The groove is in the heart

Tweet In case you haven't already read Ian Maleney's lengthy response to Una Mullally's now well-disseminated Irish Times piece questioning the health of the Dublin club scene, do check it out. As I live in Kells, I wouldn't have any more than an armchair view of what is going on in the clubs in Dublin at the moment. Yet, Tripod closure notwithstanding, going on the evidence of facebook event invites and reports from friends in the know, many of whom are a lot younger than me, things do seem to be in as fine a fettle as Ian says they are, and I know that Ian is well placed to take the pulse of the scene.

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A thing about cities is that they are onion-like. They have layers, cities within cities so to speak, and as any reader of Ulysses knows (hey it's a good year to indulgently reference Joyce), Dublin contains multitudes of Dublins that only reveal themselves through different perspectives. One clubber's dead Dublin is another's thriving underground hub. And that is why it is contentious to declaim, as Una did, on a scene without gathering some other perspectives.

I'm glad therefore that Ian wrote his article. It goes to show that because his Dublin is different to Una's Dublin, and both their Dublin's are different to, say, a metal fan's Dublin, there might surely be more than a bit of life in the old city yet.

Finally, a few things I've observed (as an occasional raver) about the dance community in Dublin. Its health is not dependent on whether a certain club venue is open or closed, nor indeed can it be gauged by the popularity of hip bedroom producers of the month such as Mmoths (not to question his talent, but you'd swear he was the first ever Irish electronic music producer. We tend to forget so many other fine producers like Donnacha Costello but that's another debate). Its health is also not dependent on stuff like shazam or the availability of digital downloads. The scene is not that simple to parse. It is a fraternity of sorts, built around a long tradition of successful promoters such as Bodytonic, shared experiences, friendships, and a sense of belonging. All of these things would have to take some sustained battering before Dublin, to rob a phrase, loses its groove.

MP3: Westbam Featuring Nena-Oldschool Baby (Piano Mix)