It's a familiar fable. A story that spans
three decades and three generations. Their elasticated bass
tones have touched the lives of everyone in Scotland's biggest
city. They are the devilish duo responsible for Glasgow's
techno city. Ex-NME hack, Channel 4's Stuart Cosgrove, might
be spouting a load of old techno bollocks, but he is just
one such infamous Scot who has been influenced by DJ Stuart
McMillan and Orde Meikle's twisted funk.
Wherever you drink, wherever you work, where ever you dance;
every teen to thirty something has raved and craved Slam at
the Arches. They are the dirty disco duo who form part of
the cultural fabric of Glasgow's clubbing society. It's their
sound that permeates every creative walk of life from marketing
offices to bars, design companies to the city's restaurants,
art institutions to hairdressers. Each month Slam DJ to 2500
people and to 25,000 people in July, that's 55,000 people
a year in Scotland alone. Ask around the city and most people
will have had a life changing moment at Slam at the Arches.
This is the sound of Glasgow and Slam made it. Lock up your
children.
Slam came together over ten year’s ago. Their longevity
is a result of a traditional punk ethic where Manager, Dave
Clarke, is the invisible third member of the band. The three
of them share a passion for music and a debauched past which
started with soul weekenders, punk and reggae through to The
Clash and early acid-house at the Sub Club. By the late '80s
Slam had already taken the baton. Acid house exploded in Scotland
with the legendary Slam at Tin Pan Ally. "For most people,"
Orde remembers, "Slam was their first clubbing experience."
Soon after, in 1989, full of acid house enthusiasm, Slam produced
the City's first all-night rave. Stuart claims this was the
seed that sprouted the Slam family tree. "We literally
caused havoc in the streets. There were coaches from the Hacienda,
808 State playing live and thousands of people unable to get
in. The police had to shut the streets off."
It turned out to be the best marketing campaign ever done.
Posters dotted around Glasgow simply stated '3 Weeks To Go'
counting down to '2 Weeks To Go' the following week. The whole
city was hooked and farfetched press stories started ruminating
that the aliens were coming. They weren't far wrong, as every
young potential clubber-to-be was gagging to lose their acid
house virginity. "We didn't realise at the time that
having too many people wanting to come to an event was the
best thing that could happen to you. We didn't know how to
manage it back then. We thought that everyone was going to
hate us for not getting in." The following day Stuart
McMillan and Dave Clarke went to Ibiza and the Slam scandal
exploded.
The next ten years saw the team fire ahead relentlessly
with regular nights all over the city, including most memorably
Slam at the Arches through to the present day's Freelance
Science and Pressure. It's no surprise, that with a premiere
roster of big name DJs, Slam are the only choice to produce
Scotland's largest outdoor pavilion at the annual T-In The
Park for 25,000 hedonistic revelers.
Like all the best clubs Slam put quality before profit. "We
have always stretched the budget to make sure the night was
good," says Orde. He's the gentle giant with the seriously
humorous split personality.
"We actually owned the sound system at the Arches,"
Stuart interjects. He's the funny one who claims he has a
gravely misunderstood serious side. "It was rocking."
Orde: "People still say there isn't a sound system to
match it in Scotland. Back then we poured everything into
it and took no money for a while. I think that is a part of
almost everything we have done."
So what is that special Slam mix that has touched so many
lives "Er, several Jack Daniels and cokes", laughs
Stuart. "No of course, it's the DJs, the people, the
production and lighting design. The whole picture, of course".
Like all scenes Slam owe a dept to local record shops such
as Glasgow's 23rd Precinct, and Rub-A -Dub and their influences
are peppered with descriptions that include Detroit, Chicago,
Transmat, Nude Photo, Kraftwerk and clubs like the Hacienda
and Ku in Ibiza. This energy has been carried over into their
nights and classic tracks such as ''Eterna' Stepback' and
'Positive Education', which made it to number 44 when it was
re-released earlier this year.
"Positive Education was a track that had a real strong
impact on us. It was the first techno track coming out of
the UK that shook us with that energy and that thing you can't
really describe. Going to the Arches, a few months after that,
was an extraordinary clubbing experience. We felt the exact
same thing that we had heard in the track. Spontaneity, energy,
positive things. Soma, the label, Slam, the artists, Slam,
the club, are really part of our family and we are very grateful
to those many unforgettable moments we spend with the crew
in Glasgow."
If the sound of France is filtered disco and London is dominated
by sub-urban acid house inflections with more breakdowns than
Frank Butcher; Glasgow is dark, funky, bass heavy, sweaty,
writhing, sleazy techno, punctuated with house grooves. It's
a sound that reflects the environment - long nights enveloped
by a warm friendly vibrant crowd who identify more with the
US than the UK's capital. It's Slam's sound, and Slam's sound
is the soundtrack to every Scot's best night out.
