A Voice From The North: Jordan Hearns & The Dublin Club Scene

Welcome to A Voice From The North by Jake Ivill, residing in the North of England in the glorious city of Manchester.

picture by T.G.

Jake is a multi-disciplinary creative that represents the UK and especially the North inside the Sabukaru Network. On a regular basis, Jake will write a personal column as he investigates influences that hit home and ultimately topics that he is passionate about.

Over to Jake.

Jordan Hearnes & She Dublin Club Scene

I've been hit up by the big man behind the Sabuakru Network to bring the credibility of the new magazine down a bit. 

We've got some of the finest people across the world writing big, big articles on all the unknown, the best and hardest-hitting brands and people in the world right now. 

Then there's me, the fella who's 5 pints, 2 lines and 12 cigs deep in the smoking area chewing your ear off about some story, some little nuance on a vintage Gore-Tex coat or just something that's fucked me off this month.

That's what this column is gonna be, me bringing a bit of grime to a really fucking great platform.

We're calling it 'The Voice of the North' at the moment, I'll end up changing that probably every month, but it'll always be me here, bringing you the ramblings of a northerner who smokes too much and thinks the finest thing man has ever created is the 110 - Air Max 95 for any of you nerds.  

I'm writing this during the maddest time I reckon we’ve all experienced, the Corona pandemic.

Everyone is on a 23 hour a day lockdown and isolated, we should be using this time to better ourselves but we’re most likely watching shows about mad redneck Americans with tiger cults and hitting up everyone on Tinder to have someone to talk to.

I reckon in a month's time everyone will be dying to get out there and on it in a big way, multiple pints, best shorts on and waiting for that ‘outside, black fiesta’ call, you know the one.

Truth is, I don't really hit it too hard anymore.

I've done my time of being in gaffs at 4 am mithering people for a spare cig.

It's just not for me unless I'm back in Tokyo then you best believe I'm hitting those konbini beers hard, nothing gives and takes lives like those tallboy cans of Strong Zero and a pack of Marlboro's.

I've been thinking about how big the parties are gonna be when all this is over.

The celebration, the new music that’s probably been made by mad creative people and just the complete excitement for life that people that are going to want to share. 

It’s got me thinking about the last great youth revolution and subculture that England had, the one that brought together, people up and down the country with MDMA fueled love and music that was created in Chicago, it caught the ear of DJs in Ibiza and found an audience in warehouses, fields and after hours clubs in England.

I’m talking about acid house, the second summer of love and that perfect symbol of a yellow circular face now known simply as a smiley to sum it all up.

It’s a culture so far away from my own, but one that still influences and inspires so much of our current cultures.

From bucket hats to wallabees to baggy pants and all over prints you still see the remnants of this hedonistic style in lookbooks and catwalk shows across the world, either from directly referencing them or just the fact that the ripples of the scene are still being felt today. 

Anyway, they say the scene was over quickly and it moved on to other things, but it stuck around long enough to be felt, and to calm the casual movement of the 80s down enough to stop everyone getting twatted (that’s a story for another time) but I don’t believe that, it still lives on in the hearts and minds of a certain person, get talking to any well dressed fella in the pub in white jeans and a pair of Kickers and their eyes will gloss over once they'll tell you the tales, the type of tales that you just want to go back in time, of nights fueled by ectasy in the middle of fucking nowhere, of being in back rooms of pubs chain-smoking and drinking pints waiting for the address of where the rave is gonna be, of dayglo leaflets and smoking hot knives in a gaff.

It was a different time back then, e's were fuelling love-filled nights.

I’m told the video for Chase and Status’ Blind Faith perfectly captures this time. So yanno, go give it a watch. 

Once I start getting on this little trip of nostalgia for a time I never lived, only viewed in a weird voyeuristic way through youtube videos, Instagram throwbacks and stories from older mates in pubs.

I always end up thinking about my mate Jordan Hearns and his photography.

Disco balls, strobe lights & young lovers.

It’s all a scene that gives me that same sense of nostalgia for a world I know fuck all about, one where I just wanna completely lose my mind, kiss some bird I’ve just met and then mither the DJ to play Born Slippy for me.

Anyway, I figured it was time for me and Jordan to have a catch-up, see what was happening in the scene over in Ireland at the moment and whether he consciously was trying to hit those feels of 'the second summer of love'.

This interview was done well before the quarantine started so don’t start with us when it goes on about being out and about. 

Alright, let's start with the basics where you’re at right now and what you’re currently up to?

I’m at home, relaxing after a day spent in Dublin loitering around. Got some film developed, saw some friends, had some beautiful coffee, y’know, the usual. I’m also listening to a Radiant Love mix from DJ Fart in the Club. Great name, even better mix!

We Just Used To Like photo series by Jordan Hernes

You're currently in Ireland, right? How much does that inspire you?

Yeah, I live and study here. It’s a love/hate relationship. It’s incredibly expensive and we’re in the midst of a housing crisis right now, but I’m hopeful things will improve.

I’ll emigrate for a few years after I finish my degree. I might enjoy myself more elsewhere, but I like to think I’ll grow old here.

As far as inspiration goes, I feel like Ireland will always inspire what I do. We’ve got an amazing arts/clubbing community here and one that is very DIY savvy. We have to be I guess, because our licensing laws mean clubs here can only open for no more than four and a half hours each night. This affects our nightlife culture greatly. Nights are really short.

They start at 10:30/11pm and end at 3am, so whenever we go out, we have to make the most of it. We’re trying to change things, with the wonderful Give Us The Night crew at the forefront. Shoutout to Robbie. 

Any other inspirations you have that feeds into your work?

I try to take inspiration from everything I do. I’m finally at a point where I know myself, so I try to utilise everything and anything around me and see how it feeds into the work I create. Friends, family, community, love, lust, style, everything. It all feeds into each other and manifests itself in different ways. I’m a big believer in trusting your emotions, so if it feels right, I do it. I’m learning as I go, just like everyone else. 

Going back to Ireland for a second, a lot of your images are of the club scene over there. Has it always been a strong scene or is it something that grew recently?

It’s definitely been a strong scene for decades now, but I’ve only integrated within it over the last five or six years. There’s always been amazing clubbing/dancing spaces, as far back as Flikkers in the Hirschfield Centre in ‘79. Love to Tonie. 

My beginnings in the culture stem from this festival called Electric Picnic. I live like, 15 minutes away, so everyone I knew from my hometime would go. Seeing DJs there in my mid-late teens was life changing. There’s a stage in the woods behind one of the campsites that would only host DJs from 9pm-4am, each night. It was amazing. This huge woodland space with one small stage and a shitload of strobe lights? Come on! It felt like I was in the rave videos I obsessively studied on YouTube. Seeing Joy Orbison, Boddika and Paul Wolford (to name a few) at such an impressionable age was really something. Seeing people of that calibre in such a space gave me the bug to go to nights in Dublin.

It sounds kinda silly now but for me, Dublin was like a clubbing mecca. I never had any super-cool, culturally-enriched clubbing spaces to go to growing up, so I envisaged clubbing and nightlife in Dublin to be otherworldly. I remember seeing Tessela in Hangar (RIP) in 2015 and it totally changed me. I can still remember how it felt to finally be there, in a ‘real club’. I still get that feeling now, and I don’t think it’ll ever dwindle. I’m a student of the culture so I’m constantly learning and improving. Dance music just makes me feel invincible. When I’m dancing I forget about everything else.  

Your imagery reminds me a lot of the pictures from the 'Second Summer of Love' period we had at the end of the 80s when Acid House and Pills were big. Is that period an inspiration?

Oh yeah, 100%. When I started getting into clubbing and dance music, I would routinely go backwards, finding old 12s and watching old rave videos from the late 80s/early 90s. I was learning and studying everything I could. I couldn’t get enough. The vibe, the aesthetic, the style, everything. It was (and still is) so amazing to me. 

Whats your thoughts on the culture in Ireland? and how it's perceived outside of Ireland?

I guess there’s some truth in the stereotypes placed upon us. We love a session and a night out, that’s for sure. As previously mentioned, our archaic licensing laws mean we only have four to four and a half hours to party, so when a DJ plays here, it’s maximum energy from the jump. That definitely speaks volumes about our scene. We’re all just buzzing to dance and have fun. 

I feel like the youth in Ireland are a lot more politically switched on, which makes sense considering how raw a lot of past conflicts are. I know you definitely are, do you think it feeds into your work, or is something you want to explore?

We have to be! The country is in a mess and we need change. It’s insanely expensive here. Rents are incredibly high, and there’s fuck all gaffs, which worsens the already terrible homelessness crisis. The number of arts/cultural spaces is dwindling, friends are constantly emigrating, etc. Empathy goes a long way wherever you are, and it’s something a lot of people here seem to be devoid of. There’s a lot of trauma and guilt in Ireland from the past that still lingers and manifests in different ways. I think my parents’ generation aren’t totally aware of the pressures facing my generation. It’s almost assumed amongst us that we’re all gonna leave and move elsewhere. If we all go, what’ll be left? I like to think change is coming but it’s tough to envision sometimes. 

As far as myself and my work, I’m more and more appreciative of the spaces and people we have here. I fucking love my friends and my community, I wouldn’t be who I am without them. There’s a lot of amazing things happening in Ireland despite the never-ending political shitshows, which is great to see. Clubbing is an escape for many of us, so while the number of spaces we can dance in is getting smaller and smaller, we still make it work. Love to the DDR extended crew for being a mainstay in the community amongst everything. 

You shoot on film, is there a reason for this over digital? Also, can you give us a quick rundown on your equipment?

I’ve always shot film. The ‘look’ of all the rave ephemera and 70s/80s punk zines I studied growing up really stuck with me, and is something I always have in the back of my head. I love photographs that aren’t perfect. The beauty of film is that it allows for perfect mistakes. Photographs can be too dark, too grainy, too bright, whatever, and still look good. You just can’t replicate it with digital, no matter how much you try. 

In terms of my setup, I exclusively use 35mm and Polaroid for photo work, and Hi8/Super8 for video work. Simplicity is key. 

Finally, what's next for you?

2020 is shaping up to be a really wonderful year. I’ve got some really cool projects coming out over the course of the year, which are still being finalised. I’ll have a zine (or two) out by year end, and I’ve got some very special guests lined up for my radio show ‘We Just Used to Like’ on Dublin Digital Radio. Outside of that, I just wanna continue clubbing and dancing with my best friends, and soak up all the positive energies around me. I’ll be in Berlin a little bit throughout the year, and a trip to Tokyo wouldn’t go astray, but more on that later! Much love y’all.

Love to Jordan for taking time to answer them for me, you can hit him up on Instagram (@jordan__hearns) to give him pure likes and make him blow up big in 2020. Check out his radio show, We Just Used to Like on Dublin Digital Radio.

Also, while we’re on the subject, it’d be rude to not shoutout the work Calum Gordon is doing over at Carhartt, they recently did a whole magazine dedicated to the Second Summer of Love and it’s great, catch some of the articles over on https://www.carhartt-wip.com/en/journal for more essential much, much better reading on it. 

That's me done for this month, I've got a bit time to be hitting up goth girls on Instagram and smoking 8000 cigs before I get called up out of bed to bless your eyes with more of my stories, swearing and ramblings in this column again. Take it easy all of you, and call your mum.