Co-operative Clubbing

Esa Williams believes there is a deep rooted problem with the club culture in Glasgow and hopes to spark some change within the groups he is involved in.

"There doesn't seem to be any communication between the various promoters in the city and if there was I think things could be very different. By working together promoters could focus more on the crowd and bring the people to one or even two venues, which will make all these new club nights busier and more successful. I think the Glasgow club scene has hit saturation point with promoters. The market is over-populated and it's really taking away the idea of the weekends being special and having that one act that everyone is really looking forward to seeing. It's alright if different acts are booked which span different genres on the same night but promoters are throwing similar parties, sometimes two and three in one night and people just don't know where to go." he says.

The situation in Glasgow seems to be somewhat different to the one taking place in the capital, where communication between promoters is a more common occurrence. Is there any reason for this? Sarah David, from Edinburgh venue Cabaret Voltaire, thinks so.

"I believe in Edinburgh we don’t suffer the fierce competitiveness of many other major cities. As there is a serious lack of underground venues and also a substantially smaller demographic of potential clientele then this in turn means that promoters will speak to each other on a more honest level and try and ensure they don’t have acts playing at differing venues on the same night that would effectively split the clientele." says Sarah.

As the organiser of some of the biggest events in Edinburgh, Sarah recently arranged for the Cabaret Voltaire to share part of it's Hogmanay line-up with The Arches, where both venues secured Erol Alkan and Aeroplane to play on the same evening. If this kind of co-operation can exist at new year, then isn't it possible that it could become a regular thing?

"From the initial stages of discussion of that booking it was always going to be a shared date." continues Sarah. "It's all about greater communication between venues and promoters, a lot of the dog eat dog attitude has to cease and we have to join forces to help the underground scene survive. In Edinburgh for example, there's been a watering down of the scene with many mainstream venues playing forms of what was generally regarded as underground music. It has somewhat diluted what was, in years gone by, a solid clientele and influenced the younger clubbers coming up within the ranks. Dance music’s perceived role within the music scene has been transformed into more of a ‘cocktail culture’ rather than being about the ‘music’. This in turn has been highly detrimental to numbers and venues that are true to the scene. We have to make sure that those that have integrity to the music survive."

The topic of integrity is one that Esa takes very seriously, "It is important to remember the reason why we are throwing club nights; for the music, for meeting new people and having a good time. It's not for name dropping or trying to outdo one another. Promoters should also focus on the interest of the DJ that they are bringing to Glasgow and consider what their experience on the night will be. Any promoter would want their guest to leave Glasgow with a great impression and a desire to return. And from experience no DJ wants to play to a handful of people, they want to experience a real buzz and atmosphere and some of these parties simply are not delivering. However, I want to acknowledge the promoters who are working together and who are really focusing on the interests of the normal clubber and the DJs they are booking. There are a few really successful nights and I think communication with these promoters will really pull everyone together and create a happier clubbing community in Glasgow."