Fewer Than One

The party scene is finally dusting off its collective decks following eighteen months of enforced hibernation, and in true Sheffield style people are coming together and bringing forth their ideas and visions for what comes next. Enter Fewer Than One: the third and final incarnation of what was formerly DLS and The Night Kitchen. Housed within the shell of one of the city’s most famous cutlery factories, the space comprises a warehouse venue alongside studios for artists and musicians, with current inhabitants including K.O.G and Franz Vonn, Mondo Radio, Gut Level, Madbox Creative, MaybeBaby, and bassline artist K:Dot.

Back in 2010 when Dirty Little Secret opened, it was amongst the first venues of its kind in Sheffield. One of their original aims was to appeal to the large crowds who were attending illegal warehouse raves, so people could party in a safer space, and so they could support local DJs by giving them a legal venue to play at, and an income. DLS grew to book DJs from all over the UK and Europe and became a firm favourite amongst the all-night party crew. Praise was even bestowed from on high by Resident Advisor, who described the people behind the DLS parties as “saviours of the Sheffield underground”.

2014 saw the next stage of evolution for DLS, and under the new moniker of The Night Kitchen it went on to welcome thousands of revellers through its doors until it cooked up its final party in 2019. Now two years have passed and the venue is back in the hands of Stevie Day, who was part of the original team that started DLS. Stevie and his team have big plans for Fewer Than One, and at the heart of those plans is the desire to build a supportive community within the venue, one which helps its artists and musicians grow, and encourages them to get involved with the direction and running of the space.

In the days of DLS and TNK, the venue was booking disproportionately large numbers of white, male DJs, was predominantly dance music focused, and mostly attracted students. Fewer Than One is determined to make change for the better by actively diversifying its line-up, booking more women, more artists of colour, more people from the LGBTQ+ community, and more disabled people, to make the venue representative of the people and the city it lives within.

Talking about Fewer Than One's focus on diversifying its line-up and appealing to a wider range of people, founder Stevie Day said, “Towards the end of The Night Kitchen’s tenure, it felt like it got pigeon-holed into appealing to young people and playing bassline. The music was very similar every time. Through the new team we're hoping to do all sorts of different events.”

Stevie and the crew are kicking things off in grand style for FTO’s launch party, teaming up with Born On Road, Andy H and Displace for all things drum and bass, and Groundwork, Collect, Sequence Music and Tcennoc for the techno beats. The party starts at 4pm on Saturday 28 August and will go right through until 5am. Tickets are on sale now. Don’t miss it.

Looking further ahead, NSOD: No Standing Only Dancing takes place on 9 October. The night will draw on the ethos of ecstatic dance which encourages dancers to give themselves up to the rhythm of the music, move freely, and embrace a feeling of connectedness with themselves and those around them. NSOD hopes to cultivate a safe space to dance, where the focus is on getting exercise, and freeing your mind and body, while DJ Kom Kom brings the world music vibes.

The nightclub scene has taken a battering in the last year and a half, so to see new spaces like Fewer Than One opening up gives hope that this vital part of our cultural fabric will not only recover but will use this opportunity for reinvention, to come back even better. Stevie and the team are currently working hard to refresh and revitalise the space ahead of its official opening on the August bank holiday weekend. Be sure to follow them on Instagram @fewerthanone for news and updates about upcoming parties and live events.