​Electronic music and clubbing are inextricably linked. 

At times it's an escape, a place to shed any worries and forget about work. 

At other times, it brings me slap bang into the present moment. Those beautiful basslines, the darkness, the flashing lights, and the people... sometimes thousands of others, or maybe hundreds, or perhaps just a few kindred spirits, dancing to the same beat. There's nowhere else to be apart from right here, right now.

 

This feeling is the reason that many of us play music, make music, put events, even buy venues or shops connected to the dance scene. For many of us, it brings joy and connection. 

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But what's happening in the electronic music scene in smaller cities and towns across the UK? 

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Smaller places hold both opportunities and challenges for those wanting to make a DJ name, promote events, open a venue or a music shop. 

Most of my own experience comes from DJing in the early 2010s, in Lancaster and Morecambe. I still DJ occasionally, around the demands of a photography business and family life, and I'm still in touch with a lot of friends I made through music, and want to find out their perspectives.

 

I want to know how we continue to nurture the scene in our area (and ones like it), despite the challenges. One such challenge is the closure of many independent music venues in the UK, making it more difficult than ever for those running these spaces, and those who learn their craft and make connections there. 

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Electronic club music is relatively young as far as musical genres go, but has already seen massive changes in the last few decades. Lancaster is down the road from Manchester, where some of the most seismic UK shifts occurred in the late 1980s. How did this influence local DJs? 

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I decided to start a personal project: a portrait and interview series, to see what emerges... 

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Click on the images below for the interviews in text and audio form, and the portraits. 

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