We chat party packs and family feelings with Ryan Newell of Pattern, ahead of the night this Saturday...
Nottingham’s electronic bookings are on fire right now, with new, smaller nights popping up and promoters bringing the freshest names to our city. One of these is Pattern who is hosting East End Dubs and Lauren Lo Sung at our current fave party spot, The Chameleon, this Saturday.
We caught up with head honcho Ryan Newell ahead of the ‘do, and learned his night is a full-on family affair…
When did Pattern start, and who is involved?
I started it last summer, pretty much as a spur of the moment thing. My cousin Lauren and her partner John actually run The Chameleon, and I happened to pass by one night and felt the energy that I’d want to feel from a night myself, so we spoke about me putting an event on.
I went back, did some research and booked in a date and it pretty much went from there. My brother had just finished a music design degree in London too, so he now handles all the design, artwork etc; it's just a two man team as we speak, and all in the family!
What was your musical ‘education’ growing up?
I was raised listening to ragga and was involved in the whole sound system culture. I also liked a lot of jungle, drum and bass and rave which then led to house and garage as I grew up and starting searching for music myself. My dad and uncles were regulars at a lot of the big festivals and raves back in the late 80s early 90s, so I guess it was only natural that I would be involved in club music in some shape or form.
Where was your first event and who played there?
Our first event was at The Chameleon. We booked Leo Pol, a French artist who plays live with old school analogue hardware, and he’s also a resident at the infamous Concrete Paris, which was a big thing for our first ever night. We got some amazing feedback which gave me the inspiration to crack on and really make it work going forward.
We also had two of my brother's good friends from Uni play for us - Ruffien from Essex and Kalii from Manchester, who have both got a good following and are respected producers with releases out on some top labels.
Have you always been at The Chameleon? What do you like about the venue?
Yes, we’d like to think of The Chameleon as our home. It’s family and I’d like to have that energy and family feeling continue throughout our nights.
It’s just the perfect little place for an intimate party too, allowing you to be up close and personal with the artists.
What makes Pattern different to other nights in the city?
First and foremost, I’m a raver! So our nights are put on by a raver, for the ravers. I’d like to think that we go just that extra mile when it comes to planning out the whole experience for the clubber. For instance, we give our what we like to call ‘Pattern Packs’ on the night, which is an adult goodie bag with some raving essentials like a lighter, chewing gum, wet wipes, a fan, lollipops - all that kinda stuff that comes in handy!
Do you have a particular booking policy?
In terms of sound I’d say no. I’ve got such a broad taste in music and I love the whole spectrum of house and techno, so whatever resonates with me I’ll consider booking for our events.
One thing we would like to see is more female DJs in Nottingham as it is quite a male dominant scene, so this something we are actively pursuing. Just to even it out a little bit and bring new energy to the scene.
Who are the Pattern residents?
We have a good friend of mine and one of my raving partners, MCculloch, as well as Luke Nukem. He’s part of Four Four DJ Academy in the lace market. You might also catch me playing a cheeky set too!
Do you think it is important to collab with other local nights?
Yeah, definitely. If Nottingham wants to have flourishing underground scene in the same way some of the bigger cities do, then I think working together is a must. We are always speaking with other promoters. For example, Louis from The Waves is playing this time. He was at our first night so we spoke and he was feeling our vision. We liked what he was doing with The Waves too, so it was natural for us to have him play at one of our events.
For those who haven't seen Lauren Lo Sung or East End Dubs before, what can we expect?
I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve seen them both play at various nights and festivals across the country. East End Dubs is just a pioneer for the whole stripped-back, minimal, dubby sound – it’s what I’m listening to the most at the minute, so it was only right we booked him. Lauren always takes me on a journey of pure joy any time I listen to her sets too. She’s been on our radar since we started, so we're really excited to have her play for us.
Any tracks that sum up the Pattern sound?
Reminds me of our first night, such a vibe!
A firm favourite of mine at the minute, lovely stripped back grooves!
Anything else you'd like to add to LeftLion readers?
There’s so much more to come this year! Keep your ears open your eyes peeled - we’re just getting started baby!
Pattern is bringing East End Dubs and Lauren Lo Sung to the Chameleon on Saturday 13 April, from 10pm – 5am.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
