One of the Ministry’s main men steps up as Rulin’ hits the big two o…
Interview : Dan Prince
Gareth welcome to DMCWORLD, where in the world are you right now?
“Hey Dan, I have just returned from Amsterdam after seeing a good pal DJ Rae spin at Escape. Now I’m in London getting ready for the week ahead.”
A massive night coming our way with Rulin’s 20th Birthday at The Ministry of Sound. One of the biggest house nights ever at the most famous venue on the planet. So let’s get the obvious question out of the way, how does a night like Rulin’ last for two decades?
“Quite simply…quality. The basis of Rulin’ was and always will be about bringing the very best. They may not be the most recognisable names but we always aimed to bring talent that meant something to the growth of good house music. You can cast your mind back to Rulin’ booking people like Kerri Chandler, MK and Mood 2 Swing who are all very much being played again world wide. And of course Under the very excellent guidance of CJ Mackintosh as the resident and a cheeky London boy like me taking over from the legendary Lynn Cosgrove we had a massive job to do but I’m proud to say we did it.”
In an interview once you were talking about some of your favourite DJs and what they brought to the dancefloor. Louie Vega you claimed it was his sheer magnitude of his musical taste. Mr C always breaks barriers and Graeme Park molded the way how you look at music. Headlining Rulin’s 20th Birthday is the mighty Frankie Knuckles. So what is it about Mr Knuckles that has kept him at the top all these years?
“Frankie is “House”, his club The Warehouse is where the term comes from -but I’m sure you and your readers already knew that!! Always progressive always classy and Frankie will always come up with something unexpected.”
What are your MoS All Time Top 10 tunes…
“God…ok here goes in no particular order…
Nicole – Running Away
Janet Jackson – That’s The Way Love Goes (CJ Mix)
Mariah Carey – Dream Lover (Def Mix mixes)
Masters at Work – I Can’t Get No Sleep (MK Dub Mix and the original mix)
Mood 2 Swing – Closer
Sounds of Blackness- The Pressure
DJ Rolando- Night of the Jaguar
Cloud 9 – Do You Want Me Baby
Elastic Reality – Casa De X
Kerri Chandler – Inspiration
De la Soul – Roller Skating Jam
The Nervous Track…
Yeah Dan I know that’s 12!!!!! There’s way too many but you get the idea!”
Many of our readers wouldn’t have made it to any of the New Years Eve parties at The Millenium Dome, just how incredible were these events and why?
“Because nobody had dared do anything that big. We incorporated every type of dance genre on one night all under the same roof. Pretty brave at the time. Remember nobody knew what to do with The Dome back before 02 took it on. As far as we were concerned it was about to be knocked down. We really did party like it was the last party in there! We had 3 really special years there and really special events they were too. Unforgettable.”
Loved this quote from you from years back…“arrogant DJs don’t tend to get asked back at MoS.” Come on be brave, who were you talking about!?!
“The one with agents that were demanding shit all night didn’t tend to be asked back. LOL. Well…it doesn’t take a genius to work out that the ones who moaned and were a Diva’ on our nights and didn’t appear at the club again. We didn’t have the social thing as far as Twitter etc. but our team and our crowd would definitely let a guest know if they were a bit above their station. Me and our all the team involved (there were a big team of people) loved what we did and we treated people like family. We also made people aware that if they were DJing on the best system in the world to be bloody grateful and let our punters enjoy a good night. The ones who were “awkward” always tended to be the ones that weren’t that good (funny that!). I couldn’t possibly name them that would make me as rude as they were…”
You have had a working relationship for a long time and seen the good times and the bad times. What have been the biggest changes/improvements at the club since you started working there?
“For me it’s the pace of the scene that has changed so much but MoS have always tried to keep their eye on the heritage of its name. The biggest improvements are the safe way that clubbers can enjoy themselves. We were all learning together. We were not afraid to learn from other big clubs from the UK. Dave Beer for one taught us the importance of being at one with the crowd and listening to what they want. On the other side of things they have always maintained a ahead of the curve approach and surprised people along the way. Look at acts like Example and London Grammar a real testament to the attitude of the people in good old Elephant and Castle.”
You were in control of the Ministry tours which took you around the world. Where was the place that really opened your eyes whilst traveling the globe?
“I wouldn’t say in control LOL. I worked within a team with some brilliant individuals who were real professionals. Personally though, attending parties in places that had never had house parties before was very satisfying. Mauritius, Cayman Islands, Venezuela, all over India…some pretty scary parts of Russia too. But the one that sticks in my mind was a cruise called the White Night tour which started in St. Petersburg and toured the Baltic countries and basically chases the sun. It didn’t get dark once in a week. It was truly spectacular. 1500 complete nutters dancing all day and all night.”
Tell us all about the 103 line up on the big birthday, who are you looking forward to spinning with?
“All of them of course. I am spinning vinyl so I’m looking forward to hearing vinyl on the bar system again.”
We hear the old venue has just had an extensive refurbishment, what can you tell us about that?
“The VIP has a whole new feel and it looks fabulous, no more dark moody corners just nice fresh areas for nice people.”
Looking back, what are some of your favourite highlights from nights at the Ministry?
“Wow…all the Rulin’ Italia nights with my friend and mentor Claudio Coccoluto. C&C music factory when David Cole played live keyboards, Roger Sanchez when he was in 4 deck mood! Francois Kervorkian playing what the hell he liked. Any night at All Masters at Work played especially with India singing live! The night my partner in crime Simon Patterson suggested the name “Soul Heaven” to Masters At Work then manager for their up and coming residency at our club…fact. Derrick Carter in jackin’ mood, Tenaglia in tribal mood, Deep Dish in well deep mood. Tedd Patterson and Tony Humphries bringing the magic sessions to Rulin’. And all the other names and labels that have been born from Saturdays at Rulin’. Defected, Subliminal to name a couple. I could go on and probably would…”
And finally, you’ve got one record to close the night, what do you pick?
“I would take a leaf out of Justin Berkmann’s book for that one, Deep Dish’s ‘Chocolate City’.” Thank you Rulin’…here’s to another 20!”
Rulin returns to celebrate its 20th birthday on Saturday 29th March at Ministry of Sound with a special appearance by the Godfather of House, Frankie Knuckles. The UK’s pioneering house night, Rulin was responsible for bringing over many of the US house and garage masters and helped transform dance music culture in the process, leaving an indelible mark on Britain’s clubbing landscape. Joining Frankie Knuckles in the Box for this landmark event are DJs who’ve each played a key part in Rulin’s success, including Kenny Carpenter, Heller & Farley and Ministry of Sound co-founder and original resident, Justin Berkmann. 103 will be putting a contemporary spin on proceedings with Kry Wolf, Copy Paste Soul, SE7EN and Gareth Cooke in attendance.
