A Better Break

Memories of a Free Party

The imminent arrival of a ground-breaking documentary - ‘Free Party: A Folk History’ - about the British free party scene of the late 80s/early 90s, has stirred some stark memories and buried feelings within me; for I was part of the DJing and music-making side of the DiY sound system, based in Nottingham.

DiY were renowned for organising free parties in diverse rural settings: “new age” travellers’ sites, disused airbases, quarries and woods; but, unlike some of their contemporaries - like Spiral Tribe - they eschewed fast, raucous break-beats in favour of the sparser, more melodic stylings of deep house, usually imported from New York or Chicago.

memories, music, free partiesIsabelle KosciuskoApril 28, 2020Tim Wilderspin

The first time I heard 'Sulk' by Associates

1982 was a very difficult year for me, one of the hardest of my life, but it was also a year in which the most astonishingly potent and unprecedented music avalanched forth from all directions. There’s something about being around 13 that makes everything you encounter cut so deep. You are like fresh, wet concrete and the imprint of any hand remains for life.

My inner world was already being sculpted, via my Walkman, by unorthodox talents such as Japan, Ultravox, Visage, Soft Cell and, by way of contrast, Dexys.

music, memoriesIsabelle KosciuskoMay 15, 2019Tim Wilderspin