Midsummer in Glasgow
Like many people, the years during and since lockdown have been a time of significant life changes for me. Amongst these have been my relationship to DJing, something I’ve been doing since 1999, although it’s never been something I’ve tried to build a career from. I’ve been lucky in the sense that I’ve played nearly every kind of stage imaginable, and hundreds of clubs around the world. Eventually they all started to merge into one, and I had to rethink exactly what I’m doing it for. I believe in it, I really do. I won’t get into my thoughts and feelings on the importance of clubbing communities and dancefloor transcendence, but I knew I had to slow down this year and give each show the attention and preparation it deserves.
For only the second time in 15 years I’m not playing Glastonbury festival. There are a number of reasons for this, but most importantly I wanted to play an all night set over midsummer weekend and I’m yet to find a stage there that will let me do that. So I’m heading up to Glasgow instead.
I really wanted to mark each season properly this year, with 4 all night DJ sessions in my favourite UK cities. Cardiff, I’ve already played on April 1st, and Bristol and London are on the Autumn and Winter equinoxes respectively. These were easy choices, I’ve lived in all 3 as both a youth and as an adult, they feel like home. I’ve played all 3 cities more than anywhere else on the planet. Glasgow is possibly harder to explain, but it really was the only choice for me. I’ve probably been there less than 10 times but always felt comfortable there, the music scene has always been exciting to me, the people have always been welcoming and relatable and there feels like a healthy balance between culture and community.
My favourite times there were: Showcase Scotland at Celtic Connections, there really is no folk scene anywhere that comes close to the Scottish one; and Kendrick Lamar last year (also the only other time I’ve deejayed there). I was so glad I went to see him play up there instead of somewhere like London. The atmosphere was incredible, as was the peformance. I also got to meet two of my favourite Scottish rappers, Dave Hook aka Solareye from Stanley Odd and Darren McGarvey aka Loki. There’s many others I love. I really feel there should be stronger links between both the Welsh and Scottish rap scenes, perhaps that’s another reason I’m drawn to there.
It’s not just Folk and Rap music though. It was the LuckyMe crew, Hudsown Mowhake, Rustie and Dema in particular , that first made me take notice (gotta shout out Mike Slott over there in Dublin also) of the city’s music scene. Since then there's been a lot of acts I admire and many I call family who come from Glasgow, from Mungos Hifi to Colonel Mustard & the Dijon 5. With this in mind, I started to build a playlist with some of my favourites. You might hear some of them when I play there on the 23rd of June. I think it’s important to show respect to the place and the people you’re visiting as a DJ. I’ll also be staying up there for a few days, as I want to learn more about what’s happening.
Musically I can’t tell you exactly what I will be playing. Hopefully it will be uplifting in some way and I really love to make people dance, so that’s definitely on the cards. I’m also taking the opportunity to leave my more obvious tunes at home and dive a little deeper into my music collection. If this sounds like something you can get on board with then come down and join me. I’m putting this night on myself at the Flying Duck, though my good friends the Girobabies will be playing their own show just beforehand and anyone who goes to that is welcome to stay. I’m only really looking to cover costs, have some fun, connect with the city and meet some really good people and I’m pretty sure that’s what’s going to happen, but of course any help is always appreciated, even just sharing this page would be a massive bonus for me.
Here’s the ticket link
Here’s the Facebook event page.
Also, here’s some nice things that people have said about me…
"If you have ever danced at Boomtown, it's probably because of this guy... it's going to be a journey" Mungos Hifi
"Kaptin is an absolute G! He has an insane depth of music knowledge across genres, decades and places!" Jamz Supernova - BBC 6Music
"With one of the most intricate and expansive collections of music in the UK, don't miss an eclectic night of genre hopping, no stopping with Kaptin at the controls" Phoebe IH - BBC Radio Scotland
Epic all-nighters you’ll be telling your grandkids about… from your new favourite DJ” DJ Moneyshot - The Allergies
“Well worth checking out if you know you know” Dub Pistols
“He's a musical mastermind and sensational sonic selector. “ Beans On Toast
“I certainly look up to Kaptin, my man knows his shit and I already know this is going to be rammed with high grade content” Gardna
"If you're into your dancing...this is your guy” Jayde Adams
