House Nights in Bristol
upcoming clubnightBristol's House Scene
Bristol House Music: A Recent HistoryIt’s a Bristol Thing…. For Headfirst Bristol House music is all about Shanti Celeste, Eats Everything, Peach Discs, Idle Hands, Dirty Talk (who recently opened Strange Brew) and classic ‘chugging house’ from acts like Outboxx on BRSTL and Futureboogie Recordings. Futurboogie have built a Bristol house empire and venues like Motion with regular nights feature Julio Bashmore, Waifs and Strays and Christophe. House music is closely linked to the yearly influx of students to the city who make up a large audience for the House/Techno Music Scene. Many stick around after they graduate to become house music recording artists in their own right!
What we said in 2015...
House music is undoubtedly the star in Bristol’s crown. After decades of lurking in the shadows, a new generation of promoters are giving Bristol’s club scene something unrivalled elsewhere in the UK - nights to be proud of one off and parties that will never be forgotten. It’s taken 20 years, but the tired “Bristol Sound” catch-all has finally been laid to rest, by an unlikely candidate - house music.
Incubated in the basements of Take 5 and Cosies where the likes of Shanti Celeste, Steve Farrell and Hodge played intimate sets, a new approach to house music in Bristol began to blossom. This, coupled with nights like Futureboogie in the city centre, the stage was set for wide-eyed new promoters to take house music out of Bristol’s nightclubs and elevate things to the next level. Drawing inspiration from the unrivalled Alfresco Disco parties and the spectacular Carnyville events, promoters stopped putting on club nights and started throwing parties.
The quest by Bristol’s house promoters to find new spaces to throw parties had led to some of the most spectacular club nights Bristol has ever seen. There was a time when it was just Alfresco Disco tickets that sold out without announcing the venue (or headliners), but amongst Bristol’s innovative house promoters secret locations are becoming commonplace. The Island complex has seen raves thrown in prison cells, courtrooms and the fire station hall where Simple Things became the first to use the entire complex for a single clubnight. Since then, the journey through Bristol’s potential venues has been a joyous one, seeing bank vaults, churches, motorcycle showrooms, wood yards and even basketball courts used as venues for ticketed events.
Shapes are without doubt the runaway success in Bristol’s house story. 2011’s sweaty hedonistic parties showed the Blue Mountain club at it’s best since the Monkey!Knife!Fight! nights of yesteryear. Shapes strike the balance between big-room affairs at Motion, secret location events and inventive one-offs like their Final Frontier party living-up to it’s £40 ticket price.
While the bigger budget promoters like Shapes collaborate with veterans Just Jack and Futureboogie for some truly huge events, Bristol still has a broad spectrum of medium sized events. Dirty Talk continue to draw one of the best party crowds and newcomers like Banoffee Pies and Come Down With Me continue to explore new views. For those who like their club nights intimate - The Doghouse, Cosies and Take 5 are home to some great music-first promoters and Shambarber provides the ultimate soundtrack to any haircut.
what we said in 2010 (then classified as house & techno):
While not known as an international hotspot for house and techno clubbing, Bristol has a thriving scene that's looking its healthiest in years. Promoters such as Empathy and Digital are persuing forward-thinking, deep, tech-house in the smaller venues like Dojo's, Timbuk2 and more recently Crash Mansion.
Larger house nights in Bristol include Play! and Monkey Knife Fight, both at The Thekla. Arguably the biggest house nights are found at Motion. Bugged Out! and Just Jack book some seriously big house names with past guests including Claude Von Stroke, Tiefschwarz and Steve Bug..
After the short-lived but glorious Cuisine club nights in 2006-2007 minimal techno in Bristol has, until recently taken a back seat. Morph and Headrush (both at Timbuk2) are the new blood for driving minimal techno in Bristol, refreshingly booking British techno producers (Perc, Bigger Than Jesus, Nathan Fake) but still catching Berlin's smaller names on occasion (Format B, Mark Henning).
Another welcome twist to techno in Bristol has come from an unlikely source. Bristol's take on dub-step has supplied an unexpected vent for cutting edge techno with the success of established nights like Appleblim's Apple Pips the significance of techno's influence on Bristol. Artists such as Pinch, Peverelist and Appleblim are routinely billed alongside dub-techno purveyors Scuba, 2562 and T++.
While few clubs in Bristol are genre exclusive, at certain Bristol venues you're more likely to find house, techno and minimal than others. Timbuk2 and Dojos are your most likely bet, while the Thekla (a boat) and Motion (a skatepark turned club) are always worth checking for the occasional big house and techno event.
Larger house nights in Bristol include Play! and Monkey Knife Fight, both at The Thekla. Arguably the biggest house nights are found at Motion. Bugged Out! and Just Jack book some seriously big house names with past guests including Claude Von Stroke, Tiefschwarz and Steve Bug..
After the short-lived but glorious Cuisine club nights in 2006-2007 minimal techno in Bristol has, until recently taken a back seat. Morph and Headrush (both at Timbuk2) are the new blood for driving minimal techno in Bristol, refreshingly booking British techno producers (Perc, Bigger Than Jesus, Nathan Fake) but still catching Berlin's smaller names on occasion (Format B, Mark Henning).
Another welcome twist to techno in Bristol has come from an unlikely source. Bristol's take on dub-step has supplied an unexpected vent for cutting edge techno with the success of established nights like Appleblim's Apple Pips the significance of techno's influence on Bristol. Artists such as Pinch, Peverelist and Appleblim are routinely billed alongside dub-techno purveyors Scuba, 2562 and T++.
While few clubs in Bristol are genre exclusive, at certain Bristol venues you're more likely to find house, techno and minimal than others. Timbuk2 and Dojos are your most likely bet, while the Thekla (a boat) and Motion (a skatepark turned club) are always worth checking for the occasional big house and techno event.
Buy tickets for house events in Bristol
Our recent house recommendations
Still reeling from DJ Pierre, the ILA crew calls on the acid dub professor Om Unit to launch his 303 into outer space, live! Expect weightless bleep techno devoured by the mixing desk, with Night Slugs bossman L-VIS 1990, Meg Ward and Posthuman serving fucked-up braindance gear and diva euphoria for the microdot masses. Feel the squelch, BE THE SQUELCH!
I LOVE ACID OM UNIT ACID DUB STUDIES / L-VIS 1990/MEG WARD/POSTHUMAN at Lost Horizon.
Cosmic house, Detroit electro, resplendent soul and hypnotic EBM …. Tama Suma and Lakuti are a duo who know how to craft a truly embodied, transcendent and loose-limbed dancefloor experience. Prepare to ascend with the P-Bar power couple + get down early for the triptastic opening missive from Bristol’s humble space cadet, Winkles.
Strange Brew presents Lakuti & Tama Sumo + Winkles at Strange Brew.
Every DiD is a special edition but dang …. Tia Cousins collides with Sarahtonin for Dirtytalk-grade off-kilter house magic, synth-pop wobblers, freak disco boogie and punk-explorations of dancefloor guitar weirdness. Tuck right in for high diva NRG and un-shazamable gems!
Disco Isn't Dead with Tia Cousins B2B Sarahtonin at The Red Church.
Free entry / PWYC! Cowper & Fitz offer their sludgy clubland curveballs to the Noods disco ball in a sweat-soaked psychedelic basement session. Hold onto your frontal lobe as you descend this rabbit hole of cosmic new beat, dubbed-out oddities, italo missiles and slo-mo industrial body music.
At Zoggs: Cowper & Fitz at Mickey Zoggs.
More Photos of House Nights in Bristol
What our editors say
“VOID Radio returns with UK House and Garage pioneer Jeremy Sylvester! With Bristols own Emma Rose and Break3 on support. Jeremy Sylvester has been shaping dance music since the 1990s. DJs. His signature sets blend deep house, UK garage, classic 90s house, deep tech, and old-school 4x4 into an energetic, groove-driven journey that has made him a favourite on dancefloors around the world. Supported by artists including Disclosure and Basement Jaxx, and with collaborations spanning Shola Ama, All Saints, KC & JoJo, and Kristine Blonde, Jeremy remains one of the scene's most respected producers and DJs.”From: VOID Radio w/ Jeremy Sylvester
“Excited to welcome iconic duo Tama Sumo & Lakuti back to the Brew for another Bank Holiday Sunday special. Their last visit was a highlight of the year. Known for free-flowing sets rooted in awareness, they move effortlessly across genres, spanning new and classic house, techno and disco. Sharing a deep knowledge and love of music and what it takes to make people dance. Leading the way will be one of Bristol's best kept secrets and proprietor of one of the largest vinyl collections we've ever seen: Winkles. Blending the finest in deeper than deep house and (un)classics to loosen up the floor.”
From: Strange Brew presents Lakuti & Tama Sumo + Winkles
“I'll House You is Mike Shaw's brainchild. A night dedicated to the deeper side of House music, exploring the sound from its roots in '86 right up to present day. The night serves as an outlet for deep dance floor heat, underground cuts and forward-thinking selections all connected by a shared love of authentic house music. Free Entry.”
From: I'LL HOUSE YOU: MIKE SHAW
“A very special one-off celebration of our love of The River Avon and our love of house music, in the most perfect venue, The John Sebastian. BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE + FLOAT YER BOAT + RAVE ON FOR THE AVON Screening of "RAVE ON FOR THE AVON" by Charlotte Sawyer -a feature-length documentary which captures one community’s love for the Avon and explores the importance of rivers in modern life – all set to a Bristol soundtrack and drinks 7pm til 9pm. AFTER-PARTY - 9pm til 1am DJs: EMSKI JAMES B LA DJS THRILOGY ...................... You can purchase tickets for either the FILM (and drinks bar), THE AFTER-PARTY or both. ......................”
From: BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE + FLOAT YER BOAT + RAVE ON FOR THE AVON
“Sounds of Sol, is our latest residency night. A vinyl selector and collector taking to our decks every Wednesday. Sol has curated Summer for nights of soulful grooves, downtempo, acid jazz, deep house and plenty more. Free Entry.”
From: Sounds of Sol
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