A NINE HOUR STORY: TAIVAS UG 1995 (4/5)
My first all night set took place at our illegal underground club Taivas in Vallila in July of 1995. We had been running UG clubs previously with Q in Kruununhaka in 93 and Maa at the Hotel Presidentti building in 94. The spaces were officially rented to us as dance studios. As a cover story we explained that we will have to paint the room black and would be playing loud music so people could concentrate on their dancing.
Around those times underground after-hours were very popular with almost every weekend something happening around the city. Once again its interesting to think of the time before internet forums, text messages and email lists (there was fi-rave already then though). Information about the parties were distributed mainly through flyers that were handed out during the same weekends evening parties.
In Taivas we had rented a 100m2 space which was all dancefloor. When renting the place we also received the keys to a space where the toilets were located. It just happened to be situated in an empty 200 m2 warehouse room. A nice space for a chill-out perhaps? Oh yes indeed So every Saturday we built a bar/chill out room at this space and cleaned it after the party. The smell of 300 sweaty ravers is most probably still there
There was a big group of us organizing these events with myself, Tero, Pia, Ari, Markus, Tube, Antti, Tea, Severi and many others doing it all together. The club was members only with a of couple hundred membership card holders, who could bring guests with them. Some of the hottest teenage DJs of the time, including Kiki, Ender, Oscar, Eliot Ness and Jester Moon were regular guests at the parties. We had Teja Kotilainen as the door man who ten years later had become Finlands hottest A&R, signing the likes of Rasmus, Kwan, Olavi Uusivirta and even myself to Universal Music. Its a small world!
I had decided to play the full 9 hours of the closing party, after our cover up story had been discovered and we knew that we would soon be kicked out. We had the line up of Orkidea, Rok Idea, ORK ku and DJ Tapsa and I even switched clothes three times during the night. Musical highlights included Josh Winks Higher State of Consciousness, Man With No Names Teleport and Paul van Dyks Emergency. Around 8am the extremely angry janitor came complaining about the noise. Afterwards we gave him the remaining alcohol from the party, which put a smile on his face. PLUR was definitely the name of the game !
A year later Club Unity was started at Nylon, after a decision to try out legal events too:) It feels as this years LOVE events are still continuing that same story started at Oranssi, continued in Lepakko, Q, Maa and Taivas. Thank you all for all the great memories of the last 17 years. I hope that you will be a part of the fifth part of this series and the beginning of a new decade !
Here is the flyer for the closing party, designed by Wici Wickström:
My first all night set took place at our illegal underground club Taivas in Vallila in July of 1995. We had been running UG clubs previously with Q in Kruununhaka in 93 and Maa at the Hotel Presidentti building in 94. The spaces were officially rented to us as dance studios. As a cover story we explained that we will have to paint the room black and would be playing loud music so people could concentrate on their dancing.
Around those times underground after-hours were very popular with almost every weekend something happening around the city. Once again its interesting to think of the time before internet forums, text messages and email lists (there was fi-rave already then though). Information about the parties were distributed mainly through flyers that were handed out during the same weekends evening parties.
In Taivas we had rented a 100m2 space which was all dancefloor. When renting the place we also received the keys to a space where the toilets were located. It just happened to be situated in an empty 200 m2 warehouse room. A nice space for a chill-out perhaps? Oh yes indeed So every Saturday we built a bar/chill out room at this space and cleaned it after the party. The smell of 300 sweaty ravers is most probably still there
There was a big group of us organizing these events with myself, Tero, Pia, Ari, Markus, Tube, Antti, Tea, Severi and many others doing it all together. The club was members only with a of couple hundred membership card holders, who could bring guests with them. Some of the hottest teenage DJs of the time, including Kiki, Ender, Oscar, Eliot Ness and Jester Moon were regular guests at the parties. We had Teja Kotilainen as the door man who ten years later had become Finlands hottest A&R, signing the likes of Rasmus, Kwan, Olavi Uusivirta and even myself to Universal Music. Its a small world!
I had decided to play the full 9 hours of the closing party, after our cover up story had been discovered and we knew that we would soon be kicked out. We had the line up of Orkidea, Rok Idea, ORK ku and DJ Tapsa and I even switched clothes three times during the night. Musical highlights included Josh Winks Higher State of Consciousness, Man With No Names Teleport and Paul van Dyks Emergency. Around 8am the extremely angry janitor came complaining about the noise. Afterwards we gave him the remaining alcohol from the party, which put a smile on his face. PLUR was definitely the name of the game !
A year later Club Unity was started at Nylon, after a decision to try out legal events too:) It feels as this years LOVE events are still continuing that same story started at Oranssi, continued in Lepakko, Q, Maa and Taivas. Thank you all for all the great memories of the last 17 years. I hope that you will be a part of the fifth part of this series and the beginning of a new decade !
Here is the flyer for the closing party, designed by Wici Wickström: