We Should Hang Out More: Interview

First conceived as a way to bring mates together and put on a carefree party in intimate confines, We Should Hang Out More is a club concept which has evolved significantly over the past year. Having hosted Marcus Marr, Mighty Mouse and local Italo disco wizards Den Haan amongst others, WSHOM approach their upcoming Halloween bash with The Reflex with a firmly established following in tow.  

“In this age of social media, plans are easily made, and just as easily broken,” says organiser and visuals specialist Ally Bhatia when asked about the night’s origins. “We started using the acronym WSHOM among our friends as a joke and it started to catch on.”

Though their ethos is based on not taking themselves too seriously (a flick through their refreshingly garish artwork and ‘taps aff’ photo galleries hint at this quality) the WSHOM team are committed to making sure serious attention is paid to keeping things on point musically. “The night is billed as ‘all kinds of disco’, so naturally this is what you'll find,” explains resident Oliver Melling. “It gives us scope to play anything with a funky bassline and a four-to-the-floor kick drum, so the night is eclectic; you've as much chance of hearing Abba as Late Night Tuff Guy.”

This month sees London-based producer and edit maestro Nicolas Laugier, better known as The Reflex, join the crew for their Halloween outing.

At a time when there are a surplus of remixes floating around cyberspace, most bringing very little to the original work, Laugier’s offerings remind us what the craft is all about. Known as ‘Reflex Revisions’, the Frenchman’s edits bring to mind the work of early pioneers such as Walter Gibbons and Larry Levan, often working with only the original source material, rebuilding the track from scratch, augmenting and stretching things out to give the hooks more impact.

These are edits in the true sense, as opposed to Frankenstein offshoots which contain no trace of the original vibe. “I find the limitation [of only using original parts] very challenging,” Nicolas tells us via a brief email exchange ahead of his first trip to play Glasgow.

“It’s a kind of artistic statement to take a bunch of sounds, from the 70s for example, and make a whole new track with them that you can play alongside modern tunes. It’s a lot of work but it sets me apart from other producers and editors.”

His knack for the art of editing was honed, in part, during Laugier’s time as a studio assistant for Seiji, who has worked with the likes of Roisin Murphy and Bugz in the Attic.

This apprenticeship of sorts was an “essential stage” in Nicolas’ development as a producer and his hours spent mastering the craft have clearly not been in vain – his edits have caught the attention of such disco authorities as Greg Wilson and Gilles Peterson, while his upcoming remix work covers a dizzying array of massive acts including Noel Gallagher and The Kooks. “His Boiler Room set is a bit of a beast too”, explains John Markey, who DJs alongside Oliver and completes the programming trio at WSHOM. 

As for the hosts themselves, though they have lived what Markey calls a “fairly nomadic existence” up until now, throwing parties at Stereo and even helming a “particularly wild evening” in the Sub Club, WSHOM will settle into a monthly residency in La Cheetah from December. For John, finally being able to set up a firm base in the Queen St basement seems like a fitting move: “It's loud, sweaty, intimate and soaked in alcohol... like us.”

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The Reflex plays We Should Hang Out More: Disco Apocalypse at La Cheetah, Glasgow, on Fri 30 Oct