Drum and bass pioneer Goldie has claimed that “gentrification has fucked clubbing,” arguing that the dance music scene is worse off than when he entered it in 1990.
In recent interview by The i Paper, Goldie was asked to recall some of his favorite club and career moments across his 26 years of tastemaking in the UK dance music scene. “I’m part of the fabric of this country,” he stated plainly, “the only thing we have is the freedom in our music.”
Among reminiscent talks of early club nights with Grooverider and the start of Goldie’s label, Metalheadz, the 51-year old producer had this to say about the current UK club scene:
They’re all gentrified. Gentrification has fucked clubbing. If you’ve got to get searched with someone’s finger up your arse to search for a pill just so you can go and see some live music, there’s something very wrong with the system. Because the last time I checked, this wasn’t an airport.
Goldie’s response echoes sentiments expressed by other long-established artists. Many believe that dance music’s club culture has lost the character it once had to mass commercialization and government regulation.
Goldie later likened himself to UK pop artist Ed Sheeran, saying that he regularly attended the famous drum and bass club The Blue Note after becoming the equivalent of a teenage heartthrob, something that would be unprecedented by a modern music celebrity.
Goldie recently released his seventh album The Journey Man, which can be found in multiple formats here.
Source: Mixmag
