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Old 2004-11-22, 05:56 PM   #1
Simon
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Chris Liberator On The White-Washing Of Rave Culture

Chris Liberator On The White-Washing Of Rave Culture

³Acid house was a revolutionary force when it started but history is always written retrospectively and I think itıs already been cruel on the acid house scene in general. Its history has already been brushed over, such as the fact that all these massive illegal parties actually happened, and still go on today, for example. Thereıs an underbelly of London that never gets written about.²

15 years after teaming up with Aaron and Julian to form DJ crew The Liberators, Chris Liberator remains one of the best know figureheads on the acid tekno scene, the free party subculture that continues to co-exist in a parallel universe alongside mainstream club culture. Developing from the same tiny warehouse parties that spawned Ibiza superclubs and superstar DJs, Londonıs free party scene instead stayed underground and usually invisible, ignored by the media, few of whom cared or dared to check it out. The exception came in 1992, when the likes of Spiral Tribe and Bedlam staged Castlemorton, the infamous outdoor mega-rave that managed to draw 20,000 revellers to a field in Western England, bringing free party culture to the masses, like never before.

Castlemorton though was to prove a turning point, its size and visibility prompting UK authorities to introduce the notorious Criminal Justice Act plus a shift back to the cities as Britainıs travellers found themselves almost literally driven off the land. The result was the growth of an extensive urban free party scene, centred (usually) in industrial estates in the grimmer parts of London, built around multiple sound system crews and secret telephone numbers, providing multiple party locations every Saturday night. And with parties ranging in size from hundreds of revellers to literally thousands (such as when crews would team up for bigger events), a thriving word-of-mouth culture developed, attracting non-conformists, ravers and international pleasure seekers. And spinning at many of these events was Chris (plus a whole host of equally passionate like minded DJs)

³Apart from the weekend when I got married and had my honeymoon, Iıve played records every weekend for 11 years straight and probably three or four years before that when I wasnıt playing every weekend,² he says, ³I still get a really good buzz from playing and I still love parties.

Though for Chris itıs always been about more than the buzz.

³History is already whitewashing over the rave scene, the drugs and the rest of it, and itıs being presented back as something else, whereas the way I see it is like this;² he continues.

³Thousands of people took Es (ecstasy) and as a result changed their way of thinking and hence society, and I can see it on the streets today. For example, you donıt see youth culture like it was in the 80s, when it was totally about fighting. Fucking hell, when you used to go to punk gigs youıd get beaten up every single time by skinheads,² he recalls.

³I know so many people today on the party scene who are real criminals who changed when they took an E. They saw something else and became sensitive people. That fact doesnıt get documented and doesnıt get talked about, but that is a true change in society.²

Heıs equally dismissive about the historical consensus on rave cultureıs musical beginnings.

³Take Kraftwerk, for example; I love them, I went to see them live in the 80s, but I donıt see why theyıre so massive now in terms of their influence on the electronic music scene,² says Chris.

³Or bands like Throbbing Gristle or Cabaret Voltaire- I never got into rave or techno because of those people; they werenıt the missing link for me.²

³The 70s was a very vacuous nothing decade, apart from punk and apart from some of the really underground disco stuff, and now youıve got the 80s coming back with people talking about the influence of bands like Depeche Mode. Iım like, Œno, the 80s wasnıt like that; I lived through the 80s and I bought pretty much every underground record that came out, from Mark Stewart & The Mafia, right back to Pigbag, Gang Of Four and the Au Pairs; those were the records that mattered,² he continues.

³Why donıt people talk about bands like The Jam, who got to number 1 and really made a point and had a strong political stance? All that seems to have been brushed aside in favour of Duran Duran and some vague irrelevant electro thing. The real electro that came out at that time seems to have been ignored.²



Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): Youıre one of the best known most successful DJs on the scene, how easy is it to stay in touch with your roots?

Chris Liberator: ³A lot of people often say Œitıs great that you DJ and get to travel around the worldı to which I reply Œyes, thatıs obviously what we do every weekend, but we still play on the underground, we still play squat parties and we still play lots of places for pretty much fuck-all. Itıs not all first class flights and great parties, a lot of it is flying to places and playing for very little money. Theyıre usually fantastic parties and itıs still a fantastic scene but the other side of it is all the work involved in doing all the labels. In the last couple of years weıve been really hammered and fucked over, with various business problems.²

Skrufff: how many labels are you involved with?

Chris Liberator: ³Weıve got 15 labels in the collective now and me and Aaron

(Liberator) pretty much do everything; all the admin, the production, the accounting and all the tax, the royalties, the VAT; every single side of it. Then weıre also connected up with a pressing plant and thatıs another collectively run project, with loads of different labels, squat party people and distributors involved. Keeping the whole thing afloat is a bit of a struggle and thatıs what takes up all my time.²

Skrufff: Is it fair to say the common thread to all 15 labels remains techno?

Chris Liberator: ³We did have a breaks label for a while but itıs gone into hibernation for a while, itıs run by Ben and heıs had a baby recently so he hasnıt had time to keep the label going. We were also going to do something with Tsyoshi at one point, on more of an electroclash vibe, but thatıs not happening for now. Weıre thinking of other projects and weıre not just limited to techno, but, yeah, obviously, thatıs what weıre into.²

Skrufff: Whatıs your position on file sharing and people downloading tracks for free?

Chris Liberator: ³On the one hand Iım into free music and I support people having access to all kinds of music, and file sharing is also good in the way itıs shaking up the music business, which certainly needed shaking up. The music business has always been about exploiting artists and exploiting people, such as CDs, for example, which were a new format which wasnıt basically needed. By introducing CDs they fucked up vinyl and tried to get rid of it, though obviously failed because people like us are still putting out vinyl today. Basically, they got greedy and the pay back is now.

But having said that I also donıt like people blatantly ripping us off with downloads. Weıre the people that really are at the bottom end of the pile and when people are out there to fuck us up, then I donıt like that. I donıt mind people who really canıt afford to buy the music, getting it by other means but I donıt like it when we release a new track, then 5 minutes itıs posted on the net. Thatıs galling. I understand peopleıs position, Iıve been poor and I know what itıs like to not be able to get things that you want. Musical piracy is all right really as long as itıs not a pure rip off; I donıt like anybody ripping us off. If someoneıs out there and theyıre like Œgreat weıre gonna nick this, download and get everyone to be able to download it by just putting it up on another site, I think thatıs wrong. Thereıs enough free music out there of ours, we do support it and help people put out mixes. Weıve licensed our stuff for virtually nothing, it is available cheaply and free.²

Skrufff: The UK authorities recently tightened up the Criminal justice Act to directly targeted warehouse parties, whatıs your assessment of the squat party scene right now?

Chris Liberator: ³There has been a lot more fuss recently with more actions by the police down in Bristol, for example, and in London itıs been the same, with lots of people getting their rigs (sound systems-slang Ed) impounded and parties getting stopped on Sunday mornings. But having said that, there have still been regular parties going ahead and running through until Monday. I donıt know if itıs because of these new laws that these raids have been happening, I think itıs more a case of the police trying to keep it under control generally.²

Skrufff: Donıt you see the new laws as the first step in a renewed attack?

Chris Liberator: ³I donıt know, I tend to think the scene has got very paranoid, generally. People like to say Œweıre gonnaı get fucked over, theyıre tapping our phonesı whereas I donıt think the police really give a shit (care-SE). A lot of the time the powers-that-be (authorities) seem to take the attitude that while they donıt want the parties happening, they do happen anyway; I think they just donıt want them on the scale of big festivals or parties in urban areas where theyıre a nuisance. So they wanted laws to curb that nuisance. If you do parties on industrial estates in the middle of nowhere, I still donıt think anybody gives a shit. Unless a neighbour complains, at which point they have to act, which is when they need the powers to make sure it gets stopped. For example, there was a party in Camden recently where there were loads of complaints about noise and litter afterwards and those are the kind of parties they want to stop and they will. But theyıve been stopping parties like that for years. Thereıs long been an understanding from the rigs and the crews that if youıre going to make loads of noise where thereıs lots of people nearby, youıre going to get stopped by the police. And these days they will stop you and they will take your rig.²

Skrufff: So you remain optimistic?

Chris Liberator: ³Well, who knows, the situation could easily change. The laws are there now, so they can use them any time they want now but theyıve been there since the Criminal Justice Bill came in, in 1994.. They donıt use them very often, like they donıt for many forms of law breaking. For example, if youıre smoking a joint and walking down the street youıre not going to get arrested these days unless a particular copper (policeman) gets narked (angry). Thereıs lots of laws like that, which they let go because itıs too much hassle for them. Outside of London itıs different, though.²

Skrufff: Youıve been at scores of parties where the police have turned up outside and threatened to bust in, have you been arrested very often?

Chris Liberator: ³Iıve never been arrested at a party, no. Iıve physically been stopped playing records at least five times, not just in the UK, Iıve been in much more hairy (scary) situations abroad. Not just in parties either, but in clubs. Iıve been hit by a policeman at a party in Yugoslavia, once, he literally physically stopped from playing. He hit me from behind the back of the head and I didnıt even see it coming; I fell over. Then in France at one of the first teknivals, the CRS (French riot police) came on site with guns. To be honest, itıs usually OK with the police, they donıt normally do anything rash, such as steaming in with bulldozers which they did once in France at a Spiral Tribe party. They normally give you a chance and talk to you beforehand. If theyıre going to take action, theyıll tell you theyıre going to take action and theyıll give you a warning. Normally. Then every so often, they wonıt. Luckily, whenever thatıs happened Iıve managed to get out.²

Skrufff: What have been some of your greater escapes?

Chris Liberator: ³Once in the early 90s the police steamed in unannounced at a party in Brixton and we literally grabbed our decks and ran. I remember someone saying to me a couple of days later ŒI saw you running down Brixton High Street with a record deck under your armı. Thereıs another great story about Aztec, who when he was caught up in a raid told the police Œlook, Iım in the middle of mixing, wait five minutesı. Mostly the hairest (heaviest) thing that happens is that they seize the rigs or arrest people when theyıve warned them and they havenıt stopped. Occasionally, such as in Bristol recently, they do arrest a lot of people; that kind of thing does happen from time to time, in London occasionally too, though if it happens to you, you just have to think youıve been very unlucky.²

Skrufff: Is America a place you still DJ in much?

Chris Liberator: ³I still visit there.²

Skrufff: Are you up on the RAVE Act?

Chris Liberator: ³Oh yeah, itıs destroyed the scene, itıs totally fucked it over there. Dave DDR is over there and heıs part of a group of people that has been trying to organise things but you canıt fight the law there like you can here. Since 911, America has been a lot more full-on politically and a lot of people there are starting to realise theyıre not quite as free as they thought they were. Again, people are scared of crossing the line there; people who have staged parties have been really fucked over by the authorities. And in The States itıs not even that easy to hold events in clubs anymore.²

Skrufff: Do you feel a sense of purpose or destiny with what you do?

Chris Liberator: ³Iım seeking a better way of life, full stop. I think we are moving towards a spiritual age. If you look at the history of the earth given what little we know itıs pretty clear that humans are pretty inconsequential. If there is any pattern, itıs to try and make it better for people now and for the next generation. But in the long term, I donıt even think humans will be here for much longer and I donıt really care either. Though to think that weıre at the end of history is an egotistical way to think, but weıve been given an ego and thatıs the way we are. But we canıt understand why weıre here, those questions are so immense. Iım only driven in the sense that I think we can make it better now for ourselves. A lot of foolish things happen which create misery in the world now.²

Skrufff: How do you view the term underground?

Chris Liberator: ³The underground scene in any sense is about people doing things for themselves, and believing in something because it generates things for people, and thatıs a good thing. Corporate greedy thinking and misinformation is bad and the only way you can make those things better is by living your life in a way that makes it better; by example. Iım not saying Iım perfect, but my mission is to try and live by example; to try and be one DJ who doesnıt just sell out and rip everybody off.²

Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)

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Old 2004-11-22, 09:05 PM   #2
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Chris Liberator's new track is phenomenal... :) Nothing enlightening to add... it just rocks... :)
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Old 2004-11-23, 10:33 AM   #3
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Chris just rocks. As a DJ, as a producer and he is a really chill guy as well. I've had the opportunity to hang out with him a few times and it provided for some lovely conversation. He is very sincere and has not let his fame get to his head.
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