Horseplay is a new edgy club night that originated in the fair town of Bristol, bringing some much needed credibility and excitement to that city’s gay scene.
Their unique allure and beguiling sounds are being brought up to London by the MenWhoFell2Earth team at East Bloc this coming weekend. QX decided to find out more about the cool kids from the West Country!
Who are Horseplay? How did the night come about?
We’re three (disc) jockeys from Bristol who love music and have an unhealthy love affair with our smoke machine. Our night, Horseplay, is a queer dance party born from a desire to hear edgy underground dance music on the Bristol gay scene.
We were inspired by the alternative gay scenes in East London, Berlin, Paris and Brooklyn.Gay venues in Bristol were a bit too glossy… We wanted a dirty underground venue which we could pump full of smoke, strobes and red light.
We hold the night in a sweaty basement club beneath a metal bar in the centre of town. The beer is super cheap and it’s a great venue with a subterranean feel.
Bristol doesn’t have the best or biggest gay scene, did you think it was crying out for a night like Horseplay?
Bristol has quite a competitive mainstream gay scene and a growing alternative scene. The alternative scene is getting stronger every day, with queer parties, cinema nights and gigs popping up all over.
The mainstream gay scene has its place in Bristol, but our first night was packed and over the course of the evening we had almost double the capacity of people through the door.
We want our club to be about the music, but also about building a community of like-minded people.
How did you attract the attention of the big bad London boys?
We didn’t go looking for it, so we’re flattered to have been booked to host Room 2. We’re quite vocal about our club on Facebook and we post up regular mixes online, but we’re also becoming known for huge one off parties; first Dressage at O2 Academy and now a big party called Plastic.
These are huge spectacles with costumed gogo performances and custom visuals, designed for big venues. It’s still us at the core of these parties, banging out fresh new tracks, but with a little more splendour. Maybe it was these parties that got us noticed? We’re very pleased, anyhow!
What kind of a crowd do you usually attract at Horseplay?
We thought we were a night for queers and hipsters, but actually over time we’ve evolved a core family of people of all sorts of people of all ages. We attract our fair share of cool kids, but Horseplay is a club for music lovers, party people and people who don’t take themselves too seriously.
It’s hugely flattering that people want to come to our night and an enormous buzz when they dance to the music we love. Everyone has been very supportive about our night, we feel loved and very lucky.
What’s your musical policy?
We spin a frisky mix of cutting edge underground dance music with a couple of remixes and re-edits, and a fine dusting of glitter and sleaze. We’re not above playing the occasional pop song if it’s a good’un, or ending the night with something silly…
And finally, what can we expect you to give the Londoners at MenWhoFell2Earth on Saturday?!
More smoke than could be considered reasonable and the very best tunes we have in our boxes. We’re gonna do whatever we can to make you dance!
• Horseplay will be playing in Room 2 of TheMenWhoFell2Earth at East Bloc (217 City Road, Shoreditch, EC1V 1JN) on Saturday 22nd June, 10.30pm – 6am. £9/6.
