As we roll into the fourth week of the UK’s lockdown to protect the NHS and ourselves against the Coronavirus there has been an influx of amazing & proactive responses from promoters, artists and DJ’s as the gig economy grinds to a halt. One of these projects comes from Brighton based promoters, Ollie & Nadia who have created a new online platform for club culture & music – National Hype Service.
One of the main content features of the National Hype Service will be a weekly downloadable club night you can listen back at your own leisure, all with the sole purpose raising funds for the NHS & COVID-19 appeal. This will not just be solely for Drum & Bass either, as the lineups are set to span the spectrum of bass music.
We reached out to them both for a little chat to delve into the project in a bit more depth
Easy guys, how’s it going?
Really good all things considered, just keeping focused on our wellbeing the hype service at the mo!
So the new project, National Hype Service aka NHS, tell us all about it!
Ollie: So we’ve been been working together as promoters for the past 5 years alongside working in the industry in various other capacities and when this happened obviously everything grinder to a halt for us.
Really good all things considered, just keeping focused on our wellbeing the hype service at the mo!
So the new project, National Hype Service aka NHS, tell us all about it!
Ollie: So we’ve been been working together as promoters for the past 5 years alongside working in the industry in various other capacities and when this happened obviously everything grinder to a halt for us.
Nadia: Yeah we have both been affected by the COVID-19 situation through work being cut out and having to cancel events with our own promotions. Both decided we’d like to do something with our free time to raise money for the cause through our network in the music scene so came up with the National Hype Service….Ollie: Out of a huge passion for the NHS alongside, a want to keep ours and the nations spirits high during these strange times and of course out of a hunger for new music content, we wanted to create a platform where we could do both of these.
The platform will offer a variety of content starting with our Thursday mix series, on which we’re working with a massive variety of artists and labels from different corners of the underground dance music scene. From there we’re going to be announcing different regular content in a variety of forms throughout the next few weeks, from live stream DJ Sets and Masterclasses to pushing the grassroots scenes in different cities across the UK.
The response online so far has been great, were you both expecting it to go down as well it has?
Ollie: Honestly we weren’t sure exactly how it would be taken but we were definitely confident the British public would be well on board with an initiative like this.
Nadia: We did expect to gain support from our friends, family and some of the industry but not on the scale which has been so far. Over the moon with how many people are wanting to support the cause!
Let’s talk about the nitty gritty then… Can you give us some hints at who have you managed to get involved going forward?
Ollie: So we have already had our opening tape go live which has Bryan Gee, Aphrodite, Saxxon, T>I, Zoro, Euphonique & champagne breakfast. We also have just dropped the UKG Special with Hatcha & Friends [Hatcha, DJ Cartier, Smokey Bubblin’ B, EC2A Takeover]. The schedule for the rest of April is looking something like this…
Thurs 23/04 – Dispatch Recordings [Ant TC1 B2B DLR 2h Outlook 2018 Boat Party set, Zero T, Philth + Support]
Thurs 30/04 – UK Funky Special [Marcus Nasty, Roska, DJ Polo, Motu + More TBA]
With regards to the May series, you’ll have to keep an eye on our social media! Although we can assure you we’re lining up some REALLY exciting stuff…!
What’s the long term plan for the National Hype Service? Do you plan to continue this project post-COVID 19?
Ollie: Definitely! There’s undoubtedly going to be lasting effects on the NHS once this is all over so we’re hoping to keep flying the flag and showing that our industry supports this incredible service that we’re so lucky to have.
So could you look at possibly looking at turning this into an actual club night when the lockdown comes to an end?
Ollie: There’s definitely some talk of a post-COVID 19 National Hype Service club tour for sure, free entry to all NHS staff of course!
Thats what we like to hear! It’s been great speaking with you guys, any final words/shoutouts?
Ollie: Thanks for taking the time to chat to us! Firstly a massive thank you to all of the artists and labels who have devoted their time and effort to getting involved, to everyone who’s given us support so far and continues too and last but by no means least a huge thank you to our National Health Service and all of the staff who are risking their lives and working tirelessly to hold our nation up. If you love the NHS please head over to our fundraising page and show your support, every little helps. Donate here.
The platform will offer a variety of content starting with our Thursday mix series, on which we’re working with a massive variety of artists and labels from different corners of the underground dance music scene. From there we’re going to be announcing different regular content in a variety of forms throughout the next few weeks, from live stream DJ Sets and Masterclasses to pushing the grassroots scenes in different cities across the UK.
The response online so far has been great, were you both expecting it to go down as well it has?
Ollie: Honestly we weren’t sure exactly how it would be taken but we were definitely confident the British public would be well on board with an initiative like this.
Nadia: We did expect to gain support from our friends, family and some of the industry but not on the scale which has been so far. Over the moon with how many people are wanting to support the cause!
Let’s talk about the nitty gritty then… Can you give us some hints at who have you managed to get involved going forward?
Ollie: So we have already had our opening tape go live which has Bryan Gee, Aphrodite, Saxxon, T>I, Zoro, Euphonique & champagne breakfast. We also have just dropped the UKG Special with Hatcha & Friends [Hatcha, DJ Cartier, Smokey Bubblin’ B, EC2A Takeover]. The schedule for the rest of April is looking something like this…
Thurs 23/04 – Dispatch Recordings [Ant TC1 B2B DLR 2h Outlook 2018 Boat Party set, Zero T, Philth + Support]
Thurs 30/04 – UK Funky Special [Marcus Nasty, Roska, DJ Polo, Motu + More TBA]
With regards to the May series, you’ll have to keep an eye on our social media! Although we can assure you we’re lining up some REALLY exciting stuff…!
What’s the long term plan for the National Hype Service? Do you plan to continue this project post-COVID 19?
Ollie: Definitely! There’s undoubtedly going to be lasting effects on the NHS once this is all over so we’re hoping to keep flying the flag and showing that our industry supports this incredible service that we’re so lucky to have.
So could you look at possibly looking at turning this into an actual club night when the lockdown comes to an end?
Ollie: There’s definitely some talk of a post-COVID 19 National Hype Service club tour for sure, free entry to all NHS staff of course!
Thats what we like to hear! It’s been great speaking with you guys, any final words/shoutouts?
Ollie: Thanks for taking the time to chat to us! Firstly a massive thank you to all of the artists and labels who have devoted their time and effort to getting involved, to everyone who’s given us support so far and continues too and last but by no means least a huge thank you to our National Health Service and all of the staff who are risking their lives and working tirelessly to hold our nation up. If you love the NHS please head over to our fundraising page and show your support, every little helps. Donate here.
Nadia: Massive shoutout to Ollie on this for dedicating so much time and effort into developing the idea into a reality! Also to any of the artists brands for donating their time to help us support the cause, puts such a smile on my face knowing how many people are willing to help out.
Bigs ups for the chat!
Remember to head over to their Facebook or Soundcloud to keep up to date with the latest updates from the National Hype Service and of course if you have some money to donate, please do so here.
Bigs ups for the chat!
Remember to head over to their Facebook or Soundcloud to keep up to date with the latest updates from the National Hype Service and of course if you have some money to donate, please do so here.
