"If you book them, they will come"
How many times have you stood disenchanted in a characterless East London car park party? Craning your ear towards a speaker to make out the barely distinguishable sounds bouncing above your head, having paid top whack for tickets to a night at a ‘secret East London location’ only to be met with poor organization and even worse facilities.If you’re anything like me then it’s far too many. The DIY warehouse scene scattered around the East and South East has allowed for some impressive events over the years, but has been allowed to get away with complacency for too long due to a lack of any practical alternative.
Thankfully this may not be the case for much longer. It may come as a surprise to those whose eyes have never wandered farther afield than Camden on the tube map, but the past year has seen more and more clubbers following big name DJs over to a certain warehouse conversion in North West London: The Loft Studios.
A stone’s throw from Willesden Junction station, the space first came to the attention of many after a string of successful Krankbrother parties last year. Since then, the former Victorian foundry has seen promoters such as secretsundaze, Electric Minds, and Toi Toi, utilising the various caverns, terraces and enclaves on offer.
The enormous venue is home to five studios, two outdoor terraces, and the real jewel in the crown, the loft itself. By day, it’s home to anything from photography shoots and pop-up restaurants to fashion shows. The weekends however have seen in-house programmer Derren Smart and director Neil Soni book the likes of M.A.N.D.Y and Soul Clap for their ‘A Night With….’ parties, with Jamie Jones, Seth Troxler and Sasha already scheduled for the coming autumn. I spoke to Derren about his involvement:
“I first came across Loft Studios when I played records at the Jezebel party in 2010” he begins. “After programming venues such as Egg, Manumissions Music Box and T Bar, I’d actually said that I’d never program a venue again but the opportunity to be based at Loft Studios was too great to refuse. The overall look, with infinity coves, vaulted ceilings and exposed brickwork blew me away.”
On his move away from East London, Derren tells me “it wasn’t long before [event] spaces were becoming harder and harder to find. More and more promoters were appearing and, to be honest, the whole ‘Secret East London Warehouse’ tag was becoming incredibly tired and almost became an excuse to not deliver adequate production. Fortunately for me, the timing of the Loft’s development and my search for a new space were completely coordinated and here we are”.
Following on from Derren's comments, another party who recently benefited from a move out West is secretsundaze, who were forced to move their recent event from Hackney Wick after the army took over the street. They chose The Loft Studios as a last minute replacement, and after some initial concerns about moving so many people at such short notice, SS owner James Priestly, who tells me he’d actually been planning on a party at Loft Studios for some time, now looks back on it as being “the best party we have done this year in my book”.
“Actually, quite a few old school SS crew came out for it”, he adds, “once I'd done my text-outs, I was surprised how many people came back and said, 'ah great, just round the corner from me’. The venue worked really well for us. Glad we made the move out West – it won’t be the last there.”
This weekend Down & Out, the events arm of Berlin-based Items & Things, take over two floors and the terrace courtyard for a label showcase. “After being here for six months the space still excites me” Derren concludes, “developing the way we select events to suit the building and continually looking for interesting and fresh projects to house there make it a real pleasure to be part of.”
It’s not as if West London is some kind of unchartered terrain devoid of any clubbing recognition until now. The area thrived during the West London broken beat scene, producing a cluster of genius productions from the likes of 4Hero and IG Culture, and house giant Kerri Chandler paid homage to the West with his 1997 track Ladbroke Grove. In fact, Kerri’s UK base for Madhouse Records has always been, and still is, down the road in Harlesden. Perhaps it’s a happy coincidence that Kerri’s renaissance seems to be coinciding with a string of top quality parties in the area, with the New Jersey man himself playing an outstanding set at The Loft’s Jubilee Bank Holiday party earlier this year.
Resisting the temptation for any nauseating neophilic claims of West being ‘the new East’, The Loft Studios has proven that promoters needn’t be afraid to leave their comfort zone; as Jim once famously said to Wayne, “If you book them, they will come”.
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