The importance of saving Edinburgh's ailing nightclub culture

There are a few clubs that form what is referred to as the Cowgate Scene: ­Cabaret Voltaire, Sneaky Pete’s, The Mash House and The Bongo Club, which all share DJs and attendees. They are venues known for providing music and community-focused club nights in keeping with rave culture’s principles.

Rave culture and dance music came to the UK in the late 1980s from the Balearic Islands. The culture was split between a clubbing scene, which took place in licenced premises, and free ­parties, which were informal and ­often illegal, held in areas like woodland or warehouses.

When John Major’s government sought to curb illegal raves through the Criminal Justice Act 1994 – which turns 30 years old in November – the scene largely moved over to the clubbing space.

But with an average of five venues ­closing a week, UK nightlife is ­feeling the effects of Covid, Brexit and the cost of living crisis. Many in the sector are anxious, as these pose a real problem to the survival of more ­alternative and less lucrative clubbing venues.

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At a pre-festival rave in The Bongo Club back in mid-July, such anxieties did not get in the way of a good evening. The night is hosted by Overground, which has been curating genre-diverse raves on Cowgate since 2016.

It was all local DJs, but one who was not performing, Andrew Jones – stage name DV60 – is here to enjoy the music. He had just arrived back from a tour in China, playing sets in Beijing and ­Shanghai. ­Sitting at around 16,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, a couple of people in the scene have suggested he’s on the precipice of big things.

“My music has taken me places I never thought I’d go,” he said. “There’s a lot of different cultures, a lot of different scenes. But it brings a lot of different people ­together, everyone loves the music. I like to see people coming together because of the music.”

Jones has a long history in Cowgate, he used to work behind the bar in The Bongo Club and Sneaky Pete’s. He has also cut his teeth as an artist in the clubs, ­cultivating a reputation for playing immersive ­multi-genre sets.

“I like the small events because you can see people in front of you more. Sometimes during the student season, there are people there and they are ­facing the wrong way,” he said.

Students party at Overground in the Bongo Club in Edinburgh But he notes that the students can be an important asset to the scene. He has a residency in the upstairs of The Bongo Club monthly during term time where he tries to initiate freshers.

“They love their remixes – anything that they can sing along to. I think ­students will go to the night with the cheapest drinks and the cheapest entry but at the same time, it’s nice to push some music onto them.

“People need to be more open-minded about clubs. Because if you go to clubs [only] because it’s popular, you might not get to experience new music you actually like.”

Now in his mid-twenties, photographer and event promoter Mag Kafka came over to Scotland from Poland when he was 15 and has been involved in the ­Cowgate scene since he was 20. As an immigrant, the rave scene has been important for Kafka in finding a community that’s open and accepting.

“If I wasn’t going to clubs, if I didn’t have that outlet, it would have a big ­impact on my mental health. I think the rave culture brings something that a lot of people, not to generalise, of more ­normal lifestyles don’t appreciate.

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“[Like] people don’t realise what it brings to people who have ADHD. We might not be able to prosper as normal people, but when it comes to clubs, we know we can be ourselves.”

Kafka feels that the council doesn’t appreciate what a cultural asset the Cowgate Scene and rave could be for the city.

He points to Berlin and its techno tourism, establishing famous clubs like Berghain as Unesco Heritage sites and using their nightlife as a selling point. He laments difficulties coming up against the bureaucracy here and argues that City of Edinburgh Council needs to look at what they’re doing and stop ­caring so much about American tourists.

“Look at the young people in Edinburgh. Let people party, let people be creative with what they are doing,” Kafka said.

At the end of the night, as the bar staff closed and security staff began to round folk up, James Wright, the DJ and the brains behind Overground reflected on a successful night.

Edinburgh's club scene pales in comparison to other European cities WRIGHT has been running events since 2016. It began when he was at university, where he hosted afterparties in student halls. Inspired by the range of different styles he was seeing being played around him, he decided to start Overground, a multi-genre club night, and took it to Cowgate.

“When you look at things now, there’s a lot of clubs that are doing this open genre thing, and that didn’t happen in 2016.

“At the time, it was unique and ­different, there’s been a huge community that has developed around it and I would say that Edinburgh has it more than any other UK city.”

Despite this, there is a lingering “but”.

“A club is closing every week. This year compared to last year there’s been a huge drop off in event attendance,” he said gravely. “Tonight has been the biggest I’ve seen at Bongo in 2024 and ­hopefully things will improve we can maintain this.”

With the student population ­returning for the autumn term, clubs like The Bongo Club and events like ­Overground will be hoping to convince them to join the capital’s alternative ­clubbing scene.

“I started [Overground] as a ­social misfit. I want to give other people a chance to be part of a community and be part of something bigger than ­themselves,” added Wright.