Liverpool’s house music scene is undergoing a renaissance and newcomers Get Down are leading the pack for hot new nights. Having celebrated their first birthday Getintothis’ James Elson gives us the heads up on how to get down.
‘Get Down‘announced their arrival at a time when Liverpool had a number of well established house nights.
Despite Liverpool’s insatiable appetite for electronic music, squeezing yourself onto the club night dinner table is a sizeable task for any budding promoter. Yet Get Down proclaims to bring you – the punter – ‘The Best of House’.
In the current musical climate, some would say this is admirable, others over-ambitious. Arguably the best way for a night to establish a loyal following is to find a niche, then give that area of the genre maximum promotion. Get Down chooses to tread a slightly different path in providing something for everyone, putting on local talent along with bigger DJs.
Now into its second year, Get Down has slowly but surely carved out a small place in Liverpool’s House music scene.
Another quiet night in for Get Down at The Shipping Forecast
Founded by Tom Davies and Orlagh Dooley, both felt the Liverpool house scene was missing an event that could showcase emerging Liverpool DJs. Tom, from Huyton, has lived in Liverpool all his life. Orlagh and Tom both attend John Moores University and have been involved in the Liverpool house scene for a while, either simply as club revellers, DJs and now promoters.
They were inspired by nights such as Chibuku and Circus, managing to secure a monthly slot at The Shipping Forecast. While nights of ever increasing capacity loom large on Liverpool’s clubbing landscape, small grassroots events are more important than ever.
Tom and Orlagh hope to provide a channel for upcoming grassroots talent while giving younger audiences a chance to see new artists for an affordable ticket price.
The number of nights competing for revellers’ attention means that it’s necessary to book acts that stand out from the crowd. With regards to who they book next, the guys tell Getintothis: ‘Whether you’ve played major festivals or are just starting out, we want to judge people on their talent and not just a name. Both Liverpool-based and established acts appeal to us.‘
Since the opening show, GD has played host to DJs such as wAFF and Dale Howard. The former’s ‘Jo Johnson‘ has become popular with DJs such as Loco Dice and Groove Armada.
The track came second in DJ Magazine’s ‘Track of the Year’ poll. As a result of his growing reputation, wAFF headlined several nights in Ibiza last summer.
Dale Howard is an artist endorsed by house heavyweights such as Huxley and Luciano. He has managed to reach number two and three in Beatport’s Deep House Chart with his recent brace of singles. The producer/DJ has released tracks on labels such as OFF, Noir and Morris Audio.
James Silk, Oli Hackett, James Rand and David Glass have also headlined in recent months. Local boy Carlton Hudson completes the resident’s line up.
Get Down bring the best of old, new and Liverpool talent to The Shipping Forecast
GD hopes to keep the promising newcomers and established crowd-pullers coming over the next shows. While fresh, these artists have already made their mark not only on the house scene but also further afield.
Art and design is another area in which Get Down has marked itself out with Liverpool artist, Emily Garner, producing all their artwork and promotional material. It provides the night with strong visuals that are consistently used through all their shows.
The founders are pleased at how much progress has been made. ‘It’s become known quite rapidly‘, says Tom.
‘Although it started off as a smallish night we’re happy to see numbers increasing with each event that we put on. Our February party locked out at maximum capacity‘.
If the night can keep up the momentum it has steadily built so far, it will be impressive, although it remains to be seen if GD can weather the storm other Liverpool club nights sometimes flounder in after their initial buzz wears off.
The night looks to expand further in the future: a partnership with Awaken Ibiza means there will be a GD boat party setting sail from the club-goers’ island this summer.
The pair also produced a soundtrack for The Teabox Company launch night on April 19 at Liverpool One. They also hope to find a venue with a bigger capacity if they continue to fill out The Shipping Forecast.
The two DJs also produce. Tom has had his first two singles released on Dish of the Day (Portugal) and Wireless Music (Bolivia) while Orlagh is currently developing her own material on Ableton.
For more on Get Down visit their facebook page.
Tom Davies.
Orlagh Dooley.
Get Down.
