QUICKIE: Introducing ReFrame

It’s quite often the case that your first club night can either make or break you. Rally all your friends, create a buzz and you can leave satisfied that your venture into promotion has been a success. However, nine times out of ten you’ll find that even with your most valiant effort, the dancefloor can be an exceptionally hard place to fill. This was the case when ReFrame launched at The Admiral last September. With stiff competition from big clubs and even bigger names their launch night was somewhat under-populated, leaving their venue of choice disappointed but resolute in their mission to make ReFrame a success.

Relocating to the comparatively compact Brunswick Hotel, and almost one year on they are enjoying regular parties with an open-minded and energetic crowd. Hosted by Martin Lindinger and 27B, they don’t so much pander to the pressure of success, more concentrate on having a good time by welcoming those who are curious and those who simply want to party. Next Friday they celebrate their first birthday by inviting London’s Klassaudio to the Brunswick’s intimate basement, offering the promise of exceptional visuals and a night which your unlikely to quickly forget. We caught up with promoter and resident 27B to find out more:

Synth: So firstly, can you give us a little background on ReFrame and what its all about? Was it born out of a desire to just throw parties for your friends or have you got ambitions that go beyond that?

27B: ReFrame is, put simply, a House and Techno night at the Brunswick Hotel. Martin Lindinger and myself (27B) set the night up with the intention of making it more than just 4 walls of four-to-the-floor beats filled with sweaty bodies; there's enough of that going on in Glasgow already. With ReFrame, we're actually aiming the night at people who aren't necessarily into dance/electronic music. We try to make the night as approachable as possible. There's nothing we like better than for our crowd to be on the dancefloor all night and tell us what a good time they’ve had, even though they're not really "into" that kind of music. We also have a superb VJ, Kim Stewart, who cuts up silent film and cult/independent cinema which she then mixes live on the night. We wanted ReFrame to have a strong visual/cinematic feel, and the name "ReFrame" was also partly born out of that desire. The night is much more than a couple of old crusties playing "belters" to their mates, as to "reframe" is to re-contextualise something. This is evident in the remix projects undertaken by Martin and myself, especially the very cheeky but slickly executed Stevie Wonder remix by Martin:





We also recently launched the ReFrame podcast; we wanted this to be more than just a mix of a DJ's favourite tracks or his/her current "top 10 chart". My "ReFrame Hip Hop" mix pretty much defines the direction of the podcast, and we have some very exciting mixes in the pipeline from our past and future guests.

Synth: You first launched ReFrame a year ago at the Admiral, how has the party taken shape since then? Obviously Glasgow is quite a competitive place, do you offer anything that makes you stand out?

27B: Yep, we soon realised how competitive running a club night in Glasgow can be. Our launch night at The Admiral in September 2011 fell on the same weekend that Maya Jane Coles and Joey Negro were playing in Glasgow. The turnout at the launch night was dismal and the response from the Admiral was perhaps to be expected, we were told "if it doesn't fly on the first night..." It was actually a great learning experience that The Admiral didn't want us back; we went to view a few different venues but found the attitude of the staff and management at The Brunswick Hotel to be aligned with our own. They of course need to make money from our night via the bar takings, but they also appreciated our vision, enthusiasm and commitment and were willing to give us the chance to slowly build up a following. ReFrame really is about the residents, and guest DJ's who are handpicked by Martin & myself mainly for their love for the music and having a good time, not because they're well known locally and will "bring a crowd", basically, we won't invite anyone to play unless we really like what they do. The small, 100 person capacity of the Brunswick really restricts the ability to hire "big name" DJ's who generally don't charge less than a grand for an appearance, so we decided we'd just do what we love and hopefully people would see that and keep coming back.

Synth: You mentioned that the Brunswick hotel had a similar attitude to your own, what gets you excited about the Brunswick and how do you feel the small capacity adds to the atmosphere?

27B: We feel that the visual element of ReFrame is unique in Glasgow; we honestly believe we've got the best VJ going (Kim Stewart). We can't speak highly enough of Kim, whose visuals go far beyond the standard-issue geometric shapes/ psychedelic rave coloured visuals you'll see in many clubs. The night is still a work in progress - each time we hold an event (usually once every 2 months), we do something a little differently, always refining in the process, and Martin & 27B work closely with Kim to try to get the visual mix just right for the sophisticated but energetic effect we are going for with our tunes. It is a very intimate space and that's what’s so great about it. Even if we only have 40 people in there, the small space makes it so that everyone talks and the banter develops. Also, the 2am license actually contributes to having a great night out - the guest DJ's slot begins at 12 so you're partying sooner than you would be probably at other clubs, but you can finish at 2, get a cab or bus without any hassle and head home or go to an afterparty to continue the shenanigans. We'll be starting the party at 8pm on 31st August, with DJ's upstairs playing soul, funk, disco and the DJ's downstairs in the club warming things up with some house.

Synth: Finally, you have Klassaudio headlining the next event, what will he bring to the table in addition to your residents and what type of sounds should we be expecting?

27B: Klassaudio (AKA Pedro G) hails from Portugal but has lived in London for the last fifteen years. From illegal all-night rooftop raves in Brixton to ultra-stylish parties in Soho, Klassaudio has been there, done it and has the scratched records to prove it! He is somewhat legendary for DJing for twelve hours straight at many an after party and his love for electronic music is palpable when you hear him play. He now runs his own night "Klassaudio presents..." at Fluid London (situated next to Fabric in Clerkenwell) which hosts some of the best underground nights the capital has to offer.

As for his style, he wouldn't like to be pigeon-holed into any given category as he is just as capable of delivering a Deep-House set as he is a peak-time Techno set but he does have a certain love for what can best be described as tribal infused techno. If there's one thing for sure, Klassaudio is a DJ that always has one foot on the dancefloor, and he certainly knows how to get a crowd involved. When we spoke to him on the phone he said: "Get some sleep now because we're gonna party!" and we have no reason to doubt him.

Klassaudio features at ReFrame's 1st Birthday on Fri Aug 31st

ReFrame on Facebook
ReFrame on Soundcloud
ReFrame on Twitter