Electric Minds to finish after New Year's Eve 2016

Why are you bringing Electric Minds to an end? Our tenth year in 2016 has seen some of the best events we've ever done. We have a lot of fond memories from the last 12 months, making new friends in New York, Marrakech, Mexico, Colombia and many more places along the way. Sometimes it's good to quit while you're ahead and while you're hopefully still relevant in such a fast-moving industry. When the parties were started and then the label it was just for fun—there was no masterplan but for Electric Minds to be an outlet for music that myself and others enjoyed at the time. When I met Ajay in 2011 and The Hydra was born, so much of our time was dedicated to building the project. As The Hydra became more successful there was less time to focus on running an independent label. Ajay also introduced me to a lot of new music, so The Hydra became a more suitable platform to work on a diverse roster of labels and brands. So a few factors came together as we entered our tenth anniversary which made me think that it was a good idea to make it our best year yet and sign off 2016 on NYE with an intimate bash for the many friends we've met along the way. Is there one party that stands out above all else? It's a really hard question. We've used so many different locations, and each party has its own memories and feel. Our first party at Panorama Bar though stands out as a highlight. When George (Endian) dropped Joy Orbison’s "Big Room Tech House DJ Tool" it was no secret that there was a large London crowd in attendance as the whole room erupted. A shutter moment for sure, which is a memory that really stands out. What are you up to next? We're really looking forward to the tenth anniversary dates this month at Panorama Bar, Concrete and Culture Box and of course our last NYE party at Corsica Studios. Ajay and I are working hard on programming The Hydra's 2017 schedule so a few surprises taking shape for next year. With Electric Minds ending, The Hydra will be our sole focus now and that's something we will be taking out of the UK to new destinations. We start in December with our first excursion outside of London to The Warehouse Project—hopefully that's a taste of things to come. There is also one particular project for The Hydra that we're working on for summer 2017 which we're very excited about, so we hope to have news on that as we get to the end of 2016.