A night of clubbing is as much about the music you want to hear as it is the experience you hope to get out of it. Whilst there are endless opportunities to don your best threads and brave the night buses to see and be seen, we prefer to come as we are, get sweaty and get down. With their irresistible selection of post-punk and electro classics and obscurities, Our Disco ticks all our boxes for what makes a night out lovely.
After a few months' hiatus, Our Disco jumped back on the scene in full effect last week. We took that opportunity to talk with Den Odell about what makes their disco so wonderful. Be a good student and read the entire interview, for at the end of it you can enter to win tickets to this Friday night's instalment!
Who are the lovely people that put the "Our" in "Our Disco"?
Rory Phillips, Glyn Campbell, Nadia Ksaiba and Den Odell.
Hurrah! Our Disco is back! You were last on the scene back in December, but that was only a brief stay. Are you back for only one month this time, or are you here to stay for a while?
Here to stay. We were back in May for a Relish Records party, and before that March with our 4-week season of secret guests to celebrate our 4th birthday.
When and why did you set your night up?
We started in January 2003 because London needed a good small club with a community/friendly atmosphere, somewhere that we would go to ourselves. We got offered Plastic People which was great for doing that.
When we attended the Our Disco night you did with 2 Many DJs, the obvious first thing that hit us was what an excellent vibe you had going from the crowd. Everyone was really friendly and nice. How do you attract so many lovely humans?
Pheromones. We really do go out of our way to make things as special as possible. Every record must be great, every guest must be great, the venue must be great (we put quite a bit of work into sorting it out). When you put energy into something, I really believe it comes back.
Will you revisit the "surprise DJ" idea that you did during your last set of events? We thought having a surprise mystery DJ for the night was a brilliant idea. It wouldn't work if you didn't trust the promoters, but if you knew they always threw quality nights, you would just relax and enjoy the surprise.
We thought about it keeping it going, but the problem we ran into was, though we were keeping things pretty tight lipped, it was leaking out who was doing which week. So it was only a surprise to people who weren't "in the know", as it were.
What do you do in the real world or do you do Our Disco full time?
In the real world, Glyn runs club nights and has done for 13 years, Rory DJs and produces, Nadia DJs and has a radio show and Den makes websites look sexy.
Who's the best performer you've ever had down?
Too many to call, really. And we mean that honestly.
Why did you pick your venue?
1. Run by nice people
2. Nice venue
3. Good sound
We picked this venue for its potential. It's slightly out of the way for us (so no wandering-in city boys). It wasn't perfect when we got there, but there have been so many DIY programs on TV, we walked in and we were entrained to look at ways we could improve the ambiance for a small fee. It's a great size and they are supportive of what we do.
What's your dream venue?
The Annexe circa 1999. Plastic People when it was in Oxford Street.
Tell us one artist who we've probably not heard of that we should check out.
I'm down with Matts Katt from Sweden right now. But these things change on a weekly basis...
In a pub brawl between Maximum Joy and Glaxo Babies, who would come out alive?
Everyone. I think post punk stars should not brawl, they should duel. With muskets, and moustaches. At dawn.
Liquid Liquid or Medium Medium?
Liquid Liquid every time.
What other club nights do you like going to in London?
What's your all time favourite night?
All time favourite night? Our Disco. But thats because we made it what we wanted our favourite club night to be.
What's your all time floorfiller?
We have plenty of "end of night floorfillers", usually it's a toss-up between something from Prince or something from early 80s post-punk band Blurt.
What's your favourite London secret?
London is such a wonderful city with so many places special to each of us in our own way.
* Pogo Cafe in Hackney for their vegan almond milkshakes and vegan knickerbocker glories.
* Whole Foods in Kensington is just THE best supermarket I've ever stepped into.
* The view down Charlotte Road from Old Street, with the city skyscrapers peeking over the Victorian buildings, always does something for me.
What are five tracks we're likely to hear spun at your night?
Hmm, right now? Maybe...
LCD Soundsystem - "Get Innocuous (Soulwax Remix)"
LA Priest - "Engine (Erol Alkan's Transonic Edit)"
Smith & Hack - "Space Warrior"
The Gossip - "Your Mangled Heart (Rory Phillips Remix)"
Human League - "The Things That Dreams Are Made Of"
Anything else we should know?
If ever we say special secret guests, it's usually a pair of Belgian brothers or two law-abiding Frenchmen.
Have you ever been sick on the tube?
At least one of the four of us has been. Not at the same time.
Photo by Alistair Allan, all rights reserved.
Our Disco occurs weekly on Friday nights from 10:30 p.m. - 4:00 a.m. at The Hub, 2 Goulston Street, E1 7TP (map). Cost: £7 or £5 before 11:30 p.m. or NUS.
To enter to win a pair of free tickets to Our Disco on 5 October 2007 featuring Mike Simonetti of Troubleman Unlimited, please complete the form below. The competition closes on Friday, 5 October at 3:00 p.m., shortly after which the winner will be notified via email.
