Jersey-inspired releases and re-issues over recent years to realise that 90s-style house is experiencing something of a revival. One of the beneficiaries of this renewed popularity is Liverpool's blossoming clubnight Hustle, who have been quietly gaining a loyal following from their now-established abode in the Shipping Forecast basement. That's mainly thanks to the consistent quality of disco and house acts spinning at their nights, many of whom would have undoubtedly bypassed Merseyside otherwise.

Founded a year-and-a-half ago, at the helm of Hustle is James Morgan, who is eager to explain how a desire to provide something different forced him to set up the night: "A lot of the stuff at that time was quite tech-y and lacked any kind of soul," he recalls. "There may have been a few people putting on nights here and there with that sort of slant, but nothing regular. We haven't really changed what we've been doing in that time, we've just grown from a humble party to a slightly bigger event, with that Jersey sound becoming increasingly popular in parallel."

There's a keen sense that Morgan – along with fellow residents RoBaSca and Jimmy Allen – derives success from a commitment to playing what comes naturally. "It's not that we've suddenly started playing loads of 90s-style house; it's always been an element of what we do. I DJ myself and have always played upfront stuff, but with the classics sprinkled through just because, for me, you have to have that mix."

Allied with this simple approach is an attention to detail and respect for tradition – they make good use of a rotary mixer, as well as an isolator, something usually only found when cats like Theo Parrish request it as part of their rider. "They are only little details, but important to our aesthetic. And they're also principles guided by the type of DJs I look up to – people in New York like Danny Krivit, Joe Claussell, 'Lil' Louie Vega and the like. We aim to keep a bit of tradition, rather than committing to whatever's trendy at the time."

Morgan believes that this desire to get the basics right is what has allowed the night to grow organically, providing Hustle with a steadily growing core of regular punters. "What makes us stand out is the quality of the product, I think. It's not about booking a big name who's known to be a decent producer but who turns out to be a shit DJ. We make absolutely sure that the acts we book deliver on the decks."

Indeed, he cites his own unfortunate past experiences in putting on sizeable events as one of the reasons for how they do things now: "Having lost sizeable sums of money here and there, I've tried not to make that mistake of getting too ahead of myself."

Their steady progression is clear when you look how the night has grown from the 80-strong capacity at 43 Seel St, to their current base at The Shipping Forecast. Quizzed about the possibility of starting a label, Morgan reinforces his belief in the overarching importance of quality. "Starting a label is something we've discussed but I don't want to try and do it myself when I don't have the background in that area. I'd like to do it right, and make sure I do it with the correct people on board, at a time when I'm ready."

With an ethos of meticulously realised quality, Morgan and co are moving at their own pace, always nodding to tradition in both the mix and in the finer details of their setup. The fact is that they pay unerring respect to the clubbing heritage that informs their sound, and – among the throngs of ego-centric, haphazard nights popping up every month – that's more than enough. 

Hustle presents Gerd aka NY Stomp, 15 Mar, Delano Smith, 28 Mar, and Tony Lionni, 12 Apr, The Shipping Forecast, Liverpool

Corrections were made to this article on 20 Mar, 2014:

The article stated Hustle was formed in 2006 – it was formed a year-and-a-half ago

'having lost large sums of money here and there' was changed to to 'having lost sizeable sums of money here and there'

'40 Seel St' was changed to '43 Seel St'