London. The city that’s home to a vibrant music and nightlife scene, where new events are popping up daily. How do you set yourself apart in this already competitive market?
I caught up with Reece and Craig, co-founders of Another Music Event, to find out about the launch of what is most definitely not just ‘another music event’.
How did we get here?
Born and raised in Walsall, music has always been a part of Reece’s life. “My older siblings used to play a lot of garage and grime mixes, so I always used to listen to music through them”. Whilst studying at university in Manchester, he fell in love with the house music rave scene and carried this passion with him when he moved to London, where he met Craig.
Craig, who grew up in Belfast, attended a music school when he was younger, but it wasn’t until after university that music really became a focus for him. “I got a set of decks at Christmas which sat and gathered loads of dust, as everyone does because you use them twice and think ‘nah that’s too hard!’.” But it wasn’t long until Craig had taught himself to mix and was taking his decks along to friends’ house parties.
When the pair met in London a few years ago, they quickly formed a bond over their shared love of house music, spending night after night practising in the studio together, where Craig taught Reece to DJ, and even helped him to buy his first decks.
“It’s good when you have someone else there. There’s been loads of times where I couldn’t be bothered and Reece has messaged to say ‘no, you need to do this’.”
After hours of practice, they knew they were ready to see what they could do outside of the studio…
Why create Another Music Event?
Craig talks about his journey into getting his first gigs and the struggle that DJs often face when starting out. “I could see that it was obviously going to be difficult for Reece as well, so we just thought why not? Let’s give it a go.”
Seeing the challenge they would both face in booking gigs, they decided to create the opportunity for themselves and co-founded Another Music Event (AME).
“There’s new events popping up every minute, so we knew we wanted this to be different.”
Which, ironically, is how the name came about. You see what they did there?
Speaking to the lads, there’s a few really exciting things that set this event apart from the rest:
Giving opportunities to talented underground DJs – “The same DJs seem to get booked time and time again, which makes it harder for new DJs to breakthrough. We wanted to change this and give opportunities to upcoming DJs in the scene.”
A mix of genres throughout the night – “I like a bit of disco, a bit of funk, a bit of garage – so I said why don’t we have a mix? We wanted this night to be inclusive for people who maybe haven’t explored the house music scene.”
Diversity in the line-up – “We wanted a broad range of representation on the line up, including female DJs and DJs from different ethnic backgrounds. When you look at the lineup for a lot of events, they tend to be similar, we wanted to bring something fresh and different. The pioneers of house music are from diverse backgrounds! So having DJs who had different paths into the industry is really important to us.”
These inspiring goals, combined with the seriously unserious tone of the brand, have received an incredible response from followers since launching the social media accounts in July 2023.
"People like the dynamic between us – they like that we’re in the studio having fun and just don’t take it too seriously; I think people relate to us."
But jokes aside, it’s clear that these guys are here to disrupt the house music scene in the best way possible.
What was it like launching a new event?
AME put on their first event in November 2023, and it was by all accounts a massive success. They had 8 DJs, each bringing a different sound, including: Disco, UK Garage, House, Minimal and Tech House.
“The launch party itself – I couldn’t believe it! We had around 90 people dance with us at our very first event.”
They talk about the planning process and the learning curve they both experienced. “We had so many ups and downs. We saw the engagement was going up on our Instagram and TikTok, but then there were so many issues we had to figure out as well.”
Anyone who’s ever put on an event will know the number of problems that come with this kind of project. I wonder about how this might have affected their friendship?
“A lot of people were saying ‘ah it’s going to test your relationship as friends’ and it obviously has. But any issue that we’ve had we’ve just dealt with and moved on – I think our communication is really good. We’ve been very supportive of each other.”
Nothing will test a friendship like launching a business together, but these guys are clearly not going to let it get in the way, and their energy is infectious!
They laugh together as they talk about the stress leading up to the first event “even the night before we were saying ‘this is going to be the only event we do!’, we almost didn’t want it to go well.”
So…will there be a round 2?
“We have no choice!” they laugh, “the reaction from the launch party has been insane.”
When can we next party with AME?
Although they’re clearly both enjoying a bit of downtime after the first event, they’re also keen to make the most of the momentum gained from the launch.
“I think a lot of people were sitting on the fence and waiting to see what happens. But now that they’ve that seen we’re serious, they want to get involved”.
And if you’re one of those people…good news! The next event is taking place on 9th March at the Star of Kings in London.
You can expect the same inclusive vibes and epic beats as last time, but with a few twists. There will be a new line up of underground DJs, playing a range of genres, which will take you on a journey through Afrohouse, Disco, UKG, House, Minimal and Tech House.
Follow the Instagram account @anothermusicevent_ldn for all the details and grab your tickets here.
One thing’s for sure, this is just the beginning for Another Music Event and we can’t wait to see the impact these guys have on the London music scene.
By Dominique Gardner
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