A socialist club in the middle of nowhere without a dedicated sound system (or DJ booth) is an unlikely place to find 200 people hammering their feet and fists in an attempt to hear one last record from Kevin Saunderson. Similarly, watching Craig Richards refuse to stop the tunes at closing time - much to the delight of the revellers in attendance - is about as memorable as it gets.

These are lasting images from the DividedByDirt parties. Unique, intimate and infrequent events started by long-term friends James, Jake Manders and David Caine in their hometown of Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire.

Bringing big name artists to a tiny club in the middle of the Pennines is no mean feat. Choosing to work long-term with fewer guests, the party soon became a regular spot for the likes of, among others, Andrew Weatherall, Paul Daley and Craig Richards (the events still stand amongst his favourite gigs). It quickly gained cult notoriety and each event began to sell out well in advance - it’s little wonder The Guardian, Jockey Slut and DJ Magazine rated them amongst the best in the UK.

James' deep opening sets had caught the eye of Craig and Judy from Fabric, as well as Crae at Pressure, and he was being booked soon after to play the UK clubbing institutions. Other revered UK haunts including Manchester’s Kindergarten and Nottingham’s Stealth quickly followed suit, with him playing alongside DJs such as Magda, Craig Richards, Richie Hawtin, Radioslave, Pépé Bradock, Dave Clarke and Michael Mayer to name a few.

With the untimely death of David and a host of heavy hearts James and Jake tragically brought the DBD events to a close at the peak of their popularity in 2006, following which James removed himself from everything for a few years.

Never one to let his feet leave the ground, James understands the art of the warm-up. His versatility as a DJ works with the night, the crowd and - perhaps most importantly - the headliner. It’s an understanding that comes from a musical output of DJing and DJing alone, a desire to challenge the headliner into delivering, and although happy in the shadows setting the pace, recent gigs last year in Europe, the US and New Zealand proved he's just as comfortable playing the peak hours...

The past couple of years has seen James working on a new project, Construct. A low-key agency solely concerned with the party and working closely with its artists, a sporadic promotions outfit holding events only when the right opportunity and space presents itself and a soon-to-be record label and mix series. Having complete creative control, James' touch can be found from the artwork to the lighting and everything in-between. As with his DJing, it’s born of a passion for doing things simply and properly, free of any constraints, any 'brand', motivated solely by working long-term with likeminded artists, labels and promoters, and placing good music, on good dancefloors...

www.soundcloud.com/construct
www.constructindustries.com
www.dividedbydirt.com