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Danny Rampling- I Almost Quit DJing After Leaving Radio 1

Author: Jonty Skrufff
Sunday, April 25, 2004
When acid house pioneer Danny Rampling chatted to Skrufff just months after leaving Radio 1 in 2002, he spoke optimistically about his DJing future, though two years on, he admits it wasn't such an easy change to navigate as he hoped.

"I felt totally demoralised, I was ready to give everything up, for a time I really felt like I'd had enough of it all," he reveals.

"Though as time's gone on I've realised that I'm stronger than that and the Radio 1 experience was just a minor glitch in a huge picture," says Danny.

"Music is in my blood, especially house music," he declares. "I live it".

Finding inspiration through his keen interest in astrology ('I find it can help when your direction wanders, it can give you signs and point you in the right direction on the path of life') he's now firmly back on track as he launches his new London club night Union, on May 1st at the Cross.

"The name totally signifies what the club's all about, it's a statement, it's about bringing people together, the DJs and audience alike; people that really believe in the music," he explains.

"House music in recent times has taken some bad knocks across the press and in clubland as a whole but that's been going on for over a year and it's got rid of a lot of the driftwood. I think house is gathering strength again, it's had its downturn and we're coming out the other side again."

The new club also opens just three months after the birth of his first child, an event that's affected both him and his plans for Union.

"I think becoming a father has enhanced my spirit musically, I'm so much happier in my life generally and when you reach that state of happiness and inner peace, then that comes through in the music," he says.

"Currently I'm playing a lot more soulful music and that's the musical direction I see for Union. I want it to be about beautiful, lovely soulful music, from deep house to Latin to Afro to jazzy house. I'm thinking about clubs I've been out to in places like New York, such as Body & Soul in more recent times, and Lazy Dog in London, my dream is to capture those kind of atmospheres."


Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): You previously ran Metrogroove at Turnmills up until the end of last year, why did you feel the need to change from Metrogroove to Union-

Danny Rampling: " spent three years at Turnmills and I needed to retain total direction of a night but unfortunately that was lost at Metrogroove last year, I didn't really have too much input there by the end. So we can to an amicable end and I've moved on. Now, it's all down to me, I'll be pushing the new club in the direction that I feel is correct and proper."

Skrufff: Given that you're back in full control, what exactly is the new vision for Union-

Danny Rampling: "I'd like to aim for a club that appeals to an audience who are really into the music, firstly; it's not about the way you look or who you are and it's certainly not about drugs either. I think that drugs in London clubs, and in clubs in general, have suffocated a lot of the goodness in the scene, especially cocaine; cocaine is just terminally boring. We'll be doing four Union parties a year and they'll be a US guest DJ for each of those parties, supported by UK and European talent. The whole idea is to bring together a decent crowd of people that love music as well as hopefully attracting a good mix of people. I'm not implementing any strict door policies, as long as people don't look like football hooligans, they can come in."

Skrufff: How do you set about attracting a crowd these days-

Danny Rampling: "Principally by working a lot with flyers, 30,000 flyers have already gone out. There are less and less angles to promote a night these days, it's really reverted back to how it was in the beginning, in a sense. You've got to get out there at ground level and work very hard with flyers. That's always been the way for any clubs I've been involved with, plus good art direct
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