Plaid to the Beat: Scotland’s Electronica is the Heartbeat of its Nighttime Culture, so Why is it Under Threat?
Plaid to the Beat: Scotland’s Electronica is the Heartbeat of its Nighttime Culture, so Why is it Under Threat?
From sweat-soaked Saturday nights to laid-back Sunday afternoon open-mics, Scotland’s many pubs and clubs routinely play host to some of the brightest talent in the music industry. Around the clock, droves of both young and old congregate in a unified front of love for the medium, spending their hard-earned cash on tickets, merchandise, and drinks in pursuit of a good time. It’s a cultural rite of passage – you’d be hard pressed to find any Scot who hasn’t journeyed the pulsating LED dripped corridors of electronic music venues in the early hours of the morning in search of a busy dancefloor.
Caledonia’s love of electronic music is a well-documented one – just look at the meteoric rise of house music from the 1980’s to present day. Dumfries’ very own Calvin Harris flies the saltire high atop the worldwide charts, scoring megastar collaborations with the likes of Dua Lipa, Frank Ocean and Sam smith to name a few. The late-great SOPHIE - who’s glitch-laden innovative production rocked the industry and continues to influence its sound years after their tragic passing in 2021 – was born in Glasgow. Or the exciting recent rise of pop-dance connoisseur Sam Gelliattry from Stirling, who has already collaborated with the likes of KAYTRANADA and Don Toliver, performing on one of music’s biggest stages – Coachella Music Festival. The foundations for these were laid long ago by trailblazers of the scene such as Paul Welsh, who Brewster described in 2018 as the “unheralded godfather of the Scottish electronic scene”. Welsh, who rose to national fame through his acclaimed mixes and radio shows, is a byproduct of genuine grassroots electronic music. Starting at 12 years old in a small Glasgow youth club, Welsh honed his craft for years in a bid to perfect his own method of mixing, rising the ranks of DJ acclaim from the 1980’s onward. Now producing entertainment content for BBC Radio 2, Paul’s rise to national acclaim plays as its own advertisement for the importance of nurturing a grassroots music scene.
1. Bill Brewster, 2018 https://mixmag.net/feature/raveheart-how-house-music-exploded-in-scotland?next
Image: https://www.theskinny.co.uk/clubs/interviews/looking-back-on-a-decade-in-scottish-clubbing
As one venue closes and homegrown acts are starved of further opportunities to launch a career, so too we must remember the marginalised communities who lose a place of solace in the nightlife. Those from such groups saw electronic dance music as a scene free from policing, one that welcomed all regardless of sexuality, race, and gender. Ever since the dawn of the genre, electronic music has been a bastion of community for those shut out by wider society, allowing the banished find a family once again through musical celebration. It is imperative that the history of these groups and their contribution to electronic dance music is preserved.
With electronic music remaining a staple of Scotland’s cultural programme 4 decades later, its no wonder that the industry bares serious fruit for the wider national economy. For instance, the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) reported in 2023 that Scotland’s electronic music industry is worth a staggering £550 million, numbers that become even more impressive in the context of surviving a world-wide pandemic. The industry did not escape unscathed, however. Reporting on the wider UK scene, the NTIA also reports that the scene lost 2,958 venues between December 2022 and December 2023, indicating that a COVID hangover may still be in full effect.
With a cost-of-living crisis with no end in sight, some would-be clubgoers are opting to forego the strobe lights in a bid to keep their own lights on – a sacrifice with devasting consequences for nightclubs in particular. Vanishing from our streets at an alarming rate, nightclubs saw a 4% decrease in numbers in the last year (851 down from 882), with a net loss of 32% since March 2020 (851 down from 1,278). Rising venue rent prices paired with electricity bills to make anyone’s eyes water only add to the worry of artists, audiences and venues nationwide, leaving many to wonder if impactful legislative intervention is ever coming. With clubs, promoters, artists and labels putting in such a shift, why does it feel like government policy is ignoring them? When members of parliament are in a race to the bottom, is it any wonder that cultural institutions follow suit? Is it possible to even envision a future where artists such as Paul Welsh are given ample opportunity to shine? I spoke to
2. NTIA, 2024 https://storage.googleapis.com/ntia-hosted-pdfs/The-Second-UK-Electronic-Music-Industry-Report%20-8th-February-2024.pdf
3. NTIA, 2024 https://storage.googleapis.com/ntia-hosted-pdfs/The-Second-UK-Electronic-Music-Industry-Report%20-8th-February-2024.pdf
Nick Stewart, manager of legendary Cowgate music venue Sneaky Pete’s about the current state of play in the Scottish electronic scene in a bid to find some answers.
If the walls of Sneaky’s could talk, they’d tell tales of bands such as Young Fathers earning their stripes in the early hours of the morning, or solo acts such as Lewis Capaldi finding their feet before stardom. Both a launchpad for homegrown talent and a staple of every Edinburgh club-goer’s late night itinerary, Sneaky Pete’s has remained the nucleus of the capital's grassroots music movement ever since it opened its doors in 2008.
Image: https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/mar/03/the-gig-venue-guide-sneaky-petes-edinburgh
Rob) Do you feel as though proper respect is given to electronic music venues and artists by not only the public but by policy makers in government?
Nick) I think the public respects it. Clubbing is embedded in Scottish culture, and not just youth culture. There are plenty of dance events that have audiences well into their 50's in Scotland, partly because world class dance events have always happened in Scotland.
The general impression I get from current Scottish government policy is that they are very interested in export, right across the economy, but when it comes to music there's very little commitment to nurturing the grassroots. In particular, venues like Sneaky Pete's are the research and development hubs of the Scottish music industry. As such, I'd like to see investment in our ability to make bookings and improve our facilities, so Scottish venues are world-class in order to foster world-class artists.
Scottish musicians - and audiences! - are the natural resources that the Scottish Government should be looking to develop through proper funding of Scottish venues and mentoring schemes for artist managers and agents. Then we'd know they are taking this industry seriously.
But there's also a wider question about establishing conditions where Scottish musicians, promoters and labels thrive and stay here. Currently Scottish musicians can be seen as an input into a London-based music industry. That would not be sustainable in an independent Scotland. Imagine all Danish artists moved to Sweden because there weren't Danish managers and labels? Scotland needs a long term well-funded policy to invest to keep Scottish talent here.
Rob) If any changes were to be made to influence more respect for the electronic music industry in Scotland, what would you like them to be?
Nick) Economic arguments are important, but for me the way to keep this ball rolling is to talk about, write about, and celebrate how electronic music culture is embedded in Scottish culture. It's one of the things we do best, together, so let's keep that message of positivity going forward.
Rob) Do you feel as though Scottish electronic artists are underrepresented and undervalued in the wider scene?
Nick) Not at all. I'm often asked what it is that's in Scottish water that causes so many amazing artists to emerge here. The current crop of top flight DJs from Scotland celebrate their Scottishness and spread the word when they tour. It's a beautiful thing.
Nick’s words of hope do well to alleviate the fears of those who may worry that electronic music’s place in Scotland may be under threat, even if the future is uncertain. Acting as cultural caretakers, venues such as Sneaky Pete’s and their managers such as Nick Stewart recognise the importance of maintaining these spaces that many hold sacred. Fighting against the unforgiving weight of financial burden and government negligence can be a task to turn even the most enthusiastic of us into stone-cold cynics - yet they persist. Thank god they do, too, as the rich history of electronic dance music in Scotland tells a story that demands continuation. Off-the-wall talent coincides with a culture hell-bent on acceptance, it really is a beautiful thing, lets just keep the lights on.