Published
Sun, Mar 27, 2022, 10:00
- Harry Harrison's autobiographical account of the '90s movement hit the shelves last Friday.
A new book by DiY Collective member Harry Harrison is an autobiographical account of the UK's free party scene in the '90s.
Available as of Friday, March 24th, through Velocity Press, Dreaming in Yellow - The Story of the DiY Soundsystem tells the story of the one of the first house music soundsystems in the UK, formed out of Nottingham in 1989.
The book recounts DiY Collective's formative experiences, capturing the clubs, parties, festivals and records that brought them together. Key events such as legendary rave Castlemorton, the Criminal Justice Bill riots in 1994 and wild trips to Ibiza, Amsterdam and San Francisco all feature.
"Although the events in my book took place 30 years ago, with the possible exception of the huge illegal free event on Castlemorton Common in 1992, they have never really been properly recorded," Harrison told Resident Advisor. "The events were by definition hidden, without publicity and often vanished by the morning, meaning that the mainstream media never really understood just how big it was."
He added: "Alongside the legacy of free events which forced the authorities onto the back foot, DiY also left a musical legacy. In Dreaming in Yellow, I describe in detail our relentless reverence for the original pulse of house music and eventually what became known as 'deep house.' We recorded an album for Warp Records, then probably the world’s leading electronic label, and started our own imprint, initially known as Strictly4Groovers and then as DiY DiSCS. Eventually we released over 80 12-inches, records and albums."
Dreaming in Yellow - The Story of the DIY Soundsystem is out now. Here's the cover and some photos from the book.
Photos: Alan Lodge, Matt Smith
Photos: Alan Lodge, Matt Smith