Although I've only had the privilege of attending Mindset once -I do have uni sometimes- I'll definitely be back. I had an absolute belter of a night filled with lots of bass heavy house and techno mixes, the icing on the cake being it cost nothing to get into (I got to see Maksy for free!!!).
"We've had some really amazing nights, but also some not so amazing ones. That's the reality of it"
Their upcoming collab with Say No More is 100% a night I won't be missing (fingers crossed my assignment deadlines support me on this). I was gonna say what more can you ask for, 2 unreal acts for the price of 1, but considering it's also FREE (b4 12) it's just a win win situation.
"Everything is easier when you've got all the kit in front of you, you can find the sound you've been wanting to create"
I had the pleasure of chatting to part of Mindset's core -resident Liam Gourlay- about his journey so far as a DJ and promoter in Glasgow.
1. What
DJs have inspired you most and to what extent does your own personality shine
through in your music choice?
There's way too many to choose from man, this
is tough. Ricardo Villalobos because he's an absolute don! I could listen to
his sets all day. He takes you on a journey via his selections and immaculate
blending. Being able to replicate that is a goal of mine.
Diego Krause, who I’ve yet to see in the
flesh but is definitely on the cards for future nights, is an absolute boss.
Another favourite is Apollonia who I’ve been fortunate enough to see at SWG3,
they sell out everywhere across Europe so it was great to see them preform in
Glasgow!
As for me, I'd say I express my music through
my personality in many ways. My friends will tell you I'm a very outgoing and
bubbly person. However, I'm also pretty chilled and I take everything
seriously, especially music. My selections, differing from a lot of nights in
Glasgow, have a more deep and minimal sound reflecting this.
2. You’re
the resident alongside Craig Hamilton. What’s the dynamic like between the two
of you? Do you usually play b2b have certain time slots?
To be honest, we play
our own slots majority of the time, we both feel it allows you to create a
better story. Having said that, we did recently play b2b at The Club in Paisley
and it worked really well! We bounced off each other, our track selection merging
as if it was only one of us playing.
3. How
do you discover new tracks and material?
My main source is probably Craig, he has his
own record shop – Discogs- where he gets new stock in every week. I can
pick tracks from most deliveries and if not, I can look at online outlets such
as Deejay.de and ask him to order in material for me. Deejay.de is great as it allows
you to pre-order tracks as well as listen to a preview clip, so you can try
before you buy. Although, buying wax 24/7 can be expensive, so I have a great
collection of both it and digital.
As well as this, Bandcamp can be great for
finding hidden gems and I also receive promo tracks through email. I’ve found
loads of dope stuff though all of these. Having mates that are into the same
music means we’re always on the group chat posting stuff we’ve seen on
SoundCloud or from artists on FB. It’s also a good way of learning from one and
other, I continue to evolve musically as a result.
4. What
advice would you give to others when it comes to developing their own night/securing
a residency?
My best advice would be if you want to run a club
night then you have to be patient, as realistically you're not going to be
established in Glasgow after one successful night. You've got to stick with it.
We've been running Mindset for over a year now and we're in a decent position.
We've had some really amazing nights, but also some not so amazing ones. That's
the reality of it. But when you do get a disappointing turn out for whatever
reason, we still play our sets, people still come and dance and you just move
on to the next night and focus on that!
As a promoter, your network is one of your
most important tools. Having a good number of friends who are into the kind of
night you want to start helps a lot. They will come along with their mates and
eventually their mates’ mates until you’ve got a good crowd. Having a good
relationship with other promoters and DJs in Glasgow is essential, so my advice
is to reach out and make as many connections with people in the scene as
possible.
5. What
else have you got coming up or looking forward to?
We've got a midweek residency launch at La
Cheetah on Wednesday the 8th of November, a collab with the Say No More boys that has been in the works since earlier in the year. We also
have a monthly slot in Broadcast too where we recently brought up Maksy, it was
great to finally see him play in the flesh - you could say we are big fans of
his!
I've spent lots of time at Craig’s studio
recently, being able to use his resources and hardware to get lots of different
ideas down. Before I was just using Ableton on my laptop, creating beats
manually. Everything is easier when you've got all the kit in front of you, you
can find the sound you've been wanting to create (shout out to Craig and Scott
from Platform 18 for being sound with me in their studio!). It’s great having
my own tracks written, although none are “perfect” just yet, when they’re ready
to be released, I’ll be buzzing!
Next night
Wednesday 8th November
Free before 12/£3 after
