After an emotional launch featuring legendary producer / DJ extraordinaire Terrence Parker, Krystal Klear continues his ‘Labour Of Love’ with a Valentine’s Day debut & first in a series of quarterly sessions in the Subbie basement.
Keeping with the general vibe of good people playing good records in fun spaces, we’re pleased to welcome Paul Nickerson & Francis Englehardt aka Slow To Speak aka the two who run NYC’s infamous Dope Jams record store.
We took five minutes to chat to Declan(Krystal Klear) about Labour of Love, his guests and the role of the resident..
1. Tell us a bit about Labour of Love and the ethos behind the night?
The ethos behind the night is a drawn influence from everything I have every read about legendary parties such as the Loft,Gallery or Body & Soul and a real opportunity for me to hone in on the details of every element of the night, from the bouncers to the booze to the people and really focus on things that seem to have fallen by the wayside in club culture at the minute.
It seems (to me) that predominantly people aren’t really cared about once their money has been paid at many club nights and these same people are often hooshed in by security to perhaps a hostile environment with a crap system and some gobshite pissing in the corner (believe me I’ve seen and probably been that gobshite..Im no a saint) so Im trying to eradicate these things and a create an environment that people really don’t want to leave,a place people really feel at home in and a place that creates the right comfort for people to be entirely open minded musically and visually.
***(Picture from Diane Birch Tumblr)
Im not breaking any moulds…Im just trying to saturate an area which seems to be quite small in the grand spectrum of club nights in the UK.
2. You booked Slow to Speak for the Sub Club and London launch parties what do these guys mean to you musically?
Huge influence in terms of their taste..the guys are absolute beasts in terms of their releases,re-press’s and mix-tapes but more importantly I respect their ideology in trying to bring the dream alive musically and ultimately they are two of the finest selectors in the genres I love and two dj’s who will keep me wondering what each record is all night long and thats something I had to see.
https://soundcloud.com/slow-to-speak/slow-to-speak-dope-jams
3. Obviously you will be the resident at all these parties going forward, Whats your thoughts on the role of the resident?
Being a resident and being part of a party and not the focus is a skill I have eventually learned from being part of Hoya Hoya and something which at the very beginning I didn’t grasp nor understand. So for me the important role of the resident is to warm the party up and keep things at a level vibe, giving space for the dj’s after and the people in the room and to me that is the most important role of the resident.
4. Recently you launched your Cold Tonic label? Are you solely active and involved in the A&R?
Pretty much..I mean the label is ran by myself and Boltonmore (Manc Legend) alongside input from one or two voices but generally we A&R it together as a unit just to avoid me running off on a tangent and releasing a dual LP of slow jams.etc but fortunately I have a great crew around me helping me get it off the ground.
5. Quite an original name for the label, and for your Tumblr, how did this come about?
It was more a joke between me and my roommates that ironically described our lifestyle and how we once complained about “how the tonic water on our rider is always fucking warm” haha and after realised how ludicrously wanky that was decided it was the perfect term to describe what we had become haha.
6. A while back you remixed, the dancefloor classic ‘Gypsy Woman.’ Hypothetically speaking, is this a tune from the past you wish you could have signed to your own label?
Yeh of course…one of the greatest chord sequences of all time.
7. What’s your guilty pleasure (favourite non-house music tune) maybe some soul, reggae or Bruno Mars ;)?
Deadmau5 – ‘I Remember’……easily the most outrageous guilty pleasure of all time and i’ve never told a soul this but the chord progression drives me nuts.
Dont hate me!
8. You are now Manchester based, What things do you miss most about the old country?
Small things like family & friends and frankly a good pint of Guinness.
9. We hear you’re planning on wearing a dress on Thursday to ‘mark the occasion’, in your own words what else can we expect from the launch of this party?
Might just turn up naked presuming its not fucking freezing. Honestly,Subclub is one of my favourite spots in the world,a place I have never had a bad night in and somewhere I LOVE playing so personally for me this is a really big deal and I can’t wait to start this residency. Party’s gonna be fucking class!
Here is the first in a truly vibe occupied two part mix, the second of which will be handed out on CD as an exclusive gift for those in attendance at the Sub Club on Thursday. Get your ears round this groove-heavy, soulful sonic treat, which seriously showcases the extensive range of musical styles on offer at Labour of Love…
£6 Advance tickets for the event are on sale here.