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Broken and Uneven: The Hydra Interview
Monday 8th October 2012 | Osh
Tab Taylor had a chat with Broken and Uneven, the team behind the much anticipated forward thinking event series ‘The Hydra’. Running all the way through to New Years Day 2013, this 11 part series present us with the very best in underground electronic music held in secret East London warehouse and studio spaces. With Benji B’s Deviation celebrating their 5th birthday this Saturday 13th October, get ready for yet another big night. Here is what they had to say...
Firstly can you tell us about yourselves and your background?
The team is made up of Ajay Jayaram - formerly head of programming at The End for 10 years until it closed and founding member of We Fear Silence and Dolan Bergin who has been running House, Techno, and Disco party / label Electric Minds for 7 years. Also part of the team is Laura Mildmay-White, who was formerly at The Warehouse Project.
How would you sum up The Hydra Series and what was your aim with the nights?
A collection of parties featuring our favourite labels, artists and collectives. When we realised that we had what we felt was a very strong and diverse group it made sense to promote it as a series of events, bringing together the cream of cutting edge electronic dance music
What’s the toughest and best thing about starting your own night?
It's actually a privilege to be working on music that we genuinely love; enjoying what you do for a living is not a position that everybody is fortunate enough to be in - we're very lucky. It is tough though - London is an extremely difficult market and the dearth of venues available to independent promoters makes life very hard.
We went to The Netil house and the party was wicked, with great vibes. How do you feel it has all gone so far?
Cheers, glad you enjoyed it! Overall things have been really good. The response to what we are trying to do has been really positive, almost like there's a feeling that people have wanted something like The Hydra to happen if that makes sense? It's not been without it's obstacles though. Warehouse spaces have not only become increasingly difficult to secure, but whereas there may have once been a time when the raw nature of four walls and a rig was enough, that is no longer the case. Because warehouses have almost replaced clubs as the dominant rave location, the expectations in terms of production are much higher. As a rule that's not been an issue for us - we take a great deal of pride to ensure that sound, bars, security, the experience as a whole - is on point. But now, when not everything is of the highest quality it can lead to negative feedback - at the Netil House gig you mentioned, despite us spending a lot of money on Air Con units, when one of them broke down on the night the place became pretty hot and we got heat (sorry) for it. Not so long ago the idea of bringing in Air Con units to a warehouse space (not purpose built for clubbing) may even have been at odds with the whole spirit of things. The times they are a' changin!
You have got such an epic line up throughout the whole series, who goes about selecting these?
Thank you! It's a team effort where we all chip in. Part of the reason we all started working together is because we share a like-minded outlook on music.
You teamed up with clothing brand Supremebeing for a limited edition range of T-Shirts, how did this come about?
We've known Simon and David from Supremebeing for a while and have been keen to work with them as apart from loving what they do - high quality clothing with the right cut and great designs - they just get it, you know? We also all wanted to do something as part of The Hydra series which lent the whole thing a slightly different bias. There's some killer imagery that has been done for the events so far, predominantly by Jack Featherstone and that artwork will be T-Shirtified (probably not a real word) by the SB crew. More on this to follow, so keep an eye out for it...
We are looking forward to New Year, what treats are in store for The Hyrda Series for this one?
For NYE we have the Border Community family joined by a couple of other labels that we'll be able to announce very shortly - both of whom have had a great 2012 - hosting a room each in what we feel is a really interesting venue. BC always deliver so it's going to be the start to a very special double header - the Electric Minds NYD party will be at the same venue with a Special Headliner to be announced at the end of this month. Sorry, all very cryptic but London is awash with exclusivity clauses that must be adhered to, though rightly so.
Have there been any highlights for you so far?
Many. The launch weekend with Ostgut and A Bunch of Cuts, whilst not without it's challenges, was a great way to launch with absolutely everyone involved contributing to a very enjoyable couple of sessions. The Dial Records event was particularly special as it featured some incredible live performances - exceptional music all round really.
For us, we cannot wait for Deviation 5th Birthday! Did you approach the guys to work together on this one?
We've been working with the Deviation fam for a while now and the 5th Birthday has been a labour of love for Benji, Alice and Zainab for some time. It's such a unique gathering of talent that it's hard not to feel like The Hydra will peak at this event! That said I still feel like there's so much more to look forward to after, of varying styles and flavours.
What can we expect next from you guys?
A self-imposed exile for a little while, before licking our wounds and working out if we're not too rinsed to do it all over again on 2013....
Can you give us an exclusive or any insider info?
It's not been fully announced as yet (though it is out in the ether as it were...), but James Murphy of LCD/DFA will be doing a very special 4 Hour Set for us as part of a Bugged Out's entry to The Hydra on December 7th.
Cheers for your time, we hope to catch you at Deviation:)
You're welcome and thanks for all of the support, not just with this but over the years also. It's much appreciated ;)
For more information check out ww.brokenanduneven.com
Or follow the guys on twitter @BrokenUneven
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