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DiY Sound System, also known as the DiY Collective, was a British house music sound system, co-founded by Harry Harrison, Rick "Digs" Down, Simon "DK" Smith and Pete "Woosh" Birch, in 1989.[1] The group "divided their activities between free parties and legal club nights, acting as a bridge between counter-culture and the mainstream".[2][3]

History

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1990s

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The DiY Collective was co-founded by Harry Harrison, Rick "Digs" Down, Simon "DK" Smith and Pete "Woosh" Birch in Nottingham in 1989[1][3][4] as a reaction against the growing commercialisation of pay parties, especially Orbital raves such as Biology and Sunrise. DiY's standpoint came from a merging of anarchist principles and a history of attending both free festivals and clubs such as the Haçienda. They wished to form a cohesive, collective, political front against the prevailing anti-rave legislation that was beginning to come into force at that time.[5] This became more marked around the time of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, with DiY playing a key role in the illegal rave at Castlemorton Common Festival prior to the Bill in May 1992.[6][7] After hooking up with a group of progressive travellers at the 1990 Glastonbury Festival, they began to throw a constant stream of illegal, outdoor parties (often at travellers' sites, quarries and disused airfields) all over the country for many years.[8] Simon Reynolds wrote that DiY threw "free parties at abandoned airfields or on hilltops, drawing a mixed crowd of urban ravers and crusty road warriors".[9]

DiY also worked in the realm of legitimate club nights, starting with their first night at the Kool Kat, Nottingham on 23 November 1989 on Harry's 23rd birthday.[10] Their "Bounce" began at Venus, Nottingham in February 1991 and ran for five years at various clubs, including nights at the Dance Factory.[11] Bounce also at one point had a network of nights in Liverpool, Manchester, Hull, Sheffield, Bristol, Birmingham, Exeter and Bath.[citation needed]

The Strictly 4 Groovers label put out its first release by Alabama 3 in 1992, followed by records from members of the DiY Collective, as well local artists including Atjazz, Rhythm Plate and Charles Webster.

Later

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DiY continue to hold occasional free parties, typically to celebrate a milestone date—on 19 September 2009, DiY celebrated their 20th birthday with a free party near their home town of Nottingham, and on 23 August 2014, their 25th birthday with a free party held in a field in Leicestershire.[3][5]

Aftermath

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On 3 October 2020, it was announced that Pete Birch (DJ Woosh) had died from cancer.[12][13][14]

Harry Harrison released a biographical history of DiY, Dreaming In Yellow in 2022.[3]

Simon DK died on 6 July 2023, age 60.[15][16][17]

DJ Digs continues to DJ as Grace Sands.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "New book explores the 90s heyday of DiY Sound System". Mixmag. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  2. ^ ed. Low M. and Barnett C., (2004) Spaces of Democracy: Geographical Perspectives on Citizenship, Participation and Representation, SAGE Publications, ISBN 0-7619-4734-5
  3. ^ a b c d Dicker, Holly (19 April 2022). "90s rave crew DiY Sound System: 'We definitely sacrificed our sanity'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  4. ^ "History of '90s UK rave sound system DiY Collective celebrated in new book, Dreaming in Yellow". DJMag.com. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  5. ^ a b Scott Oliver (20 August 2014). "The Raving Crew Who Were Named 'The Most Dangerous People in the UK'". Vice.
  6. ^ Guest, Tim (11 July 2009). "Tim Guest tells the story of how the state crushed the early 90s free party scene". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  7. ^ ""It's never too far": The inside story of Castlemorton — history's most infamous rave". Mixmag. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  8. ^ "DIY: Can-do Attitude!". DJ Mag. 4 November 2014.
  9. ^ Reynolds, S., 1998, Energy Flash, Picador, ISBN 0-5712-8914-2
  10. ^ Collin, Matthew (1997). Altered State. UK: Serpent's Tail. p. 197. ISBN 1-85242-604-7.
  11. ^ Collin, Matthew (1997). Altered State. UK: Serpent's Tail. p. 198. ISBN 1-85242-604-7.
  12. ^ "UK deep house pioneer Pete Woosh has died". Mixmag. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  13. ^ "UK free party pioneer Pete 'Woosh' Birch has died". DJMag.com. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  14. ^ "UK house and free party scene pioneer Pete 'Woosh' Birch has died".
  15. ^ "Simon DK, founding member of Nottingham collective DiY, has died". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  16. ^ "Simon DK, legendary DJ and founding member of DiY Sound System, has died". Mixmag. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  17. ^ "Simon DK Smith, co-founder of DiY Sound System, dies, aged 60". DJMag.com. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Grace Sands - Biography - RA". Resident Advisor.

Further reading

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  • Dreaming in Yellow: the story of the DiY Sound System. By Harry Harrison. Velocity, 2022. ISBN 9781913231149.
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