Anyone run an IDM night at their local club?

[worms]

Me and my cousin are looking to run an IDM night. We're just beginners though. Haven't put on a night before. Any promoters here? Got any tips? I guess it's easy. Pick a club that supports underground music. Advertise on facebook. There aren't many IDM clubs around. I live in an area with loads of students. Any stories welcome.

[perunamuusi]

It's easy. The kids love it. The last 2 decades are proof of it. You probably won't even have to promote it. IDM does it for you.

[Goiter Sanchez]

Where in the UK are you? Contact the 'Emotion Wave' folks for advice as they've had a long running night going for a while now in those parts.

[BCM]

Lol IDM.

[beerwolf]

Good luck to you sir!

 

I wonder what would happen if I did an IDM night at my local pub. Wow, it would be worth filming that's for sure. Be mental (and I don't mean in a good way). Just thinking about it makes me chuckle.

[Squee]

It's easy. The kids love it. The last 2 decades are proof of it. You probably won't even have to promote it. IDM does it for you.

 

LOL

[Silent Member]

lol

[modey]

I did it a few times. Some advice:

 

1. Don't call it an IDM night. 

 

2. Book a diverse lineup. Don't be afraid of putting vocal, synthpop, chiptune, etc acts on the bill. Even bands if you (or the venue) can handle it. Sure, it won't be a strictly IDM night, but one genre all night is boring imo.

 

3. Be inclusive. Aim for good gender diversity on your lineups.

 

4. If you're anxious about promoting the event yourself, try to get in with someone who can help you, even if it means sacrificing some of your vision. Collaborate on a lineup, etc. This really helped with one of my shows; I collaborated with the venue owner (who is also a friend), she picked two performers and I picked two, we promoted it together and it was a packed show. When I tried to promote a show by myself, about 10 people turned up (basically, a bunch of my friends) because I got incredible anxiety about putting flyers in record stores, promoting online etc.

[Soloman Tump]

Expect to lose money on the first few shows

[ncrtx]

Did it a few times in the (albeit musically very diverse) Ghent, most visitors we ever had was 15. Don't expect a huge crowd.

[kakapo]

Use social media such as MySpace and grindr.

 

Modey's advice is correct, but it will also depend where in the UK you are. 

[Soloman Tump]

Myself and a couple of others in the Oxford area are toying with the idea of a DIY noise / electronics night. 
The only way cost effective way of doing the first few is to all perform ourselves for free, and cover any venue hire costs that may arise.  There is a sweet pub basement venue we are looking to use, 50 capacity, bring your own PA

 

I recommend downloading this zine (everyone here should read this actually, its a great detailed read with loads of experienced contributors.  I treasure my original paper copy as a sort of bible for this type of thing)

 

https://www.dontmakeascene.co.uk/

[BCM]

Just make sure it's fucking banging. Don't book a load of arty shit. Lots of donks.

[oscillik]

I’m part of the Emotion Wave crew, but I don’t really handle much of the organising. That’s all handled by the other lads, the main one being westhead here on watmm.

 

I’ll see if I can get him to post some pointers in here.

[oscillik]

So I'm on my lunch so I can write a bit more.

 

Whilst I haven't been part of the actual organising and stuff, I've been involved to the point where I think I can safely say:

 

1. You may well lose money. Do not expect to make any kind of profit or break even.

 

2. It really helps if you already have a circle of friends that includes creative types—designers & photographers (for flyers, social media graphics etc), musicians/djs who'll play, sound engineers/people with a PA system.

 

3. Certainly at first, it'll likely just be something you're putting on for a small circle of friends. Even now, after quite a bit of exposure, we're still not a yuge thing...but we're a nice collective I think. We're working on branching out a little though, which might bring in some new blood...

 

4a. Probably the most important thing I think is—be friendly and talk to people that show up. I cannot stress enough how much of a big thing this is. I'm sure all of us here have suffered from some form of social unease, and sometimes this kind of music that we all love can come across as massively pretentious. Having a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere makes it really awesome. I really think it's one of our (Emotion Wave's) biggest strengths.

 

4b. Related to the lack of pretension thing—don't be really militant about what genres are played. At Emotion Wave we've had such a wide range of stuff being played live and dj'd, from Shoegaze to Industrial, to Eastenders themetune donks. Sometimes all in the same night too (although to be fair there is usually at least some kind of thread of styles in a single night).

 

5. Don't try to do too many too often. I'm sure westhead can attest that burnout is a very real thing—not just for those organising and participating, but also for the audience. Might be a good idea to ask around for the first few nights and ask people if they're enjoying things, and how often they'd like these nights to happen, so you can gauge what the audience feels is an appropriate gap between the nights.

 

6. As far as venues, we've been really lucky in Liverpool to have an already incredibly established music scene and a lot of venues are quite receptive to having music. That being said, I really don't think this stuff works too well if its in a pub back room or something like that. Many might roll their eyes, but these crop of 'trendy' cafe/bars/record shops are the perfect kind of venue for this kind of music, and if you have somewhere local that fits that bill, broach the subject with the people who run it.

 

7. However many 4-gang power extensions you think you need—you're wrong. You always need more.

 

8. You also need more mini stereo jack to split mono jack cables.

 

Edit: I should also say, I am totally not an expert.

[granty]

^ Yep, my man Oscillik has pretty much covered all the bases here - all spot-on advice, from the others too, from my experience. 

 

Most of the artists that play for us are making their debut, so they need plenty of time to work up a live set, but they're all happy to do it for free. We have a set structure for the night which works well: 3 x 30 min live sets (any longer than this can be a bit taxiing on the audience, depending on the genre), and a DJ spinning tunes in between.

 

We charge £4 on the door, nobody buys tickets in advance for unknown artists, even established ones tbh, they'll just decide on the day if they're coming. We run from 8pm - 11:30pm which make it ideal for a pre-club session and allows for public transport home.

 

Make it as cosy and enticing as possible. I hate club environments and just want to sit off and max out, so have chairs, tea lights, nice lighting - it'll be more of a listening event than dancing most likely so don't force people to stand up.

 

Try and get a free venue and borrow a PA - doesn't have to be a massive Funktion One or anything fancy, we used a vocal PA in the beginning and for a small venue ti was more than adequate. Keep your overheads down to zero if you can, use the socials to promote it. Once money comes into the equation it turns everything into a real ballache, so try and keep money out of it.

 

Have a mate to help you on the door or setting up the gear, manning the desk etc - definitely reduces the stress levels.

 

Tell any local blogs/radio station about it in advance - most people will be super supportive of a new underground night that's doing something unique, so don't be shy.

 

Basically if you're out to make money [which I'm sure you're not] then it's not worth doing, but if you're out to put on the kind of night you'd like to attend yourself and make some solid new mates in the process, definitely go for it. I can honestly say it's the best thing I've ever done, I've met loads of really sound people, including artists, labels, DJs, broadcasters, visual artists - it definitely opens up new opportunities.

 

You'll be bricking it the first night in case nobody turns up, but they will, even if it's only a handful it's still something you've all got in common.

 

PS create a group for you all to bounce ideas around and post event updates etc - like this one :) https://www.facebook.com/groups/1625447444360393

[B1000]

you can book bogdan for £5 and a packet of salt n vinegar crisps