- Optimo's JD Twitch started So Low with little advance fanfare in 2014, but the reaction from those on the dance floor has been rapturous from the beginning. The concept behind the party is simple: Twitch revisits the records he played when he began DJing in 1987, a heady blend of cold wave, minimal synth, minimal industrial, dark wave and goth stuff made predominantly but not exclusively in Belgium, France, Germany, the US and the UK. "At that time the audiences I played to mostly loathed what I was playing and rarely danced," Twitch explained early in the night's genesis. "But then shortly after, when house music arrived, I found a different audience who actually liked to dance." For Twitch, playing records by the likes of Front 242, The Normal, Tuxedomoon and Nitzer Ebb to an enthusiastic audience has made So Low "the antithesis of what a party in Scotland playing this music nearly 30 years ago was like."
So Low has stuck to an irregular schedule since it began—last Saturday was only its fourth edition in 18 months. Originally helmed exclusively by Twitch, the last couple have featured stellar contributions from Lorelei, Percy and Trix, three young DJs whose love and knowledge of the music appears to be a match for Twitch's. The venue is almost as big an appeal as the music. The Poetry Club, owned by local Turner Prize-nominated artist Jim Lambie, is a small arts and music space in a surprisingly remote, windswept corner of Glasgow's West End. It balances the scruffy vibe of a working men's club (cheap, ramshackle bar, basic floor-level DJ booth) with artier decor (for example, there's an intricate model of The Flying Scotsman that bursts though the wall above the DJ). It's warm and comforting as well as being a good fit for So Low's nocturnal, outsider-y feel, thanks to its isolated location within a complex of warehouses.
Saturday night doubled up as the Glasgow launch party for Twitch's So Low compilation, which hit the shelves last week (London and Berlin events are still to come). Unlike the compilation, which largely centres on lesser-known or entirely forgotten gems, the party trades in the more recognisable tracks from across these genres, such as Front 242's "Headhunter" or The Normal's "TV OD." It's also not unusual to hear The Cure or Joy Divison ("A Forest" and "Atmosphere" have both been played in their entireties) mixed in with some more obscure selections.
For the first two hours, Lorelei, Percy and Trix played foreboding, atmospheric cuts by the likes of Coil, Psychic TV and Cabaret Voltaire alongside several tracks from the compilation, including Chris & Cosey's "Passion." When Twitch hit the decks at midnight, he wove an extra streak of synth-heavy danceability into this brew, dropping Amnesia's "Ibiza," Grauzone's "Eisbar" and bits by The Cramps and Nitzer Ebb. The night's final moments carried an unlikely, but entirely fitting, family singalong feel as Carol's "So Low" wafted by. During the days of Optimo's weekly Sunday sessions at Sub Club, many people's favourite section of the night was when the cold wave/industrial/minimal synth records came out. Though on a much less regular basis, to once again be able to dance to this music in a wonderful venue is a delight. Judging by the looks on people's faces in the early hours of Sunday morning, I'm not the only one who thinks so.
Photo credit: Edward Wood