With the impending Filth Halloween Special at the end of the month, we were keen to catch up with Andrew McGibbon, one half of the successful duo that make Filth one of (if not the) most popular and successful club nights in Inverness.
How has the summer season been for you, what have you been up to?
Well it wasn’t much of a summer when you have more hot sunny days in the last week in September than the whole of summer combined! Thankfully it was a more favourable season for Filth. We returned to Belladrum after having an amazing time in 2010. This time we played our set from a smoke breathing (I think fire was a step too far for the health and safety crowd) combine harvester! Before that was the big one though… Rockness! We were delighted to finally get to play there. It’s been a long time coming!
Look back at the acts that you have played on the same bill as are quite simply immense. Is there any that stick out and if so why?
In the last year I think it was probably supporting Erol Alkan at the Ironworks… or maybe room 2 for 2manydjs, or maybe Lottie. It’s a close call! If it’s of all time then it doesn’t get much of an easier choice but Pete Tong has to top the charts. It’s the most nervous I’ve ever been warming up for someone. I listened to his radio show ever since he took over from Danny Rampling. That’s way back in the 90’s. Remember then???
As a stalwart of the music scene in Inverness, what do you think of the scene at the moment and are there any DJ’s that your particularly impressed with?
There are so many good DJs around locally now, unfortunately there’s not enough venues to match. The news of Cake’s Rose St. venue closing it’s doors just makes it a whole lot worse!
I don’t get out to see the other local DJs play as often as I like these days so there are definitely some that will be missing from this list and I apologise for that… hopefully I’ll see you guys soon. DJ wise I think that young man Alan Grant is definitely one to watch. The first time i saw him play was Belladrum 2010 and the whole crowd were chanting his name… it was late afternoon and he had them all going mental already… Brilliant!!! Ross and I closed that same stage later that night and nobody chanted our names… ha ha!! Producers are popping up all over the place too. I love Polymath’s music and regularly play his tracks in my sets and the LED knock out some quality music as well as putting on a brilliant show live!
Of course I can’t forget Audiolife, Soundclash, State of Grace,Deviation, Mike McDonald (he’s almost local!), BoomShake, Alottarhythm, We See Aliens, Jamie B, Kam Cheng plus many many more who “keep the scene alive.”
There’s also the guys that cover some of the harder genres that have brilliant nights and DJs… Change of Scene, Gearbox, Noisebox, Dimension etc etc. Too many to mention but it’s an impressive role call for a small city and I think we should be proud.
We have so many top quality nights and DJs. Yes, we’ve maybe not had the best of track record for clubbing venues up here but at least the festivals are slowly taking notice. Here’s hoping that’s a trend that will continue!
After the success of last year’s event its sounds as if this years Filth Halloween Special, is going to be even bigger, what are you planning?
This year is another Residents of Scotland Halloween party. Myself and Ross have invited the residents of some of the top club nights in Scotland to join us on the decks at the Ironworks. Our guests are Pulse DJs Darrell Harding & Andy Problems (Edinburgh) and from Aberdeen, Mothership resident DJs Ackers and Cassidy.
Fancy dress obviously… with a prize for the best costume! It’s a ridiculously cheap £3 per ticket and they are on sale now from the Ironworks box office. There’s really no excuse not to be there! Last year was amazing so you just cannot miss out.
See www.filthinverness.co.uk or facebook.com/filthinverness for more info (and videos from last years event).
Given the success of the last couple of years, what are the plans as we move into 2012?
I can’t believe it’s nearly the end of the year already. It seems just last week since we saw in 2011 (or 2010 if you noticed my minor technical blunder with the visuals at midnight!) at the Ironworks. We’re still very much in the planning stages for 2012 but those plans don’t include slowing down anytime soon. Expect big nights and hopefully more festival appearances. There may quite possibly be a pimped up website to match ;)
By Chris Lemon
Many Thanks to Andrew McGibbon
The Filth Halloween Special sees 3 of Scotland’s top club nights come together for this massive Halloween special! Joining Filth DJs Ross Lyall & Andrew McGibbon is Pulse DJs Darrell Harding & Andy Problems (Edinburgh) and from Aberdeen, Mothership resident DJs Ackers and Cassidy. Advance tickets only £3 Tickets available here.
You can catch Ross Lyall at the impending DC40 festival, Fort William 15th of October
