Cloakroom: underground internet dance radio
Loaded Magazine June 2000
"We're having a laugh - we let anything go. It's an Opportunity Knocks for the underworld of dance"
Way past bedtime on Tuesday night, The Cloakroom opens its doors: "Music to make you staggerrrrrr," Classic old grassy reverd crackles over the Internet, interFACE radio's weekly Cloakroom session travels countless global milea around the web to the demanding trainspotters of London underground dance. Bobble hats and pencils have been replaced by headphones and CD burners. Chronis skunk is the new egg sandwich as bedroom fans send back wobbled requests for things like:"Smoke Belch... big shouts for the Ambient MC...I'm so naked."
The Cloakroom attendants, Uncle Al and Sherman, armed with a reggae master Lee Scratch Perry-style box of electronic tricks and wobbles, have been educating the planet for a year.
"People in different time zones are listening in to this," says Sherman, "That obviously affects the kinds of replies we get."
Up on the home-clubbers' computer screen appears a moving picture of the DJ on the decks at interFACE. Every other week, a maverick turntable guru from the last 10 club years puts in an appearance: Andrew Weatherall, Leftfield's Paul Daley, The Orb's Alex Paterson, Richard Fearless. Anyone who has set a pace on the dancefloor gets to play what they like, mutter cobblers and show that a decade in the electric playground helps the ages make well-judged musical decisions. No censorship, no script, no playlist, no make-up. Genuine radio ga-ga. An aural experience you rarely hear on the corporate wireless currently bugged by the rancid kiddy trance market.
"We're just having a laugh and playing good music," adds Sherman. "We let anything go. It's an <i>Opportunity Knocks</i> for the underground world of dance."
Rowan Chernin
interFACE, http://www.interface-radio.co.uk, is on air 4 pm to 4am weekdays and 24 hours non-stop Thursday-Monday.
The Cloakroom is on every Tuesday 12-1 and 10-1 on alternate weeks, with a prize selection of guest DJs planned for the future.