Church At Corsica Studios Interview

With a million one clubs nights scattered across the country it certainly isn't as easy as it used to be to set up your own (and successful) one... but that's exactly what two students from Camberwell did.

Set up in 2011, the night located in a crypt of a church (inspiration for it's name) quickly grew fast and made a respectable name for itself in under five weeks. Relocating to Corsica studios due to larger crowds, Church is now one of the leading 'dubstep' nights in London.

With big names set to grace Church as it relaunches this Friday (January 13) for 2012, Gigwise caught with one of the founders James Tittensor (Seb Wildblood) to see what all the fuss is about.

So tell us a little bit about how you first started Church?

It was me and a mate Dom who started the night in the crypt of a church in Camberwell and that's where the name came from. After about five weeks or so we gathered a bit of a following so Corsica Studios (where they film the Boiler Room) gave us a ring, asking us if we'd like to move it there. Obviously we jumped at the chance and things just went from there really.

Did it get too big for the crypt then or was it just the next logical step?

Yeah it got to the point on about the fifth week where we had more people outside who couldn't get in than people actually inside. It was quite a small area with about 150 inside and well over 200 hundred outside with people actually climb over the walls to get in. When Corsica first rang up we weren't sure if we wanted to move there as it was brilliant working inside a church but it gave us the opportunity to put on artists that we'd been following for a long time.

Were you at uni at the time you started the night then?

I still am actually, I'm a third year at L.C.C. at the moment, a couple of the other guys are at Camberwell. Academically it's hindered me quite a bit as it takes quite a bit of time, but with the club night being a student has really helped me out as we can get a feel for want the student crowd want.

What would you say is the music policy behind the night?

I think it's changed as our music tastes have developed but I think I'd say it's a house, bass and garage night. Genres are a tricky one though, we could call it dubstep but it's not the dubstep that the majority of people would identify with as things have moved on quite a bit lately.

What we've always been out to do is trying to make it as un-pretentious as possible, there's a lot of nights especially in art school that say they are for example hip-hop, but really they are more about how the people there look as opposed to what's going on with the music. We've tried to create more of a party vibe than your usual art student do. It's more relaxed more about the music, so with the bookings we're not thinking who is going to pull people in, rather it's more about who we are listening to at that moment. To us it's not about making money, it's about showcasing an artist that we love in a room full of people.

If you could pick one what would be an anthemic tune from Church that has stuck in your mind?

For me personally I'm a massive fan of Jacques Green ' Another Girl', that's a tune that if you play when it's going off just fits the moment perfectly. I put that one in the mix for you guys.

How about a favourite booking that you've made along the way?

XXXY would have to be the best in my book as it was the first DJ we hosted at Corsica Studios, to get the opportunity to play alongside someone whose tunes you've been playing for so long was just amazing. He schooled us as well as we were pretty new on the scene.

Have you ever had anything go horribly wrong?

On the third week at Corsica we had Fantastic Mr. Fox come down and we were still novices in the technology area as all the sound equipment was still fairly new to us. Then the music suddenly just shut off, we got it back on after a few minutes but it just stopped again, so me and Dom had to jump on quickly. We just grabbed a random CD out of the bag and it was just the most inappropriate tune to put on at that particular time.

Seeing as it's all about the hot for 2012 lists at the moment, who would be your pick?

I reckon Disclosure are going to be huge, maybe even as big as SBTRKT, theirs quite a similar vibe and they've got the radio one play recently that is clearly going to get them far.

Have you thought about incorporating any live streaming into your promotions?

We're actually starting some Ustreaming on the 19th of January, what we're going to do is a Church radio show live from Corsica Studios, put on by the DJ's playing on the night. We'll be putting them after for download after. Obviously the Boiler Room has already done that but as I've said before it's all about the music and seems like a great thing to incorporate into the brand.

So what advice would you give to young promoters looking to get started in the game?

Don't put on a night for the sake of putting on a night, you've got to be really into it and it has got to be about the music. You've got to start it for the right reasons and carry it on for the right reasons. If you've got a passion for a certain type of music however just go for it!

Lastly tell us a little bit about the mix you've made for Gigwise.

I've tried to make it as accessible as possible as I know not everyone is going to be fully into the dance music so there are a lot of vocal tracks, it's really vibing stuff that should be a nice easy listen.

For one information on Church and upcoming events click here.

Mix tracklist Done by Resident and co founder Seb Wildblood:

Throwing Snow & Pye- The Shadows I make
Eliphino- More than me
Roberto Rodrigues Manolo- I keep thinking of you
Fur Coat (Teed Remix)- Space Ballad
Damu- Breathless
Dauwd- Ikopol
Hush Hush Pony (Brane Remix) - Baboon
George Fitzgerald- Fernweh
Ifan Dafydd- No Good Jacques Greene- Another Girl

Gigwise Interview Mix by Seb Wildblood (Church)