CLUBS

Adam Burrows looks back on a vintage year in clubland.

With the economy – and what sometimes felt like the whole of civilisation – crumbling around us, there were times in the last 12 months when dancefloor escapism felt more necessary than ever. Thankfully, 2011 didn't disappoint on that front, and in many ways was something of a vintage year.

It may well be remembered as the year Bristol finally succumbed to the 4/4 groove. While house, techno and disco have been resurgent in the city for a few years, their influence on the underground bass scene reached a point where the line between the two became blurred to the point of invisibility. Many of clubland’s most exciting sounds this year worked this middle ground, from the dark, sinuous grooves of Kowton (pictured, below) to the glittering, soulful fare of Julio Bashmore. The house-invigorated bass scene also gained a focal point when the Idle Hands record shop opened in March.

This is only one side of the story, of course. The bigger picture reveals a frighteningly healthy scene moving in countless directions at the speed of light. Thekla’s new Friday night session 51°27′ brought in underground heroes from Rustie to Jackmaster, adding to the momentum for eclectic post-garage clubbing whipped up by the likes of Crazylegs. The Croft continued to support niche sounds, adding underground hip-hop night Rhyme & Reason and juke/footwork/ghettotech explosion Percolate to its roster. Blue Mountain went totally tropical as Tongue & Groove spread the Moombahton virus to Stokes Croft. The Caribbean influence was everywhere in 2011, from Trinity’s thriving Teachings in Dub sessions to the new generation roots of Peng Sound at the Blue Mountain and Ruffnek Diskotek’s forward-thinking bashment mix. And, lest we forget, dubstep and drum & bass continued to be the biggest draws with huge line-ups from Run and Hospitality, as well as local favourites Subloaded, Intrigue and Champion Sound.

As for nightclubs themselves, the biggest news story was the question mark over Lakota’s future following the tragic death of 16-year-old Joe Simons after a night out at the club. Lakota closed, re-opened, then closed again, resulting in the cancellation of a number of big raves, including the annual Unity spectacular. When its licence was finally suspended for three months from 7 Nov, Lakota’s owners issued a statement acknowledging that “the management of the club was called into question”, going on to explain that “we are committed to making significant changes and we will engage a new security team, employ a new management team and will not reopen until we feel that we are able to provide customers with a safe environment in which they can enjoy themselves." It’s hoped that Lakota will re-open in February.

In happier news, TB2 had an exemplary 12 months as the new regime’s steely quality control saw everyone from Dave Clarke to DJ Funk passing through. Elsewhere, rebirth was in vogue as Lab became Arc, Joe Publics became Pam Pam, and Bath’s Back To Mine metamorphosed into Baroque. Then there was Motion – in particular its underground music season In:Motion, which returned for a second run of expertly programmed blow-outs in October. Highlights so far have included tie-ins with Bloc, Field Day, Rinse FM and Bugged Out, not to mention guests as diverse as Luke Vibert, DJ Yoda, Zinc, Hudson Mohawke and Skream. In:Motion continues right up to the end of December, so in the unlikely event that you haven’t made it down yet, you’ve still got a month’s worth of big nights to choose from.

Motion didn’t have a monopoly on ambitious events this year, though. May saw the Simple Things festival take over three venues at once – our highlights included Kutmah, Jon Hopkins and The Kelly Twins, who seemed to be everywhere this year (pictured, top). June brought the We The People weekender with Chase & Status, The Streets and Annie Mac alongside a host of underground talent. As always, a big chunk of Bristol’s clubbing community disappeared to Glastonbury at the end of that month, resulting in great sets from Addison Groove, Hyetal, Al Tourettes & Appleblim and Redlight. Then in August it was See No Evil – essentially a street art event, but one that brought the cream of local DJ talent together, with everyone from Die and Peverelist to Wild Bunch legend Milo taking part. At summer’s end, a generous contingent of local promoters (Crazylegs, Blowpop et al) decamped to Wiltshire for the second Underhill Festival – memorably described by our reviewer as “a beautiful shambles”.

Finally, 2011 was the year of recession-proof clubbing, as promoters seized opportunities to keep overheads low and door prices attractive for the financially challenged. Boundary Object’s free entry Sunday sessions at The Bell presented the cream of Bristol in a laidback setting, while The Bank hosted forward-thinking line-ups from Futureboogie, Pollen and others, and Contraband brought b-boy block party vibes to the Golden Lion. For those who were lazy as well as skint, Panhead had the answer to everything – the chance to enjoy great DJ sets in the comfort of your own home via the magic of the internet. Truly, we live in remarkable times.

Copyright Adam Burrows 2011