12/03/2012
DISTRACTION was conceived in September 2011 by four friends, who grew weary of going out to the same clubs in the city that play similar generic chart music, so they decided to create their own clubbing night. A few short weeks later, after a lot of plans and organisation, they held their first successful club-night in Limerick city.
Since its inception, Distraction crowds have swelled and its now one of the mainstays of the Limerick clubbing scene, attracting international DJ’s and gathering large crowds at their home in Bakers Underground. Distraction has recently confirmed a very popular, internationally renowned, drum and bass DJ/producer Arkist, to headline at their April 14th instalment. This talented and widely respected artist has released music on the Applepips and Hotflush labels. This is a massive coup for the promoters and likely to be an unforgettable night in Bakers Underground.
I was lucky enough to catch-up with two of the founding members of Distraction who are also resident DJ’s of the growing club-night- James ‘2.0’ Cahill and Billy Nolan. They are both members of the UL DJ society and have over 10 years’ experience of DJing between them. I asked them their reasons for starting up a new night in Limerick last year and they were quite frank stating that; “one of the major factors for starting the night was getting our own regular gigs” another reason was that they felt disillusioned at times with going out in Limerick and wanted to add some variety or an alternative to that scene.
The overwhelming feeling I get as I interviewed the Distraction residents, is that the wanted to start something new and to play music that their crowds have necessarily not heard before, but they knew the electronic music fans in Limerick would like. These guys seem to know what they want to achieve with this night and seem have the confidence in their own ability to pull it off; “…we (Distraction) have a bit of a following now, like a community that turn up to every one for the last 6 months”
Distraction most recent promotional poster contains some of the genres you are likely to hear when attending; Techno, Drum and Bass and Tech-house, but I was also curious to know what kind of musical influences globally impacted on the groups’ musical tastes. The distinct electronic music styles prevalent in Berlin, London, Bristol and the U.S. were extolled as major influences on their night’s musical content.
Distraction is a monthly event held in Bakers Underground, usually the second or third Saturday of every month. The next event is this Saturday the 10th and is headlined by Kerry DJ legend Gary Fitz.
- Maurice Fitzgerald
