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– The must see gig before you close the doors...
I’m really looking forward to seeing Dixon as he so rarely plays Dublin. That or the Detroit Swindle live show because, as I’ve alluded to already, live music is really important to what we do and they’ve something really special lined up. – What are your feelings on the imminent closure of District 8? I’d normally not be prone to too much hyperbole in this respect. Venues and nights come and go and for 30 years there’s been some incredible spaces in Dublin. So I’d like to feel that more spaces will step up (and we do have special plans for next year) but I am concerned that a lot of the current property development has left us tragically short of creative spaces and venues. Maybe in ten years time we’ll be partying in an abandoned Celtic Tiger 2.0 hotel. tivity. Gianni Clifford has been our designer with Hidden Agenda for years and the ideas seem to be infinite, despite the potentially narrow remit of designing predominantly in black and white. Jon Averill, Al Kennington, Kathi Burke are all incredible artists. Rory Simms did a sensational job for Hidden Agenda before he moved to New York and has gone on to great things there. I’m also bowled over every day by my girlfriend, Janet Takuz’s illustrations. That’s barely the tip of the iceberg I’ve left so many people out as the city is bursting with creativity. – Can you tell me a little about Hidden Agenda. Who’s behind it? How and when did it come about? I started Hidden Agenda in 2012 with my pal James O’Donohoe as an outlet for the broad range of music we were enjoying. It started in Crawdaddy. We wanted to bridge the gap between traditional live music promoters and club promoters. Hidden Agenda evolved into a weekly event in the Button Factory and the team grew with it. That time was really exciting. Running a weekly event with friends who have so much creativity is such a buzz. Now it’s myself and Steve Manning running things and we’ve had a really enjoyable year, now culminating in the opening of our first bar! – You’ve always been a champion of design and creative work. Why is it so important to you? Design sets the tone for your event. It shows people that you care and one image creates excitement. I suppose it’s your shop window and you know from looking at the front of Dealz vs Brown Thomas what you can expect to find inside... – Who are your design champions and heroes? Excuse my potentially vague answer but essentially all the people I’ve encountered here in Dublin over the years are my design champions. We have so many insanely talented people on these shores and as someone who isn’t creative in that sense, I get a buzz out of other people’s crea– What are your standout visual shows, both those you’ve produced and others you’ve been lucky enough to see? My favourite Hidden Agenda show in terms of visuals has been Darkside (Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington) performing with visuals by Children Of The Light in The Button Factory. Visually this show was unlike anything I’ve seen. They rigged a massive circular mirror above the stage on a turning motor. Then they projected light on to it and just stuffed the room with smoke. Essentially, all the phases of the moon shone through the venue, also creating a lunar eclipse effect. The best visual show I’ve ever seen would probably be Amon Tobin live in London. The music really just felt like a platform for the visuals, which literally had people cheering. Moderat’s live show is also beautifully crafted. – Ever bought records based only on the quality of its artwork? If so, what were they and what made them so compelling? Ah I must have done this countless times. Especially pre-Spotify. Going in to a record shop and just getting a feel for what you might like just by looking at the cover was such an important part of the process. I think actually my strongest recollection of this is Sigur Ros’ () album which had a beautiful white transparent sleeve that captured the essence of that album perfectly. It felt and looked somber. – If you were a promoter but in a different town and era what would it be? When and where was the golden age you’d love to have a hustle in? Tough question. Being the booker for CBGB’s would’ve been good craic. Where do you think the scene will go now? I feel things will get bigger and smaller... People are moving towards more intimate spaces. Promoters will get creative, because they have to, and uncover weird spots to party in. Meanwhile, certain artists and events are absolutely blowing up and we’ll see more 2,000 plus special events. – Your District 8 highlights… Without a doubt our two block parties. They were tonnes of fun. DJ Harvey at the first one in 2014 is probably the best atmosphere I’ve seen in the place. One of those where there were lots of friends, good people, good music and sunshine! The second block party in 2016 lost a fortune but it was a really unique show that I’m proud of. The likes of Kelis and Todd Terje’s full live band performing in the middle of a car park in the Liberties, surrounded by beautiful graffiti (thanks All City!) was a joy. It’s been a privilege to be a part of District 8 and work with the team (Archetype, Subject and Bedlam). – I see you’ve just opened your new pub venture, The Big Romance. Does this mean you’re hanging up your club promotion or can we expect big things from you in the future, this being just another tentacle of the Hidden Agenda beast? This would be very much another tentacle but in a sense, we now have a home. I really hope I can build a community at The Big Romance. I’m looking forward to meeting new people. Or just creating a space for people to meet other likeminded individuals. The record shop used to be a safe space for music fans to hang out, chat, discuss their passions and the clerk was like the bar man. That’s the vibe I’d like at The Big Romance. Meanwhile, hopefully we can continue to grow and enjoy promoting great events for years to come. – Your location is really interesting, what made you land on there? Do you see a lot of change coming on that side of the city and you’re aiming to be ahead of the curve? Yeah, the location is really exciting. We know a lot of people living in the area have been crying out for a local they can call their own. It’s a really vibrant street with people from all sorts of backgrounds passing by every day so we can definitely look forward to meeting interesting characters! It’s also a really central location that’s massively under serviced. Deli 147 have been doing a sensational job just across the road so hopefully we can add to the area just as much as they have! 17