Darren McGarvey

This a really special one for me in a way that feels very personal and almost private in the way that being a reader can be at times. Iain Sinclair’s work has quite a specific appeal and spoke to me during my first period of living in London (2010-13) which was also a very formative part of my life. Towards the end of my first year, I was given a copy of Hackney, That Rose-Red Empire for my birthday (thanks Paddy). As it happened, I was also living in Hackney Wick, which was beginning to undergo its transitional process ahead of the Olympics in 2012. When I first moved there, the Overground train didn’t stop at HW on Sunday’s. At the edge of the city, I was catching the tail end of an East London that has since been displaced and replaced. I was also walking tons, particularly around Hackney itself, so I was very familiar with the nooks and corners referenced in the book, and discovered lots of new places and faces as I went along.Since then, I’ve inhaled much of Iain’s work and feel all the better for it. I’m drawn to his curiosity in people and their stories, his embrace of happenstance, randomness and willingness for adventures. I’m not so interested in the notion of ‘psychogeography’ in someone else’s hands.Much of what Iain was railing against back then has came to pass and as The Last London - his ‘final book’ on the topic - was published in 2017, I’ve been interested to find out what he makes of the city in its current iteration and what it might tell us we can expect in places like Glasgow and elsewhere in the future too. It was a true honour to visit him at the same home he has started his many walks from - and even more of an honour to accompany him on a walk around Hackney itself as he shared a classic Sinclair tale that unfurls over time, prompting new connections and revelations. I will share that recording separately for the true heads. Get full access to Connections with Andrew Thomson at c0nnections.substack.com/subscribe

This conversation ties in nicely with the Catherine Liu one as they seem to be ploughing similar furrows at the moment. I’ve followed Darren for a while now and we previously connected to have a chat a few years back but it didn’t pan out and as you’ll hear, I got in my head about it. In the age of binary positions, I like that he will put out points of view that I disagree with as much as he completely nails another one (from my perspective). It’s refreshing to consider why this is the case. I suspect that even in the hot take world, most people still have nuanced opinions on matters - even if there are incentives to be seen as having the correct opinion and social risks for wrong thought. Darren reflects a more honest version of us all, which can be right / wrong / different and he isn’t afraid to show it. Fair f***s to him.Whereas the Catherine chat was maybe slightly more heady about the roots of certain issues, Darren’s work feels closer to home and it was great to bounce around various topics and I was impressed to have a front seat of his quick witted brain in action. In hindsight, I’m now glad that we connected at this point instead, Darren was picking up what I was putting down in a far more effective way than I am able to. I’ve only read his most recent book, Trauma Industrial Complex since recording our chat and can’t recommend his writing enough.One recent insight in relation to this convo - this week I have a post on Instagram which is far more political than I would usually be online, doing numbers. I’m sure it speaks to the algorithm favouring politics, but I can feel the temptation and a pull within myself to continue in this vein, how do I maintain these new followers and what I should post next to get even more attention? At the risk of being Captain Obvious, this mindset explains why Woke 1 was crazy, with everyone being constantly incentivised to post more edgier takes and as a result, the recent years have proven that solitary voices competing for attention are doing just that. Look no further than the latest ‘Zohran is a Zionist’ type posts as a perfectly unhinged example. I’m interested on the impact this is having on us at large and this also became a timely good read ~ https://www.publicbooks.org/resistance-or-complicity-the-engineered-paradox-of-digital-activism/ Get full access to Connections with Andrew Thomson at c0nnections.substack.com/subscribe

For most of my adult life, I’ve been in the business of bringing people together, which is beginning to feel more difficult than before. How do you build community in an age of hyper-individualism and fragmentation into tighter identity groups? Why are class struggles largely absent in conversations about intersectionality? Is diversity divisive in practise? Woke 1 truly was crazyyyy and by my count, Glasgow has lost 5(!) venues to purity spirals and self defeating activism. Two could be coincidence, but five is a pattern difficult to ignore. It’s unsurprising the common link is the demographic who these spaces served and politics they shared. More lose out as a result of their closure. I’ve been fascinated to find out more about where this is all coming from and it has led me to Catherine Liu, whose accomplished work in academia came on my radar and I have found it hugely relieving to hear someone express thoughts and viewpoints I’ve been forming for a while in such a clear and articulate way - she has great chat too!We tried to arrange a Glasgow leg of the tour for her new book, Traumatized: The New Politics of Public Suffering, but unfortunately it didn’t work out logistically. So for now, we had an advance chat about this book and her widely acclaimed, Virtue Hoarders: The Case Against the Professional Managerial Class, - after reading, makes it almost impossible to unsee examples of the PMC in action across across most forms of music and culture and the roles played by the MANGO class (media / academia / NGO’s) - I’d also expand this group to include funding bodies, publicists, booking agencies, management and seemingly friendly corporations.As Catherine argues, the PMC uses credentialism to gatekeep authority while expanding a workforce trained to compete for non-existent positions. A striking example came to my attention recently upon learning that 35 people are currently taking a post-grad in Curatorial Practice (Contemporary Art) in Glasgow. With fees ranging between £10k and £26k per year, expectations are high, but where exactly are these 35 graduates going to find employment in the city - or even the country? How will they distinguish themselves from each other? What about the following years grads? This is just one course in one school in one city. You can draw a parallel to the endless DJ workshops and access to music courses. Anecdotally, the amount of people who tell me they are looking for a job in music seems to increase each year. I don’t think these positions have ever really existed in Glasgow and the ones who do hold them aren’t likely to move on any time soon. As a result, they are now more desirable and precarious.This isn’t limited to a city like Glasgow, it’s happening everywhere and there needs to be wider recognition of the complete disconnect between the increasing ‘access’ to arts and the crumbling infrastructure to support the majority of this. I am beyond certain that it is the main source of friction across most cultural sectors as many are left discarded and disillusioned by a neo-liberal system that could never sustain their support in the first place. Symbolic gestures of change have made very little difference, for anyone. To be clear this isn’t personal and very much in the spirit of hating the game and not the player. I have a great deal of love and affection for many who occupy these roles, many do great work and are in it for the right reasons. I’m also grateful to those who have supported me in various ways over the years. At the same time, I have spent a large part of the past two decades trying to help new artists navigate a system that essentially is spreadbetting on their hopes and aspirations, while the PMC play their own status games to carve out a livelihood that will outlast the average musical project. It’s hardly surprising that metrics play such an important role nowadays.By reaching a clearer understanding of these broader structural factors and how they impact everyone regardless of their own positioning, I hope we can improve on getting out of our echo chambers to find there is lots of common ground with those around us.Catherine is a pro indeed and has much to say on the above and more, be sure to check her elsewhere too as she’s been having a moment since we spoke! I hope her works makes an impact. Be sure to check out her writing too - buy the books!Speaking of togetherness, this event seems particularly fitting for the Cliu’d up among yous ~ Early Doors w/ Elizabeth Davis (Wilted Woman) Come along :) Get full access to Connections with Andrew Thomson at c0nnections.substack.com/subscribe

2 years on and I’m reposting this in memory of Jack. This was recorded days after his passing and the weeks that followed were pretty surreal. His funeral was easily one of the best days in recent memory, a genuine celebration of a life that was lived to the absolute fullest. It left a lasting impact on me, renewing my gratitude for the people I’ve been fortunate enough to have in my life and reminding me why I got involved in the music scene in the first place. Real human connections that fell back into place as if no time had passed and was a reminder of what has been lost through the passage of turbulent times.It felt like a risk to express some of these feelings publicly at the time. As many also felt similarly, I’ve been curious about why we felt so unable to do so when it mattered..Jack has been on my mind lately, I recently revisited his old flat to help his brother move, which was a surreal experience packing up memories. Moving in more ways than one! At the same time, I have also been thinking about the work of Darren McGarvey around masculinity and also the vulnerabilities of those in the public eye. While conversations around sobriety and mental health initiatives have increased in recent years, I haven’t seen too much of this type of conversation happening within the music world itself.Jack was elevated to a position of influence because of his ability and magnetic personality. He was well equipped for the emerging age of social media and following him was entertaining - long before content making was even a thing. He often laid bare his insecurities as much as his cocky bravado and as a result, was more accessible and engaged across a variety of scenes than the generations of DJ’s that came before him. With as many hot takes as the proverbial hot dinners, the music media loved him too and had great fun sharing his various antics, cheering on and elevating the same behaviour that they would soon go on to decry.While I don’t wish to minimise or relitigate his actions from the summer of 2018 - something Jack copped to and attempted to make his amends - it is worth looking back on that particular era and what was else was going on in the background. At the time of Trump’s first term, Weinstein, Epstein, Time’s Up!, #metoo, there was a great deal of collective anger and frustration sweeping through the world at large and the idea of being cancelled was still a relatively new concept to grapple with. The worldwide 24/7 football phone-in as we now know it, was only just beginning to hit its stride. Comment is free and incentivised.At the same time, a needed push for female representation meant that the lad culture long upheld by the male-dominated music press suddenly became toxic overnight. And so, Jack was quickly cast aside as an emblem of the straight white privileged male menace by the same press, fans and friends who once adored him and felt betrayed for his inability to be a pillar of virtue and the life and soul of any party.I’ve felt conflicted about this zero-sum framing, as despite his visible success story and his fair share of blame, there was clearly a lot of vulnerability going on, a side of Jack that also made him so endearing in the first place. For better or worse, he displayed his authenticity long before it became a requirement. He seemed to be in awe at my comfort speaking to female friends, which seemed strange as he struck me as being more than socially capable. I realise on reflection, that in many ways he was just a wee guy trying to figure out his way in the world, seeking validation and approval and no less equipped to handle fame, relationships, friendships, substances or life than anyone else. It’s unfashionable to consider complexities and nuance these days, but there is another side to his story that gets overlooked. Jack was a working-class school dropout who lost his mother early and largely grew up relying on the support of his friends. He built his career the old-fashioned way, propelled by emerging technology, raw talent, a gift for networking, boundless enthusiasm, and impeccable timing. He was elevated to the headiest of heights in a scene which glamourised partying and adored one of their own to make it.Yet the unwritten rules were impossible: Don’t f**k it up. Get on a plane and detach yourself from reality, with people you’ve never met to look out for you. Don’t f**k it up. We haven’t booked you to be the sober guy. Don’t f**k it up. You’ve got a platform now. Don’t f**k it up. Don’t f**k it up - if you do, there will be no redemption for the likes of you.Some of this can by summed up in an anecdote I have around the filming of a short documentary for a London based platform, made for the 10th anniversary of H+P. A camera guy went round to Jack’s flat to record some questions about how we knew each other, his support of the label, etc. Jack recorded about 40 minutes heaping praise in my direction - only for the finished cut to be reduced to one jokey line ‘What does Huntleys + Palmers mean to me? F**k all!’ An opener that was clearly a strain of Glaswegian humour that required a bit of grounding before being earnest. Without the ensuing sincerity included, this remark presents him as being reductive and snide. Unfortunately my efforts to address this misrepresentation fell on deaf ears. It was already awkies enough having people take part in something that was full of flattery, but I still feel Jack was done dirty, as the saying goes. I’ve often thought about this portrayal, I’m sure there were other instances like this, and what effect it has on the individual when they are reduced to one dimensional caricatures of themselves.The outpouring after Jack’s passing clearly showed that there was a great deal of good will and nuanced thinking that was withheld from him during the latter years of his life. What a difference it would have made to him, to know that - in spite of everything - lots of us still felt affection, gratitude and joy towards him. I suspect many have felt conflicted and affected about how all this played out too. There is a bitter irony in how the same social platforms that accelerated his rise ultimately fuelled his downfall. With more incentives than ever to be seen in the public eye, perhaps now is a good time to reflect on the vulnerability and the unreasonable expectations we put on those who seem to have ‘made it’ and what we can do to prevent future instances. Despite the abundance of talent in Glasgow, very few have soared as high, as fast and as accomplished. The higher you climb, there are fewer paths to follow and the more perilous they become.Do I think Jack should have lived a life without consequences? Of course not. I didn’t really connect with the laddy side of his character, but I also knew that wasn’t the full story. During this period of shifting cultural norms, his success at times felt like an inconvenience that others sought to define. He unashamedly loved TOWIE, Love Island, Rebecca Black, and Carly Rae Jepsen and various other low brow curiosities typically met with some snootiness from his detractors. He was dragged by the language police before we knew the term. Classic tall poppy syndrome, with a large slice of moralising. Yet, no one was interested in defining what should happen afterwards. Unsurprising when the discourse about dismantling, destroying and abolishing offers little in the way of building or repairing.Another element that isn’t mentioned in these scenarios, is the uncomfortable feelings of envy. Especially the compare and despair ones we all are familiar with through the social media lens. The life of Jackmaster was a desirable one to many. He was living the life and had a career that people would pay for if they could. Conversely, few others would come out of the same experience unchanged and unscathed. I also wonder if he could cut through in the same way today? With more participants competing for fewer opportunities, the arts have became in… Get full access to Connections with Andrew Thomson at c0nnections.substack.com/subscribe

Axel Boman is the best for many reasons and this chat gives you a bit more insight into why. We both could have done without speaking during a busy period, but managed to find a bit of time to catch up - with him sitting in a cafe around from the infamous Studio Barnhus - and me juggling childcare with my son watching a film in the other room. Axel is always great company and we got to some great places without any talking points or questions planned. If you don’t know already, Axel and his Talaboman counterpart, John Talabot are coming back to Glasgow - next Saturday 23rd May - for their third appearance. Musically they have remained impressively consistent and this is sure to be a special occasion as they will be joined by a few new faces to Glasgow - Cashu from Sao Paulo, Dave P from Philadelphia and Loradeniz from Istanbul via Amsterdam. It’s also the first Connections party and you should come.Tickets here ~ https://ra.co/events/2387109If you can’t make it and happen to be in Berlin this Friday 15th, you can catch another exciting event here ~https://www.berghain.berlin/en/event/81925/ Get full access to Connections with Andrew Thomson at c0nnections.substack.com/subscribe

Sally Ann Gross is an academic who - along with George Musgrave - wrote a book called “Can Music Make You Sick: Measuring the Price of Musical Ambition” which was a complete game changer for me in terms of how I see the world, and myself. The book gets into the impact of working as a musician today and explains a lot about how people are affected by operating in a hyper competitive age of abundance. These conditions affect us all as music fans and participants alike and I found it deeply personal and somewhat relieving to put a voice to various feelings and experiences I have encountered over the years.This convo was actually recorded back in late 2023 and I’ve been thinking about it again in relation to the recent Geese chat. As Young Marco hinted at, these practises are also becoming commonplace in the electronic world and the outcry reminds me of the emergence of the influencer DJ a few years ago, buying likes, etc. I’m optimistic - perhaps naively - that this type of revelation will help pop the illusion of ‘anyone can make it’ and highlight again that social media platforms flatten lots of inequality by falsely suggesting we’re all in it together. Technology bringing about the end of gatekeepers was heralded as a good thing, but in our world, it has meant even more are competing for even less opportunities. Don’t hate the player, hate the game and all that, but as a result, I’ve came across a lot of frustration from artists who are struggling mentally in pursuit of something that is out of reach for many - despite being encouraged by the opposite being true. Anyway, Sally Ann wrote a very well researched book on all this and tells it far better than me, she is a fascinating and approachable person to present ideas that might otherwise be a bit lofty or difficult to process - important as there are. Some of the other things we discussed have became even more relevant since, so thought it was worth sharing here. Sally Ann has lots of great stories about her life working in music and it’s well worth you time. Thanks to Ray Philp for introducing me to the book in the first place. You can read it here. For free ~ www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Ca…ick/exoMEAAAQBAJ Get full access to Connections with Andrew Thomson at c0nnections.substack.com/subscribe

DJ Sotofett is something of a mythical figure in certain circles. A production powerhouse who self-releases an insanely high output both in terms of quality and volume. He seems to be as competent making jungle as he is techno, dub, various strains of house, electro and the rest. Musicality shines throughout. Our paths have crossed a few times over the years. I booked him to play at Plastic People and the Sub Club, after I’d caught wind of him playing for less money if he was able to play all night - and took full advantage! After the Sub Club party - where he played tons of his own productions, without ever sounding samey - he agreed to remix a track from the Auntie Flo album and I was impressed with the professionalism in how he conducted himself. It showed a confidence in his abilities to deliver something within a timeframe, and his consideration to how the music should be presented thereafter. It could only be sold on vinyl, etc. In most cases, a remixer would be glad of the fee and would be far less interested in the format their music lands on. As the weeks got closer to his designated deadline, I was getting more and more excited and when it appeared in my inbox, I didn’t really know what to make of it. Not only did it not sound like the original, it didn’t really sound like anything I’d heard before. I still love how undefinable it is. Copies hereI’ve been intrigued to dig more into the Sotofett world - full of labels, aliases, collaborations - he’s created for himself. It seems to sustain itself within, yet slightly outside, of the regular music industry. He didn’t disappoint and we had a great chat at CBR the studio last year. Complete with DJ Sotofett post-production, naturally! Big thanks to Bash Man who helped coordinate before the Rush birthday party that night.https://djsotofett.bandcamp.com/ Get full access to Connections with Andrew Thomson at c0nnections.substack.com/subscribe

I first met Marco in 2012, when he came to London to play at a party for my flatmate James. He also played his first (of many) Boiler Room’s on the same trip. Just clocked that he is playing CD’s which is a nice detail that illustrates how much has changed since. As a result, it’s been really exciting to have felt being on the Young Marco ride from the early days and I’ve followed what he’s been up to with great excitement. He’s been reliably consistent with his productions and his DJ’ing seems to naturally evolve, avoiding being stuck within certain sounds or scenes. He had a huge moment at Dekmantel in 2022 which was a proper buzz to experience as a fan and brought his talents to a whole new audience. I’ve been hoping to arrange a chat with him for a while and the stars aligned on his most recent visit to Glasgow before a sold out Berkeley Suite, followed by a romantic DJ lunch the next day. Get full access to Connections with Andrew Thomson at c0nnections.substack.com/subscribe

I don’t have many heroes, but the few that I do, have remained constants over the years. I’m sure there is something in whatever attracted me to them in the first place is also part of their enduring appeal.I’ve been fortunate to meet most of them by now and Ivan Smagghe is one who continues to loom large. His Suck My Deck and Death Disco mix CD’s were pretty seminal among my group of pals who became regulars at Le Pulp one summer in Paris. We first met at various nights he was playing, either at The Arches or during my Megabus trips to fabric era around 2004/5. Over that time we had fun interactions which led to a friendship that involved sending each other CD’s to share troves of music we were finding. He opened my mind to so much music away from 4/4 stuff. It would have taken me many more years for Scott Walker to reach my ears were it not for Ivan’s introduction, one that has likely impacted my enduring SW love to this day. This also applies to all the Wierd wave stuff and loads more. I’ve always admired Ivan’s singularity and have related to his restlessness. I’ve learned lots and he’s shown me much encouragement, support and graciousness over the years. He has played at various H+P parties here and there over the years and it remains a huge honour to have released a Smagghe & Cross record together. There have always been questions I’ve wanted to ask and had reached out a while ago with the idea of discussion his various long running partnerships. Little did I know, but he was cooking up a book - Nul si découvert - which features more than a glimpse some of these important figures in his life and much more. For someone who is quite mysterious and private, the book has bits that are shockingly intimate and deeply personal. After working my way through the book and Ivan reading the Twitch chat, we resolved to have an in person conversation, so I booked some cheapo flights up and down to London on a sunny Tuesday in February and we got to it.It’s worth mentioning that the book has sold out, so this conversation might at times be more of a companion piece to whoever bought one, but hopefully there are enough jumping off points to make it illuminating for everyone else. I happened to catch Ivan at the Sub Club a few weeks before - as he played b2b with Domenic - and the room was electric and a real buzz to experience a new generation becoming initiated into the intruiging world of Ivan. Get full access to Connections with Andrew Thomson at c0nnections.substack.com/subscribe

This feels like a fitting chat to round out the past year and see in a new one - with the bold Sean Monahan from 8ball. Wishing you all the best for the year ahead..I’ve been drawn to Sean’s insightful writing for a while now and he was gracious enough to have a chat with me about the notion of the world moving through trends and cycles. I find it comforting and helpful to view an increasingly chaotic world in these terms. Nothing lasts forever. As a prolific writer, I was worried about feeling under prepared, but we jumped around quite easily and got to some interesting places.I can’t recommend Sean’s work enough. You can follow it here ~ Get full access to Connections with Andrew Thomson at c0nnections.substack.com/subscribe