Louis Osborne and jamie anderson are used to staying awake long past their bedtime (so our most of us in the scene). Fans of all nighters, both as clubbers and DJs - the duo are hailed for their All Night long sets and their go-hard or go-home attitude. So it made sense that the pair would call their label venture All night Records, reflecting their stance on club culture and being used as a platform to put out no-bullshit, trax-esque house bombs, dropping as soon as they are released without any fuss. 'Shake It' is the first bomb to be released from O&A's new imprint so before it lands, Pulse asked the pair to each highlight their favourite 24 hour cities. From Berlin to Bahrain, L.A to Belgium, read on as they offer their tips for the places to best stay up 'All Night'.
Louis Osbourne:
Be it through touring, holidaying or rave-cations we’ve drawn a lot of inspiration for O&A’s music and ‘All Night Records’ from the all night nocturnal cultures of various cities. Some of these cities like Berlin and Bangkok are well known 24hr cities, with their liberal licensing laws and all day / night clubs. But I am often really surprised in towns that have strict licensing laws, where at ‘closing time’ the night life slips away into the darkness and becomes a much more subversive and underground affair with after parties and illegal raves. If I’m completely honest, that’s the kind of thing I prefer. I‘m not a fan of conservatively licensed cities where clubs have strict curfews, but I often like the DIY attitude and the feeling of doing something a little more mysterious & nefarious than your regular top-billed nightclub. So in that respect the stricter laws can actually benefit the scene in a town.
Not that Bahrain would be one of my favourite all night cities, but I remember being there once after a playing a club which closed smack on 2am (in fact 1.50am I seem to remember…. just to be safe!) and being taken to this vacant, i.e. not lived in, apartment in an almost deserted part of town, where there was a wicked party going on, and carried on until half way through the next day, it had boarded up windows and was dark inside. It was mostly full of expat ravers, but there were some locals too. What was great about it was that we were doing this in Bahrain which is so strictly conservative, and we were there doing it and getting away with it. Fuck knows what would have happened to us if it had been rumbled, but at that time of night / morning and in that state of mind people don’t seem to worry about the consequences!7
Two of my favourite 24hr cities are Los Angeles and Sydney. Both similar in climate, and one of the main reasons I love both is because of the beaches. You can’t beat the morning after a night out gigging sitting on the beach, the sun & sea washes away the nocturnal grime. Being a sufferer of mild tinnitus from years of volume abuse I find the sound of the waves very soothing, so after a gig, sitting by the sea is good for my ears. I’ve been lucky enough to spend quite a bit of time staying in beach houses in Malibu, which is not only a perfect place to have a private party, but also to chill out after a big night. It also beats sitting in someone’s house in Birmingham in the winter! However whilst these two towns are similar to some degree I find Sydney is more of a 24hr town than LA.
Much of LA’s nightlife closes up at 2am. During the early 2000’s a lot more parties and illegal raves started happening in Downtown LA, which was partly due to the fact it’s mostly a business district with not much residential property so there were the spaces to make noise, but paradoxically as the area started getting developed more into a residential area, with a young cool crowd taking on loft / industrial type spaces, they wanted to go out somewhere closer to home, not having to drive around LA’s massive expanse. So when you walk out of the bigger clubs in Hollywood etc it’s always good to know of some of the parties going on Downtown as they are often more underground by nature. Hollywood can often be a bit of a cheese-fest. The Standard Hotel Downtown is a regular haunt for many dance music people, with great parties on the rooftop bar among the skyscrapers. Another institution in LA is the Monday Social, run by Freddie B and Mick Cole for 16 years. I’ve been attending it when in town for almost as long! There aren’t many towns that can boast a regular packed Monday night event, so LA stands up on that front. LA is my home from home as I have family and met my wife there. A track that always takes me back to LA when I hear it is ‘David Holmes – 69 Police’. It’s not a track I’d play in our sets, far from it, but it’s like a soundtrack to LA, it sums up the vibe!
I’ve had some wild nights out in Sydney, in fact too many, having spent quite a bit of time there over the years. Whether going to parties near the waterfront around the bay, attending one of the bigger clubs or some of the smaller venues the people generally go hell for leather, or maybe that’s just me! The Chinese Laundry is one of my favourite clubs in the city, and it’s an underground institution which has been there as long as I’ve been going to Oz. There are also loads of really cool afterhours parties in the gay district around Oxford St and Taylor Square, and also over in Kings Cross. I also always try to get some late night Asian food when in Sydney as China Town has some awesome 24hr restaurants. The city is one of the most international feeling I’ve been too, probably due to the amount of travellers that go there, but also being pan-Pacific it’s a real mixture of cultures. But you could say that about my hometown of Birmingham too!
Jamie Anderson's Top All Night Cities
One of my favourite 24-hour cities has to be Amsterdam; I’ve probably missed more flights coming back from Schipol airport than any other place. The city has loads of clubs and bars, great restaurants and some of Europe’s best festivals throughout the summer. It’s a difficult city to get bored in! I first started performing there in the early 90’s, played the first Dance Valley festivals and in some amazing clubs like Paradiso, Melkveg and Mazzo. The infamous Queensday and ADE takeover the city each year and is definitely a good time to visit, whilst any other weekend is spoilt for choice for places to go and see quality line-ups of DJs and Live acts.
An often-overlooked 24-hour city in Europe is Ghent in Belgium. It might not be a top tourist destination but holds its own with cool clubs, after-parties and a host of festivals. I’ve had many memorable sleepless nights – playing extended DJ sets until 9am, ordering Tequila for breakfast before heading to the next party. A friend once told me it was possible to go out on a Thursday night and not come home until the following Tuesday... when I asked if he had done it, he replied “of course!”.
Berlin, it goes without saying, is one the finest cities to party, and is without doubt one the most internationally renowned hubs for dance music – it’s always a pleasure to go there. In fact I can’t think of a major city in Germany that doesn’t excel in delivering an enjoyable 24 hour experience, from Stuttgart to Cologne they are all great cities to play records, eat good food and dance all night and day with crazy people.
Last but not least is Sao Paolo in Brazil, the city never stops! There are amazing clubs to discover, a host of exclusive parties going off each weekend and some of the friendliest and open people you are likely to meet. Music is in their bones and you can feel it there, from samba to batucada rhythms and techno to drum & bass it’s the soul of the city.
Stay tuned to O&A's nocturnal exploits at the All Night Records site. O&A's 'Shake It' is out now.
