When Harri met Harry
Graded and Regraded, remixer, editor and producer, Midland boasts no agenda save for making the music that pleases him. Heard in all the right places, we’re pleased to welcome him to Harri & Domenic’s Subculture on Saturday. Ahead of the big event Harry (Midland) met Harri (Subculture) and they chatted over desert island disks, chilli, ramen, Stevie Wonder and Steven Avery…
Harry to Harri:
You started Subculture when I was 7 years old. How different is the musical landscape from when you first started it?
Wow… Time flies when you’re having fun! Both Dom and myself have always played a mixture of old and new, as you’re doing the same club week in week out you need to keep it Fresh. Probably our sound then would be more influenced by American house music, with some Euro and UK house. We quite often end the night on a non house tune . I remember the last record on the first night of Subculture was Dawn Penn No No No.
Can I please have your desert island discs?
Lee Perry-Super Ape
Massive Attack-Blue Lines
https://youtu.be/GfMSYoJdc-M
Dr Dre-The Chronic
https://youtu.be/cUL2-GhcNSU?list=PLfjczLekv-D6Pggxe1ubfoT9mn7zDEt7F
Beach Boys-Pet Sounds
https://youtu.be/CjHartYsOnY
Neil Young-After the Goldrush
https://youtu.be/1e3m_T-NMOs
This list could change on an hourly basis!
Whats the longest set you have ever played?
I’ve played for 7 or 8 hours before. Hardly Junior Vasquez or Danny Tenaglia.
Whats your favourite record shop in the world?
Jesus, so many…Loved Black Market and several others in London… And some massive warehouse place I visited in San Francisco… Years ago in Glasgow I would have visited 6 or 7 shops every Saturday afternoon as each one would have different records. Would have to say I’ve probably spent most money in Fopp in Glasgow.
Harri to Harry:
What size of shoes do you take, and do you prefer to wear trainers or shoes?
A rather small 9.5 and I’m all about the trainers, most specifically Adidas (if Adidas are reading this and want to hook me up with sponsorship then that would be top)
What is your signature dish, and the recipe ?
Ramen. But that recipe is a secret/still being honed. So a close second is Chilli.
Midlands Proper Chilli..
Pork mince, Beef mince, fried up with some onions, in to the slow cooker with the kidney beans, pint of dark ale, cup of very strong coffee, half a bar of dark chocolate, two tins of tomatoes, cook for 10 hours. Serve it with limes and cheese on rice. Pow.
Your favourite Stevie Wonder album and why ?
I have to admit I am a heathen and really don’t know enough about Stevie to offer you a favourite. I would say i’m much more of a Marvin Gaye man. Of his albums I think its between “Whats going on” which is just incredible for the subject matter it tackles and the raw emotion and “Moods of Marvin Gaye”. Moods contains my favourite song of his ever “Ain’t that peculiar…”
Do you believe Steven Avery is guilty or innocent and why?
That man is innocent. I think that the whole investigation is crooked, and the lengths law enforcement will go to stop a settlement that might have bankrupted that town can’t be underestimated, almost as crooked as the current conservative government I’d say.
Can you give me your back catalogue as AIFF files please ?
I don’t think I even have AIFF’s of my entire back catalogue ha ha but will attempt to get it together and bring a USB stick to Subbie for you!
Adv. tickets for this Saturday’s Subculture are on sale HERE or from RA, then more on the door from 11pm.
Sub Rosa presents Paradise Garage Tribute with Melting Pot
IMAGE: PYMCA
For one night only Sub Rosa pay homage to one of the most legendary clubs to ever grace this beautiful planet…Paradise Garage. For 10 years the famed New York nightclub set itself apart from all others and made a true name for itself as a place of culture and unforgettable dance music. A place where all inhibitions were let loose and free roam was given to enjoy yourself. Sub Rosa are setting out to replicate this as best as possible, so only bring your best self and your best moves as they invite top disco deviants Melting Pot with support from Nowicki to join them in re-living the good times. Ahead of this disco bonanza taking place on Wednesday Sub Rosa decided to inform and educate for those who might not be in the know…
THE PLACE…
For 10 years between 1977 and 1987 in the Hudson Square area of New York (84 King Street to be exact) people flocked from all over, from all different walks of life and backgrounds to unite and truly let all inhibitions go until the early mornings when the lights came up. One of the first clubs to put the DJ at the forefront of what a club should be about, it paved the way for modern club culture as we know it, shaping the landscape for the modern DJ who is more keen to tell a story than to play party bangers for a 2 hour set. This club was unlike any other, and still to this day holds a legacy like no other. This club was Paradise Garage!
IMAGE: TANIA FUENTEZ
THE DJ’s…
All outstanding clubs have one familiar thing in common – an incredible resident DJ, and Paradise Garage was no different. Meet Larry Levan. From the moment the club opened to the day it closed it’s doors, Larry was the centre of attention, and rightly so. His DJ sensibilities helped make hits out of more tracks than we’re probably even aware of. Sometimes he would even play a song multiple times in one night, until any and all resistance was overcome. But he was also a storyteller, never afraid to take the long path and diverge into a totally different direction, cleansing the dancefloor if need be to start afresh, taking all dancers on a journey, never quite sure where they were heading, but always with 100% trust in their leader.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epsFK_sg1EI
The term ‘legend’ is all too loosely flung around these days when talking about DJ’s, but there is no doubt that Larry Levan is a legend.
THE CULTURE …
With a name like Paradise Garage, and the term that was coined shortly after – heaven in a car park – it’s no surprise that the club was recognized all over for it’s welcoming attitude to any and all of it’s guests, a place to escape if you will. Setting the path for people of the ethnic and LGBT community to be welcomed with open arms wherever they went, this was very out of the norm in 70/80’s NY, which was still incredibly racist and homophobic around that time. To have a policy like that back then was more than just trend-setting, it was pioneering, and something to be admired considering the nature of many clubs door policies back then.
https://youtu.be/cWpAYtmsqqM
THE MUSIC …
Predominantly disco-orientated, Larry Levan managed to reignite the flame when many people in New York said disco had died a death. But for a DJ of his caliber he was also famed for his ability to seamlessly mix all genres of music together, creating something special all night, every night. Below you’ll find a few tracks that were either made famous by the club, or just heard on a regular basis, becoming anthems and forever associated with it.
Loose Joints – Is It All Over My Face (Original Male Version)
Sylvester – Over & Over
Two Tons O’Fun – Just Us
Change – Paradise
Lisa-Lisa & The Cult Jam – I Wonder If I Take You Home
https://youtu.be/UE4WokN5Z6s
3 bucks for an adv. ticket on sale HERE, then more on the door from 11pm…
Sobhan Says Pachanga…
On Friday February 26th for the first time ever in Scotland, Sensu welcomes Rebolledo & Superpitcher together as Pachanga boys! It’s only taken nearly 4 years to make this one happen!!! Ahead of the main event Sub Club companion, Glasgow’s very own mover ‘n Sheikher Sobhan wanted to share his accounts of a particular Berlin experience, the first time he heard “Time” and what it means to him 4 years on. As you can tell he’s just as enthusiastic about Friday’s event as Sensu are.
If you aren’t familiar with this 15-minute psychic expedition that is “Time”, It was an outstanding B-side on Pachanga Boys’ Girlcatcher EP, released on their label Hippie Dance, way back in 2011. It’s pretty special. Sobhan says Pachanga…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk0FNZ9cHYw
The first time I recall hearing “Pachanga Boys – Time” was in Berlin, 2012. Pretty much half the staff at the Sub Club packed their bags and headed over to support Domenic who was playing at Panorama Bar. On the Friday we headed out to wet the appetite before Saturday’s shenanigans. We ended up in a few clubs. As the night progressed and so did the booze, the group ended up splitting up. I said to myself, fuck this and decided to re group with myself and I headed back to the Watergate, where we had all been together earlier in the evening.
(IMAGE: Facebook)
At some point in the morning, as I was myself, I took a vantage point just towards the back, must’ve been about 7/8am everyone was right loose, been up for hours, kinda got to the point where you had went beyond having a dance to it being more like a proper session of dancing if you know what I mean, like as if it were some sort of endurance thing. It was sunrise, I think there was a local resident DJ playing, and everyone had just been dancing everywhere, all around him etc. It felt very local, like a flat party buzz and I remember this really earthy tune which seemed to last forever. It did take me, but as it will be demonstrated, sometimes it takes hearing a tune a couple of times over a short period for it to solidify within you.
Shortly after that, I took refuge on a couch near the toilet and settled down for a couple of hours watching the last of the sunrise which was beautiful to say the least, slightly contemplative as you would expect at that time of the morning.
After trudging back to the apartment where we were all staying, I had to get myself refreshed to go see Domenic play Panorama Bar. Must say, seeing Dom rocking Berghain’s infamous upstairs annex was incredible. After he played we stuck about of course enjoying the thrills and spills of the spectacle.
(IMAGE: Facebook)
Again, it was now 7/8am in the morning and inside there’s these raised platforms that you can stand on and me and a few of the folk I was with were pretty much jumping up and down as if we were young kids on those wee bouncy things wee kids jump on at soft play. Anyway I remember just hearing the start of “that” tune coming in again, quiet a weird feeling as it didn’t initially spring to mind that it was the tune from last night, but it felt familiar, as it kicked in I remember saying to one of my friends, “What the hell is that tune?” and what struck me was her saying: “Go find out for yourself!!” I took that as “don’t let something pass you by”. Just at that moment the infamous shutters slammed opened and it was totally euphoria. I’ve always felt that the shutters opening was a kinda “fuck you” to the boring reality outside, reality you may say, a release. I jumped off the platform and pushed my way through a rammed and sweaty dance floor. Think it was Âme DJ’n and I managed to get to the front. I recall pulling a guy over from inside the booth…”mate, what the hell is that tune???!!” in my barely distinguishable Glaswegian accent, either way he managed to decipher what I was asking through my excitement, “Pachanga boys, Time…”He says.
That tune ended up becoming one of the biggest tunes of the year. If you want a good overall description of the tune, the generally great comments on YouTube is good for it, it’s an absolutely magical journey. I’m no Shakesphere, but all I can truthfully say that the whole spirit of that tune touched me, probably aided by the time and place where it was heard, which I think sometimes can be a deal breaker for a tune being a classic for you. One thing I did pick up personally was the line, “lost track of time.” That line seemed to resonate especially within that particular moment being in the club for hours and hours. The whole weekend was unofficially soundtracked by that tune.
The record Pachanga Boys – Time was limited to 300 copies so it sold out in rapid time. I remember checking on discogs to see if I could get it and it was fetching up to £160 or something.
Then, like a year or so later I realised that Pachanga Boys were auctioning 36 limited edition box sets of the record with a pair of Riviera shoes. From the auction, all proceeds were going to charity. I remember thinking, I am going to go tooth and nail to try and acquire one. It wasn’t like pure, “I need to get it to have this limited record, or what not” it was just me wanting to have a physical representation of I presume an amalgamation of the memories I have connected with that tune.
I couldn’t believe my luck when I got the confirmation that I had actually won a box, and in my size. Not each box had my size so I felt pretty jammy that not only did I win a box but to get the shoes in my size, not that I have worn them out, but you never know what can happen in the future, but for the time being, they are an ornamental piece…I had a look recently, and not surprisingly for both the record, and boxset, there’s none for sale on discogs. Too often these days, as many things go digital, there can be an element of things, like pictures, and music just becoming a bunch of Zero’s and Ones’s all lost in your many libraries on the computer, so its nice to have that physical representation.
Since then, I have heard it played loads, sometimes it has been dropped at the wrong time, almost like a forced moment highlighting the art of dropping the right tune at the right time, but even still those memories come rushing back and there is a certain sense of sentiment and warmness which I presume is what its all about!
Friday’s event is truly unmissable…Adv. Tickets on sale from RA, then more on the door from 11pm.