Dance Tunnel – 1 YearReflections – Viva DT!

Art & Culture

As Dalston basement Dance Tunnel turns one next weekend, we caught up with the faces behind their stable of regular nights, from FWD>> to Thunder, Mono_cult to Way Back Here, and even their in-house party Dance Tunnel Presents to find out how the last year’s been. Stand-out guests, unforgettable moments and killer tracksit’s all here.

WAY BACK HERE…

What’s been the best Way Back Here party at Dance Tunnel so far?

DJ Laizi: Weve putting on parties in Dalston for a little while now, and I can safely say that every show since weve been at the Tunnel (coming up to one year!) has been amazing. If I had to pick one, I think the best night yet was back in June with Maurice Fulton – the Tunnel was rammed, the vibe was incredible and Maurice completely smashed it!

A guest or resident set that you thought really nailed it…

DJ Laizi: We had Murat Tepeli down in August and he played a ridiculously good set. Three hours all vinyl. It was a proper journey! Ive also got to say that Braidens headline set for us at the start of the year was superb. Hed mostly been supporting on line-ups, and the majority of the time he was playing better than whoever was topping the bill. He really delivered and its one that I definitely wont forget.

One special moment from any party you’ve thrown at Dance Tunnel that you won’t forget in a hurry…

DJ Laizi: Maurice Fulton’s last tune!!

A track played at WBH that worked best in the space…

DJ Laizi: So many to choose from! For me personally, when I play at the Tunnel, there are a few that always go down really well Roman Flugel – Even More, Motor City Drum Ensemble – The Stranger, Florian Kupfer – Feelin.

FWD>>

What’s been the best FWD>> party at Dance Tunnel so far?

Youngsta: The first FWD>> at Dance Tunnel, to celebrate Skream’s Birthday was deffo one to remember!

A guest or resident set that you thought really nailed it…

Youngsta: All the residents nail it everytime!

One special moment from any party you’ve thrown at Dance Tunnel that you won’t forget in a hurry…

Youngsta: The reaction from the crowd when I first played a exclusive Proxima track titled Trapped. Two rewinds! The Crowd went crazy. I love the intimate vibes you get at Dance Tunnel….

A track played at FWD>> that worked best in the space…

Youngsta: Zinc – Forest Gate Funk. The production on this track is amazing. Zinc tunes always sound great in a club.

MONO_CULT…

What’s been the best Mono_cult party at Dance Tunnel so far?

Matt Long: For me it would be the Vakula night. This was our second party and only the second time Vakula had played in London. The atmosphere was off the hook from the start, and he was amazing DJ and selector.

A guest or resident set that you thought really nailed it…

Matt Long: Portable’s live set at our first party was incredible, and great to see so many people down to watch it! I’ve also loved all our sets at the Tunnel, the DJ booth and dance floor interaction is next level and the crowd allows you to play a wide variety of styles.

One special moment from any party you’ve thrown at Dance Tunnel that you won’t for get in a hurry…

Matt Long: Dropping Burial – Archangel at the end of the night at our July party and the crowd going wild!

A track played at Mono_cult that worked best in the space…

or Murat Tepeli – Forever (Prosumer’s Remix)

THUNDER…

What’s been the best Thunder party at Dance Tunnel so far?

Miles Simpson: Theyve all been good! If we had to pick one though maybe the Gene Hunt party, as it was our first party at Dance Tunnel and Gene’s first time in London since the ’90s. We opened at 10pm, people were queuing up when we arrived, and it was full by 11pm. Gene properly rocked it, the guy has so much natural energy and the place was a complete sweatbox all night. There was a lot of excitement around the night to see a true pioneer who’d played at the Music Box, a Ron Hardy protg, and he didn’t disappoint.

A guest or resident set that you thought really nailed it…

Miles Simpson: Theyve all nailed it. We worry a lot about who we book and so far no one has let us down. Rick Wilhite was the most recent though, and he absolutely blew us away. Such a lovely man, who in his own laidback way made DJing look completely effortless. Like Gene, he had a huge amount of charisma and was jumping about behind the decks, singing along to songs and clapping away. Lots of regulars said it was the best night they’d had in a club for years. He played a great mix of house and disco, nothing too obvious, always with soul and funk and I dont think anyone wanted the night to end.

One special moment from any party you’ve thrown at Dance Tunnel that you won’t forget in a hurry…

Miles Simpson: The last hour of our second birthday was absolutely intense; Domenic Cappello and Neville Watson going back-to-back, feeding off each others energy and the crowd going bananas. Dom dropped an accapella of Davina (all time Thunder anthem) over Neal Howards Indulge and pushed us all over they edge. They ended up doing about three ‘one more tunes’ as people were just screaming for more, before the plug was pulled then everyone stayed to just applaud them. Both great DJs and a great end to the party and our second year.

A track played at Thunder that worked best in the space

Miles Simpson: Too many to mention! Maybe, Gino Soccio – Remember played by Gene Hunt which sounded fantastic. It is a record that connects the three of us (and Dan and Spencer Parker) across about eight years of parties. Or Prince – When Doves Cry; the ultimate one-more record.

COMMUNE

What’s been the best commune party at Dance Tunnel so far?

Josh Thomas: At this stage it’s kind of impossible to answer this question. We’re nine months in and every month has been standout for one reason or another. Ask us again in a year I suppose. Last month we had our friends at 2nd Drop down for a takeover and that guy Djrum smashed the place to pieces. We’ve got some Bristol folk over this month and something pretty special lined up for Saturday 21st December. Big plans for 2014.

A guest or resident set that you thought really nailed it…

Josh Thomas: It’s really hard to pin this one down as there have been a fair few – shouts to everyone who’s played for us so far. On the spot we’d probably go with the night Medlar and his friends came down (Tony & The Waves as they’re known). It was pretty simple: three mates who DJ regularly together, several sacks of wax, killer sound and a responsive crowd all night. Such a pleasure to witness in DT when those elements fuse.

One special moment from any party you’ve thrown at Dance Tunnel that you won’t forget in a hurry…

Josh Thomas: It has to be having El-B down to our July party. Naturally he played an absolute blinder, but it was while we were all having a couple of bevs afterwards in Voodoo Rays he said a few things we wont forget in a hurry. Namely that commune reminded him of Goldie’s seminal Blue Note sessions and early FWD’s, which was humbling and inspiring to hear. Our motivations for starting commune have partly stemmed from hearing how important these nights were to everyone involved and we wanted to do something similar for ourselves, our friends and like-minded music folk.

A track played at commune that worked best in the space…

Josh Thomas: These type of questions are always pretty hard to answer. Without over thinking it too much we’re going to say Joe – Rut, released by Hessle Audio back in 2009. Any good music works well on the Trance Tunnel’s rig but this was a really pivotal track that has been, and still is, important for most of us. We could probably gush over this number for a while but lets just bring this one down to about 128bpm and let it do its thing.
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DANCE TUNNEL PRESENTS…

What’s been the best DTP party at Dance Tunnel so far?

Matt W: For me, nothing can touch the party with Tama Sumo in March. Perfect warm up from Dave Kendrick; there was an amazing atmosphere in the venue after about an hour and Kirsten’s set was absolutely flawless. It felt like 8am when the lights came on