Through their parties and labels, the development of Huntleys + Palmers is inextricably linked to their hometown of Glasgow. They have helped the city develop from an isolated hotspot in Scotland to one of Europe’s most respected destinations for dance music. One of the many who are deeply proud of their geographic origins, we spoke to Huntleys + Palmers boss Andrew as they celebrate 10 years in the game, revisiting some of the local institutions (with photographer Slouch) that have helped them get to where they are now.
Huntleys + Palmers celebrate 10 years with parties in Glasgow (6th May with Actress, Rroxymore & Dollkraut) and London (2nd June with Ivan Smagghe, Innershades & Andrew Thomson)
Hetherington Research Club
Back where it all began! As the name suggests, this was a study centre with a licensed bar selling Erdinger on draft. Back between 2004-7ish, Optimo used to run an infrequent party called Black Rabbit Whorehouse. They took place at different and unused venues in Glasgow and were always on a Friday, which was a bit easier for me to get to without missing a Monday after their infamous weekly Sundays at Sub Club. They hosted one of such parties at this strange little 100 capacity venue connected to the university and I loved the house party feel it had; the dancefloor was like dancing in the front room of someone’s tenement.
I had been thinking about promoting a party for a while and wanted to do something a bit different, and with this venue being off the beaten track, it was perfect to kick things off. The first party took place with Pilooski and continued with a few over the course of the following year with guests such as Aeroplane, Francisco, Unit 4 and a youthful Jackmaster. A few other parties cropped up at the venue too, but it unfortunately stopped functioning in any kinda of capacity as a party place a good few years ago. I’m not sure what the reason was exactly, but there was something about the manager being involved with embezzlement and I think it was also the site of an Occupy-style protest. Whatever happened, it now houses a computer centre with no beer at all.
The Brunswick Hotel
More often than not, most guests over the years have stayed here. It has a much more personal feel as the staff are really friendly, with a lot of the younger bar staff being regular faces on the scene, which can be helpful. If, for whatever reason, I can’t be in two places at once, I know that whoever is at the hotel will be in good hands.
Stereo
Stereo opened almost exactly around same time as the first party and I threw the third one here with Joakim and Musiccargo. It was a lot bigger than the Research Club (around 300 capacity) and was geared up as a live venue, so it fitted the bill for bigger or live guests. As it was newly opened, it was also somewhere different than what was on offer until that point. Over the course of the first year I hosted James Holden, Silver Apples and Marissa Nadler here. Over the following years welcomed, amongst others, Four Tet, Oni Ayhun, Veronica Vasicka, Peter Christopherson aka Sleazy from Throbbing Gristle / Coil, Todd Terje, James Holden (again), Gold Panda, Daedelus, Daniele Baldelli and an emerging Solomun. We also staged the first ever Highlife with Rebolledo and Auntie Flo in 2010.
Rubadub
It’s difficult not to talk about the Glasgow scene without mentioning RAD. They’ve been really instrumental in shaping the scene for many up-and-coming producers, DJs and labels – through selling records, studio equipment and distributing for a bunch of local labels. It’s also the go-to shop for anyone who’s in town and looking to do a spot of shopping for house and techno.
Monorail
I also make a point of taking anyone across the carparks to Monorail, which has a bit more of a variety of music and caters for a different side to the Glasgow scene – I guess maybe closer to somewhere Rough Trade. It’s housed in the Mono bar – sister venue to Stereo (get it?). Glasgow has a few really decent vegan restaurants which don’t really sell themselves on this feature. In other cities, VEGAN slaps you in the face before you’ve had a chance to walk in the door. Here they just do great food, which happens to be vegan.
The Art School
From 2010, I lived between London and Berlin and didn’t move back to Glasgow until 2015. During that time, The Art School – which is the student union of the actual Art School – had newly reopened to become a really fancier version of its former self. £1 pints of Tennents have now been replaced with cans of San Pelligrino and there’s a slightly Berghain-esque stairway instead of the sawdust strewn floors (to stop you from slipping down them). They also have a really great team behind the programming, who are committed to presenting something else in Glasgow and supporting a lot of smaller nights, DJs and artists and I think the scene has really benefitted from it as a result. So it’s felt like a natural fit to set up there as a home. Our Highlife parties take place there bi-monthly and we’ve hosted a bunch of bigger parties with the likes of Talaboman and the one coming up on May Day with Actress, Rroyxmore and Dollkraut.
Nice N Sleazy’s
Sleazys is a local institution. It’s one of the places I missed most about Glasgow when I was away. It’s been on the go for 25 years now, so is the sort of place you can head to on your own and be guaranteed to bump into someone you know and end up in some steaming chat with someone you don’t. I was doing the club bookings for a while when I moved back, which was a great way to reconnect with the scene again and placed me in good stead to curate the Clyde Built compilations which feature the best new faces on the scene and can be downloaded for free at the H+P Bandcamp.
CCA / Saramago
The CCA used to be run by the council who weren’t very receptive to club nights, although some have happened in the past. In recent years though, Saramago took over running the bar and music programming and they’ve done a really good job of making the space somewhere worth sticking your head into. We often head here for dinner before the Art School (another vegan menu) and also hosted the first Boiler Room session outside of the Sub Club.
