A forward-thinking, trendsetting, label is a mold many projects attempt to emulate. To stay true to rave culture, sometimes moving away from the latest trends is necessary to create a platform that nourishes the scene in a way unique and beneficial to those surrounding it. Since its inception, 4 person collective and label Club Glow has been a beacon of light for bass-focused concepts fused together with crisp breakbeat orientated sounds – creating authentic rave noises. The selections vary from speed garage, breakbeat, acid, jungle and a whole host of underground genres as Club Glow holds no boundaries.
Individually, Denham Audio, Borai, LMajor and Mani Festo have paved their own journeys in the scene becoming powerhouse names in a wide scope of different electronic fields. All versatile DJs and producers in their own right, Club Glow represents an international movement that appeals to the natural raver. In Denham Audio they have an artist who is responsible for some of the biggest anthems in uk garage and breakbeat in recent times. Borai and LMajor are both celebrated as top-tier jungle names within the wider community. Whilst Mani Festo’s club-infused sonics holds supremacy as a concept for soundsystem mayhem. Each party brings a key component to the table, as a quartet the raving scene has seen nothing like it.
The small hiatus from label activity in 2023 has come and gone, as each artist focused on their personal projects over this period. Now, releases from Settle Down and Smiff have kicked off a new chapter for the Club Glow massive, a refreshing take on trance, breaks and bass sound design is explored from the two Bournemouth and Edinburgh artists respectively – already creating waves amongst heads within the scene. We are also promised a consistent catalogue of tracks from the label in the coming months of 2025 from a range of new up-and-coming producers along with a breadth of exciting, established, names.
Originating as a label. Growing naturally into a radio show on Balami and Rinse. In addition to becoming a club night around the UK. Eventually performing takeovers as a brand around the world, which includes some of the biggest events around such as Glastonbury and Boomtown. This underground platform has taken things as they have come and undeniably capitalised – molding themselves into one of the torchbearers for alternative electronic sounds. We caught up with one fourth of this eclectic collective, as Denham Audio talks us through the journey so far, as well as what lies ahead for the wonderfully enigmatic Club Glow.
When did Club Glow kick off and how did you go about starting things?
We started in 2018. The reason for the inception was because myself and Borai made a tune called ‘6am’. We made a couple of mixes of it to formulate an EP, but then we put a lot more tunes together spiraling it into an album. There weren’t a lot of labels at the time putting out breaks, so we figured we’d have to do it ourselves. It was quite early into the infancy of Bandcamp, so it was a fun new project for us to manage whilst keeping all the control of it. We couldn’t afford to do vinyl so, at the time, we put it on a cassette tape, made a bandcamp, and put together a ‘fake’ label.
And how did Mani Festo and LMajor get involved?
We knew Mani Festo for years and got him to do the artwork. We were also big fans of LMajor, so we decided it made sense to get these two to make the second tape on the label. I guess the whole thing was born out of a necessity to put out these niche types of tunes we wanted. We were all part of a uk bass music facebook group for many years. I think we all ended up naturally gravitating towards each other through our love for breaks music.
Why the name Club Glow?
There isn’t really a story behind it to be honest. We all just decided that the name suited the raving soundboard we were trying to achieve.
How did the events side of the platform get going?
We started off at Peckham Audio in London. This was a year or so into the label starting. We did quite a few Peckham Audio shows before reaching out to the likes of Leeds and Sheffield. From then, we started getting booked as an act at places like Boomtown and Glastonbury. We’ve now started doing annual parties in Berlin which is really cool. We’re all with the same agent Carl, who’s based in Berlin. There’s a club out there called Fitzroy. They channel a more uk centric sound which definitely suits our vibe.
Was there an inspiration behind Club Glow?
At the time everyone was making uk bass, uk funky, uk garage, house, techno and even jungle. The fact us four were trying to push a slightly different sound, we felt as a four we offered something slightly different to the scene. Each bringing something different to the table. That was our inspiration to get Club Glow up and running. It got us producing, creating and performing together consistently. I guess label wise, something like Hessle or Swamp 81 was an inspiration. These types of labels were few and far between. But trying to stay ahead of the game release wise is something we want to keep to.
What would you say are notable achievements for the brand so far?
The fact the whole thing started through the making of the track ‘Make Me’ by myself and Borai is a success in itself. No one wanted to sign or release that tune. We believed in ourselves enough to create a song like that and it’s a real testament to the vision we had at the time. For our 5th birthday we got to do a Club Glow takeover of XOYO – taking over an institution of that size was quite a feat for us. Coming together with Watch The Ride for that one was really special. We’ve had the festival takeovers which have been great. I’d also say holding a residency on Balami and Rinse for a few years was great. It allowed us to showcase our sound to a wider audience.
As I understand it, Club Glow did take a bit of a break.
After the fifth year we got to a point where we’d all grown quite a bit. We naturally came to a break, where we decided to prioritise our own projects. The label didn’t fully reflect on each individual’s own personal careers, so that’s where the break came from really. 5 years felt like a nice point to take this break.
And what made you guys want to start up again?
It all stemmed again last year. Myself and Mani Festo were touring. You’d meet people around the world who loved what Club Glow stands for. We were in places like Japan, Malaysia, and loads of other places you wouldn’t associate uk underground music with. It was very refreshing and inspiring. It definitely got us into gear. It made us realise how important it was to keep going with the platform, as it means so much to a lot of people around the world. We took most of last year to figure out what it is we’re trying to achieve moving forward. Where we’re at now is bass driven for sure, but still preserving a centre around breaks.
Let’s fast forward to this year. You had ‘Jojo’ by Settle Down get things up and running label wise.
Yes we did. This Settle Down tune came out in April. We were focussed on that for ages in the build up to reintroducing the label. He’s a good friend of ours and he presented us with this really great trance track. We actually even played the tune at the Club Glow Boomtown takeover last year. This felt like a fresh take on the trance genre, yet had a hint of nostalgia. It’s exactly what the label stands for, having an artist release on a genre you wouldn’t associate them with. It was a great way to show everyone that it’s still us but that we’re also back with a different take on things.
And moving past the Settle Down track, what have you got in store?
In May we had a two-tracker by Smiff who’s from Edinburgh. Very cool club tracks which focus on breaks and bass. We’ve got a track from Lacuna out in June. We met him quite a few years ago when we were out in India. Also bass and breaks focussed, but with a really cool, unique, twist on the genres. We’ve got lots of artists in the pipeline we want to work with. We want to incorporate all the people we’ve met along the way. I feel this will make us a well rounded label. From September we will be looking to release every month or so.
With the momentum of releases on the horizon, are their plans to step back into the events side of the industry?
We’ve got a small Planet Wax event on July 5. Then Club Glow is going to Berlin in September. After that, we’re hopefully going to start up a club series again. Something that reflects where the label is heading. We want to focus on cheap tickets, 1 or 2 DJs for the night, making it all about the music. Essentially going back to basics. We want to create an environment where people can let loose.
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