For the latest in a series of guest interviews, the ever dependable and investigative Synth have taken the time to chat to our good friend Ralph Lawson ahead of his return to [2]Subculture on Saturday.
As a regular visitor to the Sub Club since the early nineties, Back To Basic’s longest serving resident DJ and 20:20 Vision label supremo Ralph Lawson knows what it takes to the rock the house at No. 22. This weekend he is joining Harri and Domenic in the booth, for a truly best of British affair. You know you are in safe hands when three of the UK’s most enduring dj talents are taking you through till 4 a.m.
Ralph’s particular empathy with the Sub Club faithful and the Glasgow public in general, ensures that Saturday will be one of those nights where we all lose ourselves in the music and that warm and dreamy feeling takes over on the dance floor as it gathers pace throughout the night.
Back To Basics first launched in Leeds back in 1991 and you’ve been throwing some incredible parties every year since. How do you feel about Leeds being regarded by some as the new house capital of the UK? I get the feeling it’s much like Glasgow where there is a great community vibe from its relative size?
Yes I think Glasgow would have a strong claim to being house capital of the UK. Leeds can settle for house capital of England. We do try to stay pretty tight in Leeds, there is a new strong creative community working out of the East End and pushing the city limits further East as well as pushing the city forward creatively. There is a new building where loads of cool people work under one roof called Munro House. I was lucky enough to find it last year, I have been really excited by what is getting produced in there over the last year from music to design, fashion, photography, architecture and digital marketing.
You’ll be back in Ibiza this summer for your We Love… residency at Space and of course you famously played the Discoteca as 2020Soundsystem back in 2010, is Space still one of the best places to play in the world and how do you feel about the island’s evolution over the last few years? Is there too much money floating about?
Space is for sure still one of the very best clubs in the world and an incredible place to play. Money has been there for years, it’s not new. There are really cool grass roots things happening as well, the problem is the main clubs are so powerful that when things get too big on an underground level they either eat them up and spit them out or have them closed down.
It’s fair to say that 2020 Vision is probably one of the most prolific labels in modern club music, with a keen ear for true talent. How much are you involved with the A&R side of things in 2013 and what do you think has attributed to the label’s longevity?
Well we’re up to release 250 in 20 years on the main label but that doesn’t include albums or our sub labels such as Redux, Fina, Infant, Dotbleep and a host of under the counter white labels that you probably didn’t know was us! I mainly focus on A/R now…
Considering your heritage and your passion for house music, how do you really feel about it at the moment? Obviously some regard it as being in its healthiest state for a long time and 2020 Vision certainly reflects that, but there is also this increasing commercialisation, do you think true house music is immune to commercial saturation?
Yes I think house music is alive and well in 2013 – unbelievably!
I’ve been heard a lot of great things about your new Beat project which fuses quality dining with quality DJs over a whole night. Where did the inspiration come for Beat? I can imagine it must be great watching the evening progress and everything unfold?
Yes it’s been a new challenge and a great buzz. I met chef Tom Van Zeller through a friend called Wes Gill from The Electric Press, a band signed to 2020Vision. I went to his restaurant and loved it and found out that he listened to house music in the kitchen and loved what I did so we got talking. Music and food are so closely linked and we felt we had a new angle on how to get people to enjoy both in cool spaces. It’s been working exactly as we planned it. People get a good feed then get straight on the floor. No need to move venues as it’s all in the same space.
Finally, you first played the Sub Club with Domenic way back in 1992 and you’ll be joining both him and Harri later this month at Subculture, what memories have you got from that first night and how do you feel coming back to play over 20 years later?
Yes we played for the first time ever both on the same night. Dom was so nervous he had to take a Valium before he went on! His hand was shaking playing his first record. Well I’ve been back many times in those 20 years so it’s a case of focusing full every time on making sure I get a call back! The Sub is very important to me and I know I have to play well as you have the best house music residents in the world there. Dom makes me nervous as he has given me so many great records over the years so I have to return the favour.
There are still some £10 Adv. Tickets available to catch Ralph alongside Harri & Domenic at Subculture.
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