It Came From The Sea
Our most arty club celebrates 5 years of MP3Jing
Words by James Kendall
Illustration by Nikon Driver
You’ve always DJed using computers. It’s completely acceptable now, but did people think it was cheating when you started?
Kick: Since we were using D.A.I.S.Y., a full-sized desktop PC (and academic refurb) with a Naked Lunch-style makeover (as monsterised by a set designer friend) people tended to think we were mentally deficient and/or conducting a science experiment.
Nikon: We'd just moved here so we didn't have money for vinyl and no idea how to use decks even if we did. However, we had the internet, which gave us access to all the music and hooky software we'd ever need. It really wasn't a choice for us. It was the only way It Came From The Sea could ever have been done.
What’s the benefit of laptop DJing?
Kick: You can have other programs running in the background for entertainment or information – I, for example, always have an open word doc with tips to self about how to mix particular songs while drunk. Being drunk, I slavishly follow my sober advice like a frightened child and disaster is mostly averted.
Nikon: And watching The Wire during Kick's sets! Just kidding, of course.
The music policy is quite diverse – what ties it together?
Kick: Our music policy – ‘new music only’ – may sound simple, but it’s unforgivingly conceptual – and stops us getting complacent (playing popular tracks interminably, etc). It Came From The Sea could have settled down into playing safe a long time ago, but fuck that – my latest phrase is ‘compassionate futurism’. Oh, and please note that we’ve never had a guest DJ not ‘cause we’re awful egomaniacs, but ‘cause we’re – even worse – control freaks and don’t want to compromise, ever.
Is there a danger to being so eclectic?
Kick: Yes. Constant. Life-threatening. Most clubs work on the principle of giving people what they want, following trends, playing the hits and granting requests. We try to shift genre as often as possible, avoid playing songs – however metaphorically big – for more than a few months and generally refuse to let anyone, including primarily ourselves, get comfortable. In the profoundly conservative and regressive field of nightlife it’s absolutely the opposite of the accepted formula for success – but we maintain that, so long as you come to ICFTS with an open mind, and prepare to improvise on the dancefloor, there’s nothing quite like the shock of the new.
You’ve both got pseudonyms and shy away from being in the pics. What’s wrong with you, don’t you want to be famous?
Kick: We’re living through a period of unprecedented identity experimentation – everyone is famous, in a city-size way. Neither of us aspire to be DJs, we’re both pursuing artistic careers elsewhere. If and when they take off, we’ll stop.
What’ve been your favourite moments of the last five years?
Nikon: Oddly, one of my favourite moments was when we warmed up for Miss Kittin at the Ocean Rooms before they had the refurb downstairs and they had that really shitty claustrophobic booth. Their audience had obviously been starved of characterful music and they were total dancefloor zombies. Then when we came on the place went insane. They were throwing themselves at the booth, literally scratching and clawing at us through the hole in our tiny booth. It was amazing to see such a transformation within a crowd.
Why do you always do your NYE party in January?
Kick: Originally, because no one would ever give us a NYE slot. Now… because no one will give us a NYE slot. But also because we know what an overpopulated anticlimax the real thing often is, and we want to give people a second chance at happiness.
It Came From The Sea Fifth Birthday at Komedia, Fri 8th
http://www.voodoolily.co.uk
Nightclub or art project?
ICFTS’ best gimmicks – past present and future
• Dog bowls full of sweets
• Scrolling LED readout with conversation topics
• Playing from a ‘monsterised’ desk PC
• Commissioned art slide projections
• A “near-psychedelic fusion of smoke and lights”
• “Edifying reading material” on the tables
• An end-of-night slowie |
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