Hexstatic. Photographer: Anthony Limberg.
ELECTRONIC AND CLUB-BASED MUSIC
Fifteen years on from the second Summer of Love, the UK still retains its prominent position as first among equals on the global club scene. House, techno, breaks, drum’n’bass, electronica, trance, downtempo and other leftfield forms were either born here, or at the very least popularised. And as the club scene constantly propels itself forward, riding an ever-present wave of flux and change, the UK remains clubland’s most fertile breeding ground. The UK’s clubs are rocking to a wider degree of high-octane sounds than ever before. Guitars are coming back to the fore within house; breaks producers have ears locked into the vibrant garage and R’n’B camps and DJs are splicing old pop records with club-based electronica to create new and exciting cultural artefacts. Where the UK club scene will be in another 15 years is anybody’s guess, that in itself is half the fun, but one thing can be stated with utmost certainty: the eyes, and ears, of the world will be fixed onto the UK’s dancefloors.
Jim Butler, Jockeyslut magazine
Hexstatic. Photographer: Anthony Limberg.
How We Work What We Do Publications and Resources Music Genres Music Education Music Events Selector Radio What does the British Council do in this area?
Club-based music and culture from the UK has become really well known and successfully reflects the diversity of the UK. There is little need for the British Council to promote mainstream music or superclubs. So we have concentrated our efforts in this genre on the more distinctive underground aspects of the scene embracing the work of video jockeys as well as DJs. We work across most types of club-based music - from the sounds of The Shrine who took afrobeat to Germany to help address racism, to the soulful house music of Ultravinyl who ran a DJ programme in Russia when the scene was still very new there. Norman Jay, recently awarded an MBE, has also taken his mixture of disco, soul and funk – The Good Times Sound System – across the globe from Africa to America, to spread the word about the diversity of the UK music scene.
Archived projects
DJ Rita Ray at turntable. Photographer: Carole Saambili
Renowned sound artist Scanner has collaborated on a project based around the European Elections and the enlargement of the European Union. 'Europa 25: An Inter-National Anthem' explores the myths, realities, images and ideas around the politics of Europe from an artistic perspective.
Rita Ray. Photographer: Carole Saambili.
The United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
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