Thursday, November 15, 2007
Positive 15th Birthday
It’s virtually impossible for anyone under a certain age (let’s say 33) to fully appreciate the seismic impact acid house had on British culture in the late 80s and early 90s. I’m quizzing Darren, Positive’s founder, anchor and man of 10,000 fascinating stories on this, Positive’s 15th Birthday, about what it was really like back then.
“Jobs were shit, money was shit, TV was shit, music was shit, pubs were shit and the clubs even worse”, he states emphatically. “We had to make our own entertainment”
Darren cut his teeth on the free party scene at its very origins, but before too long the gangsters and dodgy dealers moved in on the nascent scene, everything got a bit too edgy and as a result, Darren bailed out. But the parties continued to thrive without him and eventually Darren’s mates persuaded him to get involved again and pick up where he left off.
This time around though he swore it would be different: Co-operation – as opposed to confrontation – with the police and local authorities was encouraged, party sites would be cleared and tidied the day after, fences would be repaired and participation, respect for your fellow raver and indeed, non-raver would keep out the unsavoury elements. Thus ‘Positive’ in both name and ideology was born.
Initially the club nights were just a means to raise funds for what Darren intended to be ‘the biggest soundsystem in the country’ but as dance music gradually seeped out of the fields, squats and warehouses into mainstream culture and clubs, Positive’s winning combination of free party vibes within the cosy and infinitely more convenient confines of the local nightclub meant punters just kept coming back for more.
Make no mistake – 15 years of partying and promoting in the turbulent, notoriously fickle and cut throat business of dance music is an incredible achievement so how have they lasted? Much of Positive’s appeal comes from its sense of history and place in the acid house pantheon. To boot, its legacy is the continual upholding of the principle tenets of acid house: Not for profit, inclusive parties for bass-loving hedonists.
By sticking doggedly to this simple manifesto Positive have created a kind of Rave Neverland where nobody really grows up and you can see it in the way the crowd interact tonight. Hugs, smiles and handshakes are exchanged left right and centre – the typical conversation running along the lines of “Mate haven’t seen you since Ovingdean 2004” or “Weren’t you at Black Rock in June?”; everyone greeting each other like Acid Alumni at some class of ‘89 reunion.
Of course another key factor in Positive’s longevity is their willingness to gradually tweak the formula and musically, over the years the Positive sound has taken in everything from Jungle (WAY back in day) to deep, soulful House. These days it’s mainly about the bumpy, trippy tech-house that soundtracks the naughty parties and the tough tech-funk sound they’ve helped popularise in the UK, regularly bringing scene heavyweights like Meat Katie and Elite Force to their bi-monthlies at Audio.
Tonight, Positive’s core residents take turns spinning their own readings of the Positive sound. Simon Atkinson is up first with the punchy, techy tackle that defined their legendary nights at Concorde 2 circa 2003/4 and Kooki follows with his hugely inventive and distinctive sound that somehow rolls steppy breaks, Switched-up house and tech-funk into one seamless bass heavy ride.
Their talismanic semi-resident Dave Mothersole closes proceedings with a typically dexterous blend of more international tech house sounds, throwing the occasional electro fourish into the mix.
The party moves on to Funky Buddha after Audio and once the stragglers from the Buddha’s early show have been replaced with the Positive faithful things REALLY get going. Suddenly, the sun’s up and eveyone’s spilling out onto the sea front. But the party doesn’t stop there with the truly hardcore heading off to a house party that, incredibly, is still rocking at 6AM the following morning.
But after all these years you’d expect nothing less from them. Positive Sounds – at it for ages but still going strong.
posted by: Jim Brackpool @ 10:17 PM
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