Cancelled - Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggghhhh!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Shock horror Reading's anti house music conspiracy continues and we are unable to proceed with Free House Project on Saturday.

Reason being that it is too costly for both security hire and sound-system hire at this short-notice, especially given only a moderate interest in the night, which is most likely down to the short-notice that it was arranged at.  Oh and my insistence that it is free entry.

If only I had bought a sound-system when I had the redundancy money back in 2011.  I wish I had had the foresight.

The night HAS to be successful to get the opportunity to do it monthly - it will only grow into what I dream with a regular venture.

It almost definitely will just be a case of postponed and will hopefully be arranged for a later date - and have more time to plan and promote.

Didn't give up at the first hurdle - not fucking giving up at hurdle number 178!

For those who were especially excited about seeing me DJ - I have uploaded a new mix.

FHP3 - The Relaunch DJs & Set Times Announcement

Hopefully you are aware of the relaunch of Free House Project this Saturday 2nd February, and even better if you are planning on attending - we have DJs.

Firstly we welcome back KingPinn who played a sublime set back in September for Free House Project, a mixture of underground house, disco, soulful house and more.

Also for the first time (well except the keen-eyed amongst you would have noticed that he played a short set towards the end of the September night) we welcome Edd Rimmer who is known for playing house/deep house of the funkier variety.

And of course, your curator and creator extraordinaire, James Winfield.

Set times as follows:

8:30pm - 9pm - James Winfield
9pm - 10pm - Edd Rimmer
10pm - 11:30pm - KingPinn
11:30pm - 0:30am - James Winfield
0:30am - 1am - Who knows?!

As always, we promise the very best in house music.  And a lot of fun.

Reading's Venue Scarcity

I just wanted to remind you all of the existence of Free House Project.

I suspect many of the readers of this will understand my frustration with regards to the lack of suitable venues in Reading.  I was quite impressed with the set-up at Sub89 when I DJ'd there a couple of weeks ago but there is no way Free House Project is ready to fill a 500 people venue!

One day maybe!  One can dream.

After thinking about the options (or anti-options), I do have somewhere in mind though.  And it will overcome the issues some had about the previous venue.

There is no point in giving up at the first hurdle.  There is a greater picture and a mission to achieve.

Hopefully there will be some news before the end of 2012.

I doubt there will be a party before the end of 2012...but you never know.  Pencil in January...but maybe see you in December?

Please feel free to share and spread the word.  And add to your interest lists on Facebook (the button next to where it says 'liked' on the page) - it will ensure you see all the news instead of a paltry Farcebook 10%.

And remember, if you want to get involved, drop us a line.  It can only be a success with you.

Cancelled.

It is with regret that Free House Project at Milk has been cancelled.

It is not appropriate to elaborate on the reasons why over the internet, but if anyone would like to know then feel free to contact me directly.

Is it actually impossible to bring a good underground house music party to Reading on a regular basis?

Or was this just the first step on the path towards bigger and better parties, at a venue perhaps more suitable (ie with a dancefloor, a much later license, air conditioning or even an outdoors area perhaps?!).

Time to reflect and decide if, when and how to move on.

Nobody said it would be easy.

James

L

Free House Project Part 2 - Self-Review!

Last week I was asking myself, “why am I doing this?”.  Bearing in mind that I was organising a party to happen a week before I was moving house, so I was really questioning why I was organising and promoting a party too, concerned that nobody would turn up and that all my efforts (and those of others too whom I will thank later) would be in vain.

Well, those questions were well and truly answered by the smiles on people’s faces, the dancers, the randoms that so enthusiastically thanked me and most importantly the amazing friends that turned up and really enjoyed themselves.

Not to mention the fact that I had a brilliant time too.

I had been thinking since the first party in June as to which DJs to book.  There are a good amount of really good local DJs, all with slightly differing styles and with 8 hours to play with, I wanted a variety of house music that I would enjoy, and hence given my unbeatable taste should equally entertain my guests (well I like my taste in music anyway).  When myself and Samantha met to discuss a while back, there was no debate.

First up on Saturday at the leisurely hour of 4pm was the co-curator of Free House Project, Samantha Bond.  The first set is probably the most difficult in any night, but she has tons of experience and played a beautiful set of melodic house and deep house, good afternoon vibes to kick us off.

I do get asked why we start so early at 4pm given that most people don’t go out until the evening.  Firstly, if we started at 8pm then nobody would arrive until 10pm!  Secondly the bar is only open until midnight and 8 hours gives us more options with regards to music and DJs and allows for more of a “journey”.  And finally, nobody partied during the day in London years ago, so dearest darling disco dancers you just need to learn to change your habits ;-)

Next up was KingPinn, who truly excelled and exceeded my already high expectations.  A DJ with such a wealth of knowledge about house music playing a variety of styles from soulful to disco to more techy underground house.  I loved it as did everyone else who was there.

Then I played.  Well, erm, I spent about 2 hours beforehand trying to work out what to play as my first track and decided about 3 minutes before, I messed up many of my mixes at first and was a bit all over the place, but eventually I got into my groove.  I played mostly at 121bpm which is a speed I love at the moment, played lots of deep basslines, going a little dark and seedy at times, and I had a lot of compliments about my music, enough to surprise me.

Then came Sebastian Klone, who played some fantastic underground music, took over from me with more of a house sound than I was previously used to from him though I had a feeling this would be the case, he then played some more techy stuff and deeper stuff, another brilliant set.

Then I played a few more, and also thanks to Edd for spinning a few tunes in the last hour too (sorry I played Party Non Stop which you told me you were going to as I had cued it up…I didn’t know and someone had asked me for it so blame the young lady who asked me!).

Yes, I had two requests – one I played as above, and one that I hadn’t heard of but I was honoured to have received my first ever DJ request note, so thanks for that if you are reading, I was touched!  It's quite a nice track too though I don't know how I would fit it in to my DJ set...never say never though.

 I was absolutely delighted with all the DJs, even with myself in the end all things taken into account and hopefully you will be seeing them all back again for future parties.

Yes, there will be future parties without a doubt. Still subject to confirmation but there should be one more this year and maybe even monthly next year, once we are in the swing of things J

A big thanks most importantly to those who turned up, had a good time and the dancers – you made my night and I trust you all had a good time too.

Apologies for the lack of dance floor space, several people asked me about it - I did want to move the furniture but it isn’t my venue!  And yes I know it gets rather warm in there when it is sunny and warm outside, but trust me, it is warmer Djing or behind the bar.  All I can say is – wear less clothes.

Anyway, enough rambling, another huge thank you to those who came, those who DJ’d and those who loved it, and those who wished us well.

Please spread the word as the house music revolution of Reading has only just begun, but it needs you as much as us or the DJs.

Much love

James, FHP xxx

Don't forget to like us on Facebook to keep up to date with what is happening.
There are mixes from Samantha and a previous guest, Tim, on our Mixcloud page.
My mixes are on here, Samantha's are here, Sebastian Klone can be heard on Hoxton FM every Wednesday 8-10pm, and you can listen to some of his productions here, and finally Edd who played a few tracks in the last hour also appears as a guest DJ on Passion FM every other Thursday for Keshava Chandratheva's show.

We will be back.

Latest News - 2 Days To Go

So who knew that you cannot message your guest list on Facebook now?  Facebook pisses me off more and more every week.

On the bright side, Facebook reckons we have 50 people attending!

However, as I just re-learnt, trust Facebook at your peril.

Anyway, we have an announcement and an opportunity...of sorts.

Firstly Samantha and James are swapping their DJ sets around so the line-up is now:


16:00 - 17:30 Samantha Bond
17:30 - 19:30 KingPinn
19:30 - 21:00 James Winfield
21:00 - 23:00 Sebastian Klone
23:00 - Midnight - James & ???

Secondly James will probably be too ruined to play the last hour by himself (I can say this because I am James) and Samantha cannot be there for the closing hour or two, so we thought it would be nice to open up the opportunity to anyone who fancies playing a couple of tunes.

Two rules:

NO ELECTRO-HOUSE
NO DUBSTEP

Wait a minute, make it three rules - NO RIHANNA.

Actually make it a lucky seven rules - NO GUETTA, NO DRUM'N'BASS, NO HARD HOUSE, NOTHING THAT WOULD BE PLAYED ON FRIAR STREET.

So anyone who fancies playing a couple of tracks, bring a cd or two, or a record or two and make yourself known.

We are not sure what the demand will be so if you want to be guaranteed your 10-15 minutes of Free House Project fame then please ask in advance of Saturday.

Oh and you won't be getting the last two tracks of the evening.

And finally, our third party will be on Saturday 3rd November.  And yes we are looking for DJs.

Interview With Sebastian Klone

Just 5 days until the next Free House Project and I am delighted to bring you an interview with the second guest, Sebastian Klone, who will be playing 9pm to 11pm.

So, what music are we likely to hear you play?

House and tech along many spectrums. Melodic, deep, groovy. I like to change it up, throw a few curve balls here and there!

Who are your favourite DJs at the moment?

I'd say Pan-Pot, Liebing and Steve Bug would be my top 3 right now!

And your favourite producers?

Dusky, Tom Budden, Re.you and Andrea Oliva are doing it for me!

What was the first track to get you into house music?

I loved the funky house sound back in the late 90's and early 00's. Nothing really in particular to be honest, far too many!

Do you have any embarrassing records in your collection?

Probably some old trance and hard house tracks which are just awful listening back to them!

What has been your most calamitous DJing moment?

Most probably pressing stop on the wrong cdj! Its happened to the best of us!

And the highlight of your DJ career? Warming up Demi in Calgary last year, great party, great vibe and a great crowd!

Can you cook? What is your signature dish in the kitchen? I cannot cook very well, hence, no signature dish!

Do you like partying?

I do, but rarely do these days as I have a real lack of time unfortunately.

What is the best ever party you have been to in your life?

Cocoon, 2008 in Amnesia. I danced for a good straight 6 hours, which for me is a rarity!

Where were you born?

In the UAE.

Do you have a favourite hidden gem of Reading?

Not any more, Mango used to be my old haunt!

What can you recommend about Slough?

The M4 leading out of there!

Anything else you would like to tell us about? 

You can catch my show on Hoxton FM every Weds from 8-10pm from Trafik Bar in Hoxton Sq.

All my tunes can be found on Beatport too and my sound cloud page!

***

5 days to go!

Love FHP x