Groundwork turns two: Birthday bash at Shakespeares
The Groundwork crew celebrate two years of putting on parties this month. They've built up a dedicated community with their Shakespeares sessions, offering an easy-going alternative to 6am finishes in freezing warehouses.
The focus has always been on techno, but that doesn't mean the residents won't spin anything else that moves them, from early jazz sets to electro, leftfield house and more abstract club sounds.
We didn't want a DJ who sticks to one genre because it wouldn't be a good representation of what we're about
They're marking the occasion with two special parties in May, with the first on 2 May at their usual Shakespeares haunt. We asked co-founder Alex Hatch what he had planned for the birthday bash.
"To be honest, nothing too different than usual! But I think we'll all be pretty cheerful that we're still here after two years," he said.
"We've got Chris of Anomalies joining us. He's just moved over to Sheffield, and when we met him in Shakespeares and heard one of his mixes we knew we wanted to get him down."
As ever with Groundwork's monthly residency at Shakespeares, entry is free.
On 25 May they're venturing to Hatch for a late night bank holiday bash, with a special guest alongside the residents.
One moment that sticks out for me is when Isaac Crookes played a classic grime tune in The Harley amidst some house tracks he was playing
"When Hatch asked us to invite a guest and we thought of Pandora's Jukebox, we were all fixated on getting her up from the big smoke," said Alex.
"We didn't want a DJ who sticks to one genre because it wouldn't be a good representation of what we're about, but the way Yasmina blends so many styles so well is why we're such big fans," he continued.
Pandora's Jukebox has held residencies at Paris's Cicciolina and legendary London fetish club Torture Garden, as well as appearing regularly at Berghain in Berlin. The night is £5 advance and it's bring-your-own-booze.
We asked Alex to name his favourite Groundwork moment of the first twenty four months. "That's such a tough one because we're feeling like every one we do is the best one yet lately, for different reasons", he said.
"One moment that sticks out for me is when Isaac Crookes played a classic grime tune in The Harley amidst some house tracks he was playing. There was probably only five people there, but it was like 'yeah, we're doing what we want'."
Sam Gregory
2 Years of Groundwork takes place at Shakespeares on 2 May from 7pm. Entry is free.
Groundwork take over Hatch on 25 May with Pandora's Jukebox. Advance tickets are £5 at Party For The People.
