Drum Kraft is a new drum & bass night starting that's loosely affiliated to LTJ Bukem's Good Looking label. Their first night is at Club Raduno in London on November 6th so we spoke to promoter Fridd to find out more...

 

Please introduce yourself...

My name is Danny Fridd. I've been a fan of drum & bass since its inception back in 1992/3 and have been a massive fan of LTJ Bukem, MC Conrad and Good Looking Records since they began also.

I've been a DJ since the early days as well and bought my first record, Dominator by Human Resource, back in 1991. I've DJed at a few clubs over the years and have done the usual house parties, etc. but never broke into the mainstream and basically remained a happy, not always content!, bedroom DJ.

I essentially share this story with my friend Aaron Murphy, aka DJ Flipside, who is also an aspiring DJ and a huge fan of D&B and Good Looking Records.

The third member of Drum Kraft is Simon Case, aka Psygnosis. Both Aaron and myself met him through Good Looking's community section and after sharing similar stories and a basic love of D&B, decided to form Drum Kraft.

Why have you started Drum Kraft?
 
Lots of different factors came into play when deciding to form Drum Kraft. Aaron and myself had been discussing the creation of a new D&B night for a long time but never seemed to find the right time or opportunity. We knew we had the experience and dedication needed but did not always have the necessary contacts or funds available to really get it off the ground.

By good fortune Dan 'Soulsmith' Smith, Good Looking's promotion & community manager, started a community section on a site called Fancorps. This was an opportunity for genuine GLR lovers to get together and help promote the label and LTJ Bukem / MC Conrad in return for guest list entry to all Bukem events and other little goodies as the situation arose.

Both Aaron and myself leapt at this opportunity as it meant being part of an organisation we loved and seemed to get us one step closer to the world of D&B we were committed to.

We were lucky enough to meet lots of dedicated fans, DJs, producers and music lovers through this enterprise and got a genuine insight into the works of GLR and the drum & bass scene.

It was obvious that there's a lot of unsung talent out there that needs promoting but as the industry seems to only be interested in proven entities we decided it was time we set up something that gave the 'unknown' talent an opportunity to get out there and do their thing.

I approached GLR with a view to forming a 'Troop Night', a trooper being a member of the GLR fancorps site who helped promote GLR, and asked for their blessing. With this given we then approached various clubs and DJs and went about setting up the first night.

The basic ethos of Drum Kraft is simple. We will always have a couple of headline DJs, Furney and Paul SG for the first night, and will then give the 'unknown' talent a chance to DJ.

We do not need a DJ to have made a record or have their own label to perform for us, as long as you have some talent and know your stuff we will give you a chance.

This has so far generated a lot of interest and we have many DJs, known and unknown, ready to perform for us. Good Looking Records itself is behind us and approved the use of their logos on our flyers, promotion, etc.

We see Drum Kraft as a long term successful brand and are looking to expand into a regular night at different venues around the country.

What are the names of the residents?

Furney - a Good Looking artist and incredible D&B producer, appears at nearly all of the UK based Bukem In Session events and is tipped to become the next big thing - alongside Fridd (myself) and Flipside.

What's the night all about?

Simply put, great music for and by the people that make it, love it and want to have a safe, friendly night to enjoy it. Our ambition is to one day book LTJ Bukem and MC Conrad through the success of our night rather than the fact we are part of the GLR organisation.

Tell us more about what you've got in store for your launch night...

I've been in this industry as a fan and DJ for a long time and realise that good intentions are not only what make a good night. With this in mind we are looking for consistency and great quality for every night and don't want to 'front load' the launch night with silly, frivolous things that cloud the real reason why we are there.

Great music, DJs and a great crowd are what we are looking for so the launch night is relatively simple. We have kept the price low for central London at £10 and feel the punter is getting a great deal. We have booked two of Good Looking's best talents in Furney and Paul SG, just check out Bukem's Fabric CD to see what I mean, and have filled the remaining slots with real up-and-coming talent which will be our mission from now on.

Have you got any more nights lined up before the end of the year?

As yet there is no plan for a December event as we are concentrating on the January event instead. The reason for this is due to us not wanting to run before we can walk. As much as we are confident on how successful this venture will be we also recognise the importance of preparation and gauging the reaction of our first night.

We can get a December night sorted very quickly if we feel this is a good move as we already have firm commitments from DJs and a good relationship with our venue Raduno.

What are your plans for the future?

The future for Drum Kraft looks bright as we are already talking about moving to a bigger venue and and in talks to take it on the road to different parts of the country.

Initially we want to cement out reputation in London as a great quality D&B night but we are also looking to promote different types of music and DJs who we feel represent the 'Kraft' element and we will go from there.

We already have lots of support from GLR and I'm sure they have plans for us too. The future is Looking Good!

November 6th: Drum Kraft @ Club Raduno (85 Charterhouse Street, London, EC1M 6HJ)

 

• LTJ Bukem
,
• Good Looking Records
,
• Drum Kraft
,
• Club Raduno

Related Links:

• Bukem & Conrad Clubsessions Residency
• Soul Sessions @ Club Raduno Review
• Old Skool Classic: LTJ Bukem - Demon's Theme
• We Fear Silence Go Weekly
• Promoter Profile: Get Some

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