DiY Sound System

DiY Sound System, also known as the DiY Collective, was a British house music sound system, co-founded by Harry Harrison, Rick "Digs" Down, Simon "DK" Smith and Pete "Woosh" Birch, in 1989.[1] The group "divided their activities between free parties and legal club nights, acting as a bridge between counter-culture and the mainstream".[2][3]

History

1990s

The DiY Collective was co-founded by Harry Harrison, Rick "Digs" Down, Simon "DK" Smith and Pete "Woosh" Birch in Nottingham in 1989[1][3][4] as a reaction against the growing commercialisation of pay parties, especially Orbital raves such as Biology and Sunrise. DiY's standpoint came from a merging of anarchist principles and a history of attending both free festivals and clubs such as the Haçienda. They wished to form a cohesive, collective, political front against the prevailing anti-rave legislation that was beginning to come into force at that time.[5] This became more marked around the time of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, with DiY playing a key role in the illegal rave at Castlemorton Common Festival prior to the Bill in May 1992.[6][7] After hooking up with a group of progressive travellers at the 1990 Glastonbury Festival, they began to throw a constant stream of illegal, outdoor parties (often at travellers' sites, quarries and disused airfields) all over the country for many years.[8] Simon Reynolds wrote that DiY threw "free parties at abandoned airfields or on hilltops, drawing a mixed crowd of urban ravers and crusty road warriors".[9]

DiY also worked in the realm of legitimate club nights, starting with their first night at the Kool Kat, Nottingham on 23 November 1989 on Harry's 23rd birthday.[10] Their "Bounce" began at Venus, Nottingham in February 1991 and ran for five years at various clubs, including nights at the Dance Factory.[11] Bounce also at one point had a network of nights in Liverpool, Manchester, Hull, Sheffield, Bristol, Birmingham, Exeter and Bath.

The Strictly 4 Groovers label put out its first release by Alabama 3 in 1992, followed by records from members of the DiY Collective, as well local artists including Atjazz, Rhythm Plate and Charles Webster.

Later

DiY continue to hold occasional free parties, typically to celebrate a milestone date—on 19 September 2009, DiY celebrated their 20th birthday with a free party near their home town of Nottingham, and on 23 August 2014, their 25th birthday with a free party held in a field in Leicestershire.[3][5]

Aftermath

On 3 October 2020, it was announced that Pete Birch (DJ Woosh) had died from cancer.[12][13][14]

Harry Harrison released a biographical history of DiY, Dreaming In Yellow in 2022.[3]

Simon DK died on 6 July 2023, age 60.[15][16][17]

DJ Digs continues to DJ as Grace Sands.[18]

See also

References
  1. "New book explores the 90s heyday of DiY Sound System". Mixmag. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  2. ed. Low M. and Barnett C., (2004) Spaces of Democracy: Geographical Perspectives on Citizenship, Participation and Representation, SAGE Publications, ISBN 0-7619-4734-5
  3. Dicker, Holly (19 April 2022). "90s rave crew DiY Sound System: 'We definitely sacrificed our sanity'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 July 2023 – via The Guardian.
  4. "History of '90s UK rave sound system DiY Collective celebrated in new book, Dreaming in Yellow". DJMag.com. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  5. Scott Oliver (20 August 2014). "The Raving Crew Who Were Named 'The Most Dangerous People in the UK'". Vice.
  6. Guest, Tim (11 July 2009). "Tim Guest tells the story of how the state crushed the early 90s free party scene". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  7. ""It's never too far": The inside story of Castlemorton — history's most infamous rave". Mixmag. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  8. "DIY: Can-do Attitude!". DJ Mag. 4 November 2014.
  9. Reynolds, S., 1998, Energy Flash, Picador, ISBN 0-5712-8914-2
  10. Collin, Matthew (1997). Altered State. UK: Serpent's Tail. p. 197. ISBN 1-85242-604-7.
  11. Collin, Matthew (1997). Altered State. UK: Serpent's Tail. p. 198. ISBN 1-85242-604-7.
  12. "UK deep house pioneer Pete Woosh has died". Mixmag. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  13. "UK free party pioneer Pete 'Woosh' Birch has died". DJMag.com. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  14. "UK house and free party scene pioneer Pete 'Woosh' Birch has died".
  15. "Simon DK, founding member of Nottingham collective DiY, has died". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  16. "Simon DK, legendary DJ and founding member of DiY Sound System, has died". Mixmag. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  17. "Simon DK Smith, co-founder of DiY Sound System, dies, aged 60". DJMag.com. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  18. "Grace Sands - Biography - RA". Resident Advisor.

Further reading
  • Dreaming in Yellow: the story of the DiY Sound System. By Harry Harrison. Velocity, 2022. ISBN 9781913231149.
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