Jordan Diston from discotech tells us all about the collaboration coming to Red Bar in Nottingham on Saturday 31 March, featuring tech-house giant Eddie Richards…
Tell us a bit about The Zoo Project and discotech and how the collaboration came together…
For years, The Zoo Project has been one of Ibiza's most creative, out-there and downright wild parties. They kick out some of the world’s most forward-thinking electronic music, and set it all against a fully immersive environment, in an abandoned zoo on the white island.
In many ways The Zoo Project shares the same ethos as discotech. Our party has and always will be about the music, a great crowd and a proper sound system. We spend a lot of time tuning the rig before an event and even during to make sure it sounds just right. All our residents are real music enthusiasts and diggers who at the same time don’t take themselves too seriously.
We’ve brought some great DJs to the discotech over the years including Subb-an, Adam Shelton, Acid Mondays, Alex Arnout, Clive Henry (DC10), Dale Howard and Seb Zito to name a few as well as working alongside the likes of Sankeys, Rainbow Rooms, RiffRaff* and of course Zoo who we started collaborating with a few years ago now, hosting a stage at The Zoo Project Festival. We’ve being working together ever since.
What can people expect from the night?
Music-wise expect house, dub, jazz, electro, garage, techno and plenty of surprises in between.
We really wanted to bring something fresh to the city. We’re going to completely transform the venue into a jungle, bringing in our own decor, performers and animal dancers as well as added lighting and visuals. When we were looking for venues in Nottingham we wanted to find somewhere that we could really make our own. Red Bar is perfect; we loved the aesthetics of the club and low ceilings. Jackmaster recently played there for Wigflex and it was something else.
Sound is also going to be on point. We’re bringing in our very own VOID Acoustics Sound system. It won't be found in any other venue in the city. It’s a rig you have to hear to experience. I really can't put it into words. The guys really know how to set a system up and have worked with the likes of Studio 338 and Sankeys Ibiza to name a few.
You’ve bagged tech-house legend Eddie Richards…
To have Eddie down his a huge honour for us. You only have to look at his career to see what a influence he’s had on the scene. He’s been playing records out now for well over thirty years and is responsible – along with Terry Francis and Nathan Coles – for creating that tech-house sound. The collective were running warehouse parties in London in the early nineties – while many of us were still in nappies – and his music still sounds just a fresh today. Not to mention his skills behind the decks.
When I’m looking for music, I always look for old house music that sounds new and new house music that sounds old. That sums up Eddie; he’s timeless. His releases are often played by the likes of Jamie Jones, Martinez Brothers, Apollonia and Seth Troxler to name a few.
How do you plan to bring the Ibiza vibes to humble little Notts?
We’ve worked closely with The Zoo Project to really make sure we capture the feel of the party. The performers, dancers, dancing animals, sound, lighting, decor and of course the DJs have all been picked to really create something special. When you enter the venue you will not feel like you’re in Nottingham any more.
We’re also working with Love Specs who’ll be face painting and glittering all night long. The charity is doing some inspirational work helping improve the lives of the children of Malawi. It’s great to have them involved and to support such an amazing cause.
What have been some of the maddest outfits you’ve seen over the years?
Once I saw a guy at Zoo dressed in an inflatable penis costume. What a cock. We actually have a fancy dress box for after parties which has produced some golden get-ups. The general rule of thumb is that there’s never enough glitter, flowery shirts and spandex are must, and have a hat for every situation.
What else have you got coming up that we should be keeping an eye on?
This year sees us take discotech around the UK. Next up, we’re doing a Charity Boat Party in London with Love Specs. The lineup for this will be released after the Zoo event so keep an eye on our page. Then it’s our sixth birthday with Burnski in our hometown of Derby in June.
We also have parties coming up in Manchester, Nottingham and across Europe with us taking discotech back over to The Zoo Project in Ibiza over the summer.
Anything else you’d like to say to LeftLion readers?
The venue shuts at 5am on the night. Keep on dancing x
The Zoo Project x discotech: Eddie Richards, Milou, Lee Pennington takes place at Red Bar, Nottingham, on Saturday 31 March, 8pm. Get tickets here
Enter our Facebook competition to win 4 tickets to the event
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