A View from the Underground
By Christopher Jordan Latiff
There is a lot of ‘he said, she said’ when it comes to talking about the global and endless regional collectives that create the underground electronic music scenes, especially when it comes to its genesis.
The underground scene in Europe can be traced back to raves happening in warehouses, industrial complexes and secret clubs playing house music and techno all over the continent. The house and underground garage surged in the UK as techno and rave music which blossomed in continental Europe and Eastern Europe. The constant growth of the party island Ibiza in the ’80s was another well-known fountain of talent, amazing clubs and a sense of community.
Those clubs were playing music from the underground house scene that began in the early day clubs in ’80s Chicago. This was when essential DJs like Frankie Knuckles, Cajemere, Marshall Jefferson and Mr. Fingers, to name just a few, pioneered the ‘house music only’ clubs like the Warehouse, the glasshouse and 178. These clubs were out of the way, industrial spaces that created the signature DIY aspect to underground nightlife. Parties were usually free as long as you called ahead for the address. Everyone was welcome. No one was “too cool” to catch a vibe and dance until you could not dance anymore.
The underground has once again had to revert back to house parties and private gatherings where collectives’ of creatives meet and patiently create their way through this moment of silence. (Yvette de Wit)
The world of electronic music and clubbing has since become massively commercialized with super clubs popping up all over the world like Hakkassan Las Vegas, LIV Miami, Privilege Ibiza, marquee (global) and the list goes on. These clubs operate as branded companies with worldwide reach. These are clubs not only host commercial electronic music artists but they have music nights for reggaeton, hip hop and high profile events like Lebron and Dwayne Wade booking out LIV Miami for a Miami heat championship celebration party. These clubs are not underground. They serve another purpose in the nightclub space for those who seek a more mainstream distraction.
The underground scene is still something you have to look for. It has maintained its element of mystery keeping events in DIY spaces like warehouses, graffiti studios and lofts. The gatekeepers of the scene aren’t big labels or club owners. The underground is still space where music/creative collectives run the show and new scenes pop up in all corners of the planet with the intention of bringing people together.
A few years back in 2018, leading underground music outlet Boiler Room released a 25-minute documentary that spotlights the new and budding underground music scenes in Palestine. This is an area of the world that enforces a strict curfew cutting nightlife hours out of the view of the dance music community there. It is the efforts of small collectives like Jazar Crew in the documentary that can keep a dance-floor alive and the identity of a very vibrant culture alive. Efforts by collectives all over the world are making efforts to keep the music on.
The same story rings true here in the US. Most states are not as delighted to promote a nightlife or party scene. There are many cities here that are designed for nightlife activities like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York etc. Not only in these hotbeds of events and late-night distractions where the underground lives. Little pockets where underground scenes thrive exist all over the country for example like Nashville.
A town known for its country roots and country music industry is also home to a budding underground music scene and electronic music scene. Collectives, crews and event companies like Terminal 8, Altru-Creative, Drkmttr Collective, The Nashville House Syndicate, Full Circle Presents, Sparkle City Disco, QDP have kept underground music scene aficionados and DJs busy over the last year. Their efforts in the form of various parties, club nights and festivals have seen a new wave of entertainment and community come to Nashville with more surprises to come.
Where is the underground today though? With the pandemic ramping back up to high numbers that we saw this past summer it’s been harder than ever for the music to stay on and the underground community alive. The underground has once again had to revert back to house parties and private gatherings where collectives’ of creatives meet and patiently create their way through this moment of silence. Only time will tell when the doors to the underground will open again if at all.
Christopher is a culture writer for La Tonique.