FAC51

February 17, 2012 3:42 PM

DJ Greg Wilson has photos of the Haçienda DJ Booth (no, not the one you're thinking of). DJ Hewan Clarke who played every night for the first four years talks about what it was like in the early days of the Haçienda: What I used to do when I was playing the records… I always had to go out, run onto the stage, stand in the middle of the stage and listen to how it sounded in the club, went back in and readjust it on the mixer and I was constantly doing that because there was no feedback from what was going on outside, you just had to look through that gap.

The Haçienda was a Manchester nightclub essentially financed by Factory Records band New Order. Before it birthed the Madchester scene, the dj played in one of the worst dj setups ever conceived.

posted by oneirodynia (12 comments total)

Wait...but that is the one I'm thinking of....isnt it?
posted by Senor Cardgage at 4:54 PM on February 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

It's the one I'm thinking of too! Is there another?
posted by jaffacakerhubarb at 5:08 PM on February 17, 2012

I think that's the one I'm thinking of, too, and I'm not sure which other one you think I could possibly be thinking of.
posted by Joey Bagels at 5:25 PM on February 17, 2012

TELL US WHICH OTHER HAÇIENDA THERE IS, DAMN YOU!!!!!
posted by Senor Cardgage at 5:49 PM on February 17, 2012

Some folks know the Fall filmed "Eat Y'Self Fitter" at the Hacienda in 1983. Paul Hanley in the DJ booth starts at 2:20
posted by l2p at 5:51 PM on February 17, 2012

(Not the iconic balcony dj booth you're thinking of.)
posted by oneirodynia at 6:10 PM on February 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

(Not the iconic balcony dj booth you're thinking of.)

Ah right. The balcony one is all I knew--didn't start going there until late '88.
posted by NailsTheCat at 7:40 PM on February 17, 2012

Here's a hacienda spotify playlist.

Here's Sasha at the Hacienda in 1989 90 minutes of acid house, mixed by the best DJ in the world.
posted by empath at 7:50 PM on February 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

I've mixed on rotary mixers like that one, btw. It's not the worst thing in the world, and they're actually really good for mixing progressive house, because you get really precise control over the volume that you don't get with a slider... Can't really do quick cuts, though...
posted by empath at 7:53 PM on February 17, 2012

I think technically speaking, I could design a worse DJ booth, but only if I took this as a starting point and worked to make it worse. It's funny how poorly considered some places' booth really is.

My current least favorite that I've personally played in is at a place that has a big bar area, and a smaller room with a beefier soundsystem in it that's a dance floor. The DJ booth is situated kind of between the two, half in one room, half in the other, so that it doesn't matter where people are you can play to them... Which is fine.

What is not fine is the fact that there isn't room for AAAANNNNYYYYTTHING. There's barely room for the gear the place provides. I don't care if you're playing Serato, records or what. It's cramped and awful. But it still pales in comparison to that old timey Hacienda booth.

What's funny is this place is semi-recently remodeled, and I probably would've called its old booth my least favorite... But its old booth wasn't as bad as the current one.

Cool/funny blog post though. Greg Wilson is a G.
posted by sparkletone at 8:27 PM on February 17, 2012

I LOVE rotary mixers. I have a rane 2016s, and it my favorites thing I've ever played on, by far. I almost don't like sliders, now.

You can be plenty quick with a knob, it's just a different motion, and there's still a crossfader if you need that sort of thing.
posted by flaterik at 10:25 PM on February 17, 2012

That akwil does not seem like something I would love, though.
posted by flaterik at 10:28 PM on February 17, 2012 [1 favorite]