it's hard to say... memory being a form of filtering and selection and mythification in itself
one thing i've noticed though is that old skoolism necessarily distorts because an old skool dj set or mixtape can cream off the best tunes over a whole span of time, whereas in the clubs at the time deejays would typically play a lot of out-that-week tunes and a lot of these would be fairly run of the mill white labels.... i mean, the kind of obscure oddities or pretty-good things that we would now be buzzed to stumble on YouTube or in some stack of old second-hand vinyl .... but at the time these were were sub-anthemic stuff, DJ tools really - and the accumulation of that could be a bit.... level, i think is the word... it would do the job, sustain the basic vibe .... but not have the explosive effect of an anthem dropping
i can remember some mediocre nights ... where it didn't quite ignite cos the music was all of that type (or the pill was a dud)
but when all the elements converged, it was every bit as incandescently exciting as the myth says
in a way the anthems or amazing tunes, when they drop, have more effect against a more workaday backdrop
if you played 10 x 'Renegade Snares' or 'Terminator' in a row, it wouldn't work
Tell me about this, was that at the Zodiac or what? Would love to know about stuff happening in Oxford.
Yeah, although I've seen nostalgic old skool sets where every single tune is an anthem and the effect was (for me) overwhelmingly euphoric.
I'm a bit of a banger whore though.
Yeah, must be the Zodiac - or it was called that in... I dunno, 95 or whatever, maybe been through a number of name changes over the years. What was Spectrum then? I like the way they had a kind of "Refracted light" theme going on with their night titles.I knew it as The Venue which was quite a way up Cowley Road, near the Tesco. You went in and up the stairs for the first floor. Main room and bar at the back. Shocking bogs. It's the Carling Academy now I think. There are occasional Prism/Spectrum revivals there, i went to one in 2011.
Prism was hardcore, techno and finished December 1992 iirc
Spectrum, the Friday night with which it had alternated, carried on for years after. I stopped going in 1993 though. Gat Decor kinda place. The crowd was great though, way more town & brookes than gown. Rugby techno was in the future.
That's the same in any genre though isn't it? Peaks and troughs heighten the experience. Knowing when to hold back and when to go is probably a big part of being a successful dj.in a way the anthems or amazing tunes, when they drop, have more effect against a more workaday backdrop
if you played 10 x 'Renegade Snares' or 'Terminator' in a row, it wouldn't work
What was Spectrum then? I like the way they had a kind of "Refracted light" theme going on with their night titles.
Yeah, must be the Zodiac - or it was called that in... I dunno, 95 or whatever
House, progressive house. I remember seeing Billy Nasty there, he was very good, but I was going through the motions otherwise and we started taking the Tube into London to nights like Knowledge, Lost and whatever was on at the Labyrinth. Mate of mine went to Roast & AWOL a bit, but he was a Londoner and knew the what, where & how.
if you want a bit of a laugh though. n.b i actually highly highly rate some of these, but he is right on others...
https://www.discogs.com/lists/Anthems-I-wish-had-never-existed/371436?page=1
Well I grew up nearby, went to university in 95 and then started going clubbing. Then when I came back in the holidays I was looking for somewhere to go and Oxford and Swindon were the nearest places... sadly.
Did you ever read retromania?
Wait, were you in/at Oxford then too Baboon? How come I never knew that?Seems I arrived there as HM Govt left...I can report that from '95 Zodiac had quite a few jungle nights alongside the gigs, and was a decent venue... But yeah, the Oxford Tube remained the best nightlife option