Stepped up bass and low slung glump from the broken sound of rank. Lowri Clarke meets the man behind The Z-Shed.
It's interesting watching the genesis of a really good club night. Especially in a city like London, where nights pop up and explode like bright, loud stars, morph, duck and dive, meld together, are reborn. Some nights take on lives of their own, become movements, affect trends in dance music. FWD>> famously provided the birth canal for dubstep. And although it would be churlish to attach cultural significance to a night so young, it seems possible that The Z-Shed has a certain symbiosis with a special kind of sound.
The Z-Shed is the night which is giving home to a range of rinsing, raucous DJs and the people who like it hard. It's been kicking for a couple of years and lately has really started gathering steam and kudos. Heavy, rinsing beats have always been popular on the underground side of things. But it's thanks to nights like Z-Shed, Them, Trouble Vision, Bangface and the Overkill arena at Glade, that the rinsing, unrelenting sound is becoming de rigeuer.
Ben Pearson is the man behind The Z-Shed. It began life, as these things so often do, as a pretty small affair. "The first ever party was on a Tuesday night in a pub called Taylors on Watford High Street. I photocopied about 100 flyers and handed them out around my college, fully expecting 100 people plus 100 of their mates to turn up. On the night about 5 people turned up, 4 of which were DJ'ing. Myself and couple of friends set up a huge rig at the back of the pub and were playing everything from house to breakcore. By 10pm the landlord switched off the power and quite politely told us to fuck off. Thus The Z-Shed was born."
"At the time I was living in Watford and going to a lot of raves in and around London. I’d always have a great time but after a while everything started to feel way too regimented and cliquey, it was all like 'this is a techno party, this is an electro party, blah blah blah.' The Z-Shed was an attempt to put genre to one side and get all the sounds I loved under one roof."
The Z-Shed flies the flag for dance music which is not easily categorized. In the beginning, says Ben, it was pretty straightforward describing what the DJ was playing, be it garage, house, breaks, techno, jungle, whatever. But he felt like he could push it further. "About 2 years ago things started falling into place. All these really wicked producers were beginning to pop up making crazy dance floor music that couldn't be pigeon holed. Pirate Soundsystem, Mikix the Cat, Egyptrixx, Kanji Kinetic, Raffertie, L-Vis 1990, Reso, Gella, Squire of Gothos, Bruce Stallion, plus a whole load more. They were all really up for coming to play and as time went on and more people were booked it really felt like the Z-Shed was beginning to get its own unique sound."
The Z-Shed feels as if it crosses over into free party territory. It's more rough and ready than most club nights. Has a totally unpretentious atmosphere and a core following of bass lovers. It's a sweaty rave which tonight will be in an excellent club with a superb soundsystem. Z Shed are hosting room two at Cable for Chew The Fat! – Paul Arnold's established label and clubnight. They've have been throwing regular nights in London for over a decade. Once a monthly at The End, their brand remains synonymous with cutting edge, rolling beats and big basslines. They've cosied up with The Z-Shed once before, when they hosted the second room at the Arches. It went really well and they got invited back.
Tonight, The Z-Shed is headed up by chaos merchant Mumdance and the hotly tipped Raffertie with Randomer, Mustard Gunn, Your Niece and Filed Under K all disrespectfully doing the business. In the Chew The Fat! and Dirty Canvas Room it's Alex Metric, Plastican, Geeneus and Tippa, Foamo and more.
See you at the front.
Click here to see the full line up for Chew The Fat! Meets Dirty Canvas.
Click here to see all London DJ music.
Click here for things to do in London.
Add an event