Coming hot off of the back of their dry run free party at the intimate Distrikt bar, Youth Club are looking to carry that raw energy straight into their launch party later this month. Expect cutting edge sounds and a completely new club experience. John Liddell met with Robbie Russell and Xyrenn Maddox to chat about their upcoming series of nights and their enticing mission statement: “We are a movement formed out of love for the creators, the innovators and the beat-makers of tomorrow.”
The Leeds music scene has seen itself stagnate into the once underground subcultures of house, techno, and drum & bass, now butting heads with one another for the biggest venues of the city. In an age where acts can demand fees based entirely on their YouTube plays and Soundcloud follower count, Youth Club are doing the hours of searching through the vast wealth of undiscovered music the internet has to offer, unearthing the rich seams of incredible production coming out under the guise of the future beat sound. Xyrenn and Robbie are the crate diggers of the online generation. Using the foundation of their award winning weekly radio show the guys have been honing their sound and bringing us exclusive talks with artists, often locking down acts first UK interviews before they then go on to do the likes of DJ Semtex and Tim Westwood. Now, for the first time, they are bringing their own acts to Hifi.
I asked Robbie if he could classify the type of music and acts youth club are bringing to Leeds, and he explained exactly why he’d rather he didn’t. “When producers sit down and lock themselves to a category and a sound, whack their BPM to this, put the usual drums on here and then find some shiny noises to put their own spin on it, the sound stagnates. Youth Club is so called because it’s bringing in these young musicians creating music without trying to fit into a category.” “Making it simply for the love of it, for the avant garde creation of a sound rather than just sitting down to make a house track or a techno track.” added Xyrenn.
The word ‘future’ is knocked around a lot when defining this sound – when you sit down and take samples but strive to create new beats, breaks and sounds then there’s no looking back, only forwards. Emerging music cultures of recent years have been more of a flash in the pan than the forward thinking new sounds they set out to be. Dubstep, and more recently grime, has exploded, rising to the mainstream faster than they can establish themselves and projecting acts to stardom overnight. The Skrillexs’ and the Skeptas become the ambassadors and the sound becomes entrenched and there it festers. The future sound by its very definition will always be the most progressive sound, retaining excitement for artists and audiences alike who are able to catch the movement as it grows.
However, the sound isn’t unrecognisable. Like all the best electronic music, it takes samples and sounds from all corners of music before breathing a new life into them with the fresh beats and vibes that will leave you wanting more. This isn’t a genre for people who don’t like current music and want something new, it’s for the lovers of music that can appreciate the next step in the evolution of the sounds coming out today and more importantly tomorrow.
The boys have chosen Hifi, Leeds intimate gem synonymous with great sounds, even better crowds and always wall to wall dancing. All who are looking for a good time and groove are welcome on the 18th Febuary.
Tickets can be purchased through Resident Advisor. Check out Youth Club’s expansive Soundcloud account plus the exclusive single Youth club put out for R.O.M.
John Liddell