Tell us about Distrikts summer series, and the programming of the events?
Ey up! Firstly thanks for the interview. Ok so summer is a real mixed bag at the bar. We’ve had the likes of One Records and Nightmares on Wax already come and do their thing which were both roadblock events and following on from that we’ve got another 4 Courtyard Party’s in which see the likes of Half Baked, Toi Toi, Trust & Our very own Albion all take over outside. In-between the outside events we’ve got the likes of Terry Francis & Amp Fiddler too who are pioneers in each of their fields, so a nice variety if I do say so myself!
You’re an intimate venue, in the heart of bustling music community, what makes you stand out from the crowd?
For me personally it’s about having quality music on rotation all year round, The city is too caught up in the same bookings and it get’s boring. There are thousands of interesting DJs at the moment and it boggles me how I keep seeing the same lineup’s in different venue’s. I like to think we keep it underground as we possibly can which set’s us apart a little I think and of course the free entry is the big draw, weekly I get asked how we do it bringing the likes of Moodymann, Delano Smith or the new guys like Francesco Del Garda each and every time it’s free and well who doesn’t like Freebies?
As you say, you keep all your events free and everyone knows the friendly ethos that Distrikt portrays, how do you keep momentum up knowing you don’t charge and you have to keep budgets tight in this market?
We’ve been doing this 7 years now, we know what we can get away with and we know what’s just stupid, sometimes we like been stupid though too for example the Matthew Herbert Gig. We knew it wouldn’t be a big earner but the guy is out of this world and we wanted him to grace the decks. No one in Leeds was putting him on so we had to do it, I really did feel it was a duty. It’s getting a tough industry for smaller venues all over the country I feel as Fee’s are going up and up and although I keep hoping it will slow down, it doesn’t it get’s more and more, and truth be told I can’t see it stopping. But as I said briefly before this industry isn’t short acts , there are ton’s out there who don’t get the credit they deserve and are not charging the earth. I live and breath music and like to think my finger is always on the pulse so the options are always there for me. We’ve made it work for 7 years we’ll keep making it work. A lot of people might not know how difficult it is working with agents who think the pot is endless, how do you draft in some of the heavyweight acts in like you do? Kinda answer this in the above I think so maybe we delete this question
Do you have any advice for people trying to follow suit with their own events?
Yes do it, don’t think too much about it. If your wanting to do events do them, you’ll have amazing one’s , you’ll have shit one’s it’s just the way it works. You can pause and over think things in Life I find and by doing o you sit and waste time, by saying yes and doing it you don’t have time to think too much about it. Throw yourself in the Deep end , give it a go…at the end of the day it’s just an event. If it works out great , round 2! if not then I bet you’ve learnt a hell of a lot throughout it and will know if you can make it work with improvements or if it’s not for you. Either way it’s better than sitting at home watching netflix. Life’s about experiences and if your anything like me you tend not to remember much of them either way so just do it!
Do you have any highlights of your own events from over the years?
Yeh man every single event i’ve ever put on i’ve loved , even if the turnout wasn’t great it’s something i’ve loved at some point that’s why i’ve done it. Every single one . But if I had to pick a few out of this dreadful memory of mine i’d have to say Personal highlights are first time we booked Nightmares on Wax that was a real homecoming , we play his mixes down at the bar daily pretty much and he’d been top of my list to bring and when he came it was everything I imagined and more. Octave One for our 6th birthday these guys brought a spaceship full of kit and it truly blew my mind and couldn’t of been a better birthday or bringing Francesco Del Garda to Leeds for the first time he’s now seen as one of the best in the business and it was nice to have him first , as mentioned too Matthew Herbert he’s just a freak of nature when it comes to production and a true honour to have him play too. The word legend get’s thrown about too much these days but for me he truly is.
And Albion, tell us about the label and where you’re at right now?
Albion is flying , it’s starting to come together more than ever before now. We’ve got ourselves a real core family with Jordan Magee, Matthew Neequaye, Luke Foulkes & of course Aidan who goes under Albion Forever – and it feels good man really good! Monthly Radio shows with KMAH & most importantly sat on some series fire releases at the moment and can’t wait to get them out, the big one for us is the V.A which is gonna celebrate 5 years of albion records. We’ve got so many decent names on that and it’s a real milestone for us. We’re currently sorting a tour out for it too keep your eye’s and ears peeled!
The show in September, what can people expect?
Probably some of the best music you’ve heard out. Yeh I’d go as far to say that. The line-up is without doubt the biggest and best we’ve ever put on. I can’t wait to get stuck into that myself!
