Youth Club Sounds are returning to much-loved Hifi on Thursday 13th October, bringing with them their signature curation of SoundCloud beats and up-and-coming DJs who challenge the mainstream. We spoke to organiser Robbie Russell for an inside look at how this exciting new musical movement has progressed.
Robbie explains their musical influences in more detail: “We mostly fall under the category of ‘the Soundcloud beat scene’, but that doesn’t really mean anything other than that the producers we support are all young, talented musicians who are doing whatever they like with the tracks they produce. It’s where Kaytranada started, same with Cashmere Cat and predated by Hudson Mohawke who came up through MySpace”.
Much of the music Youth Club Sounds features is influenced by hip hop, trap and RnB, but they want to make clear that they won’t stick to the confines of genre – what’s important is showcasing brand new music and not taking anything too seriously. There’s only one rule: “it’s a completely techno-free zone”.
A few developments have been in the works recently: Youth Club Sounds are set to be the resident club night curators at Headrow House as well as keeping up their monthly slot at Hifi. They’ve also got a clothing line set to be released in the coming months along with their first label compilation, which will feature “more instrumental, more melodic music that might not be as conducive to a bloody good party as the stuff we play down in Hifi – but all will come from the same idea”.
An event showcasing music that’s breaking through on the internet right at this moment is rare outside London, highlighting Leeds as a fast-growing hotspot in the UK for innovative music. At their next event on the 13th, Youth Club are hosting a mix of Leeds locals, Whoeva? and Paya, and international artists, Daniel Ness and HNRO from the label Merci Jitter. As Robbie describes: “their sound is mad pretty much, a massive blank canvas with sounds of grimey London, Parisian basements and a load of influence from the Atlanta trap scene”.
Check out the video below featuring the Youth Club Sounds Fresher’s event to get taste of what’s to come.
Isobel Moloney
(Image: facebook.com/youthclubsounds)