The epoch making electro night Nag Nag Nag closes it’s doors on May 28th after enduring for over 6 years. The night responsible for trail blazing all things indie-electro-dance-not-dance, has been helmed by JoJo De Freq, Jonny Slut and Fil OK since January 2002 when it turned the capital – and clubbing preconceptions – on it’s head. Despite modest beginnings in a seedy Soho basement populated by, according to Jonny Slut, “a couple of Goths in the corner and some art students wearing their Mum’s old curtains” Nag became an overnight phenomenon when it moved to the newly opened Ghetto in Spring 2002 (owned and run by the late Simon Hobart).
Nag mainlined the new sounds and styles of what was known as electroclash (or synthcore), thereby spearheading the most exciting shift in dance music since acid house in 1989. Each of the three resident dj’s brought a different interpretation of the moment: Fil began the night with a mix of Warp-style electronica, quirky pop and big party tunes, Jonny’s mix was more of an electro punk sound with guitars and shouty female vocalists, while JoJo would round off the night with an energetic blend of synthetic techno and bleeding edge ‘clash anthems. Since this was in the days when dance music in the UK was at it’s most homogenous, having reached its most commercial status in the music industry, it was an unlikely eclecticism. But somehow the chemistry between each of the three residents worked to bring together a diverse crowd and a forward thinking attitude needed to revive clubbing in the capital. Bands were also thrown into the mix, which was a revelation at the time, as it emphasised the focus on performance and charisma in clubs. These ideas attracted the scenes important artists/DJ’s to the club, such as DJ Hell, Jacques lu Cont and Tiga who asked to play in Nag’s first year for next to nothing. Techno veterans like Luke Slater and Mark Broom began to frequent the night, while Warp’s Squarepusher and Chris Cunningham were also regulars attracted by the new music and the crowd. Oh yes, the crowd.
Nag had the most inspired, inspirational, crazy and wayward crowd London has seen since the days of Blitz in 1980. Attracting a large percentage of art-students, fashion-outsiders, gender-benders, and outcast like-minded straight clubbers just sick of the boring sterilised beat supplied to them by the ‘super’ clubs. JoJo De Freq remembers, “One clubber, worried that they were underdressed in the scrum to get in outside grabbed a discarded black bin liner and some yellow and black striped police tape off the street and made an impromptu outfit there and then. All this made the energy at Nag each week explosive; a release of self expression, through crowds individualist DIY dressing ethics, to the celebrated metro-sexual make-up wearing gender-defying boys/girls to the rule wrecking attitude to dj conventions by the residents.”
In the club’s honeymoon period everyone wanted in; with Kate Moss, Bjork and Bono outshone by the crowd, and Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera turned away at the door because their entourage was too large. Though Nag soon evolved, and by 2003 it became more noted for the music, with it’s dj’s causing a riotous response to their sets every week. Though most week’s the club would be full for Fil, Jonny and JoJo they still attracted such guests as Dave Clarke, Miss Kitttin, Ellen Allien and for Christmas 2005 Vitalic asked if he could perform live despite having spent most of his year playing venues four times the size. The club had some significant performances over the last two years with Simian Mobile Disco, Riton, Black Lips and Bonde Do Role playing the night (the latter had followed the night closely from their home in Sao Paulo and were thrilled to finally play).
The last night is to be a celebration of Nag’s legacy with Jonny, JoJo and Fil digging out records from the club’s six year history with particular attention paid to the incendiary early years when the soundtrack flipped the lid of clubland and changed people’s lives. Don’t miss out and don’t forget to dress up!
