With time fading their humble beginnings into fond memories, Knowwhere is embracing a future that is due to take them into the dizzy heights of clubland. Four years into the adventure and the “Get a bit of trance in your life” catch phrase has truly been taken to heart by London’s clubbers making Knowwhere the definitive trance club of the moment.
The journey and somewhat meteoric rise through the bright lights of Brixton’s Club 414 and The Fridge sees Knowwhere take up their residency in iconic venue Heaven as of October 2005. The measure of this rise and coming of age is very much evident in that Knowwhere in their infancy had once occupied Heaven’s adjacent little sister The Soundshaft.
The Knowwhere philosophy and soundtrack is the basis of their appeal. DJ and promoter Anthony Dean places it in perspective. “It is people on the dance floor that matter. Trance as a genre is about real music, real tunes, with feeling, melodies, depth and thought. On both counts it’s about passion!” That passion for the perfect production has seen residents DJ Matt Darey, Adam White and Anthony Dean take a merited place on Knowwhere flyers alongside the UK’s most influential Trance exponents as a matter of course, these including Agnelli & Nelson, Public Domain, Graham Gold and Dave Pearce.
Simultaneous to the move to Heaven, Knowwhere launch their record label Out Of Knowwhere with the same-titled debut track and collaboration from Anthony Dean and Adam White. With both Dean and White making very admirable waves in trance as DJ’s and producers, it is evident that there is hardly a better platform to see the Out Of Knowwhere label mimic the success of the club from which it was spawned.
October 2005 is set to usher in a new era for Knowwhere. A new record label and cutting-edge venue is sure to discover and entice a further generation of Knowwhere devotees. This can only add impetus to an already progressive existence and see Knowwhere take pride of place beside those that have defined ascendancy and accomplishment in an industry that is often as fickle as it is unpredictable.
Upfront managed to catch up with promoters Anthony, Stevie and Pablo to find out first-hand about all things Knowwhere:
Four years on for Knowwhere. Congratulations! How do you view this milestone considering the often-unpredictable nature of the dance industry?
It is an incredibly exciting time for all of us. We have all felt passionate about Knowwhere right from the start, now reaching a point where we can open our appeal to Hard Dance fans as well as our core Trance and Funky audience. This has brought a fresh buzz to us. The unpredictability is one of the things that keeps the industry a great area to work in!
What would you consider to be the primary factors behind the success of Knowwhere over the last four years?
A number of things are important to us. We are great believers in the ‘personal touch’. Meeting as many of the people as possible who come along is important. Little things like saying ‘thank you’ and shaking hands with as many of the clubbers as we can at the end of the party. Consistency is also a big factor. We have always tried to maintain a style of Trance that is Uplifting in the main room. Sometimes this is difficult, and DJ’s occasionally don’t fit exactly into our game plan. But every set is different after all. We have always been open about our views, and taken on-board those of the people on the dance floor. This has lead to a situation where even if the night wasn’t ‘perfect’ musically for any individual, they can tell us without fear of being ‘fobbed off’. The input is hugely important to us.
What are your most memorable moments in Knowwhere’s journey from humble beginnings up until now?
Our earlier move to The Fridge was a massive step and sticks in our minds. It essentially meant the difference between a small little known party with a close following, and having the chance to put what we do before a wide audience. That said, some of the early parties will always be personal favourites, simply because we were often dealing with a crowd made up almost entirely of personal friends, and the feedback one gets from that is very special.
What would you say has been the hardest part of the job in bringing Knowwhere to the elevated status it is enjoying at present?
It’s difficult to see any of the job as ‘hard’ when it’s something you feel passionately about For all three of us, and probably most promoters out there, the first couple of hours of any night are always nerve-racking, whatever the size of the party.
You are ending your residency at the Fridge and moving into another of the world’s best-known clubs in Heaven. What is the motivation behind the move?
The two main factors are location and the opportunity to expand into other genres. We have always loved the Fridge, but being south of the river meant there was a feeling we were missing out on a lot of potentially new clubbers that simply prefer being in central London. Heaven is a great layout and the fact that it has two big rooms, along with the smaller areas, means we can deliver ‘main event’ level line-ups in Hard Dance alongside our trade-mark Trance, without it suffering ‘second room syndrome’.
Do you see this move to Heaven in any way introducing a “new era” in Knowwhere’s evolution?
We hope so. We have tried to grow organically over the years, with each move of venue being made for sound reasons. We feel this has improved what we do. There have always been a few ‘big players’ amid the huge number of parties out there, and it makes sense to learn from them. It is like any other business at the end of the day, very difficult to jump straight in at the top. The success stories are those that build gradually. Whilst we have never run Knowwhere with a long-term view to conquer the clubbing universe, we would love to move into a position where our reputation matches those at the top. The move has to contribute towards that.
What would you like to see Knowwhere as one of London’s larger clubbing events ultimately achieve?
There is no great ‘five year plan’ as such. Achieving the same reputation in the Hard Dance and Funky genres as we have built in Trance is one target. We were really pleased to keep the friendly personal feel when we moved to the Fridge from the much smaller Soundshaft, and it is an important aim for us to keep that regardless of size. Longer- term, spreading our wings to other parts of the UK and internationally is something we would like to see happen.
Appearances by DJ’s like resident Matt Darey, Agnelli & Nelson, Public Domain and Graham Gold, all top of the trance pile in their own right, has seen the club maintain a high public profile and appeal. What is it that you specifically look for when laying down the “soundtrack” to any Knowwhere event?
Our first consideration is always the music. We have to feel a DJ can fit in with our style of sound before we would look at booking them, regardless of how ‘big’ a name they are. At the start, Knowwhere was set up to play the sort of music we liked personally, and that still stands. We usually make a point of getting any prospective DJ to listen to our sound and let us know if they feel they can fit in with it. We don’t want DJ’s to be railroaded into playing a certain way, but if they are not comfortable with playing what we and our audience want to hear, it just doesn’t make sense to give that DJ a set. We don’t pretend to get it spot on every time, every set is different, but we manage it most times.
The Out of Knowwhere Label is being launched simultaneous to the move to Heaven. Tell us about the intent behind the label and the forthcoming releases.
Anthony Dean and Adam White have been producing so much good quality music recently that it seems like the natural move for us. Obviously it works as a promotional tool as well, so it makes sense to link the promotion with the label. The first release will be the tune ‘Out Of Knowwhere’. When we heard it first, it immediately stood out as a ‘Knowwhere tune’, and one that fitted our uplifting style. Having the guys attach the Knowwhere name to it was a great honour for us.
Any message for all the Knowwhere fans and supporters?
Of course! A massive thank-you for all the hard work and support over the years. We are constantly amazed by the effort people are prepared to put in to help. We would like everyone to know we really do appreciate it. Judging by the reaction so far, the move is something everyone is looking forward to, so we hope to be able to make Knowwhere an even better experience because, simply, you deserve it!
