Read time:7 minute, 42 seconds

Berlin is a club night in Brighton and is the brainchild of German DJ Markus Saarländer one of the Underground scene’s stealthiest artists. Markus moved to Brighton eight years ago with his aim being to bring the German underground to Brightonians everywhere. Berlin is now in its fifth year.

Markus’ philosophy has always been that the Underground is all about the music and not about egos, orange DJs with v-neck tops, mixing software, fire coming out of the walls or glamour girls!

Deep House

This is a unique night in Brighton and has made a massive impact on the Underground scene bringing the best underground music to the city. Now in its second year, Berlin has grown to hosting two radio shows and collaborating with a number of other top nights and venues across the country.

Equally, whilst the focus at Berlin has always been somewhere between Deep House and Techno they can now open up and extend a wider reach into other genres that Brighton has to offer.

So, let us introduce you to BN1BOI who started DJ’ing professionally under the alias ‘Mistress Deviant’ at Nicky Holloway’s’ Milk Bar in the early 90’s in London. This slot lead to regular sets at Legends, Club UK, Heaven & Kitty Lips. She was also a regular DJ on the local West London pirate station Motion FM back in those day.

Hard On & Fist

Things then took a dark turn when she was quickly snapped up by fetish club promoter Suzie Krueger to play at The Clit Club, Hard On & Fist after encountering Suzie at SKIN2. In the late 90’s she moved to the US and continued DJing at The Grotto in Northampton Mass whilst working for a local record label. After returning to the UK she retired from club DJing for a while and just played at private parties, in her words “the toilets were always cleaner.”

Fast forward to the year 2010 – a re-brand was needed, Mistress Deviant was reincarnated as BN1BOI after she moved from London to Brighton. Arriving in Brighton she joined forces and became friends with Prisss and helped create ‘BEEP’ – Brighton Experimental Electronic People. We catch up with BN1BOI AKA Tor Lloyd to find out more.

 

Hi Tor, how are you and what have you been up to this week?

I have a full time job at an historic arts venue in Brighton so that keeps me pretty busy and out of trouble, fixing up a good friends sound system and mic handling for 3 comedians.

 

How long have you been producing and DJing?

A fair few years – I started DJing professionally in the mid 90’s.

You have quite a history DJing in London, what fun things did you get involved with and where else have you played your sounds?

In the early days I was involved in a pirate radio station in West London called Motion FM. My best friend at the time was also living with Rob Playford so I was part of the early Movin’ Shadow crew. I also got to play at the legendary Club UK and was then snapped up to DJ in the London Fetish scene by the infamous Suzi Kreuger. Work wise I worked at a number of independent record label in my early work career both in the UK & US so got to attend Midem Music Conference every year in Cannes, where I was privileged to receive all the new house promos, see amazing new bands and got to meet cool people like Mark Reeder from MFS in Berlin, who I am still in touch with. He used to leave certain type of cookies in my drawers on my stand.

 

What was it about Brighton that made you make the move here?

My family moved here in the early 2000’s and eventually I followed suit, plus ya know, Brighton is so gay friendly it seemed like the natural choice after spending 30 years in London. Brighton is a bubble, there’s no where else quite like it in the UK.

 

You also have your own radio show on  Trickstar Radio. Tell us more about the format of the show.

I get a lot more poetic license on my show ‘The Factory’ on Trickstar – it’s an homage to the Factory in San Francisco so my musical blend has more range. I play a broader spectrum of classic house from the vaults, house bangers and head nodding tech house with the occasional disco remix thrown in.

 

Do you often have guests on the show, and who have you welcomed in so far?

I have had Prisss from the techno collective BEEP on my show and have had a few impromptu back to back sessions with the House Session boys when I used to play every Friday night on Trickstar.

You are also a member of the Brighton club brand ‘BEEP’ – how did that come about?

Arriving in Brighton I joined forces and became good friends with Prisss and was very involved in creating ‘BEEP’ – Brighton Experimental Electronic People. It came from a need to develop a great space to meet and make live new electronic music, a way for artists & people to share ideas and skills with everything to do with electronic music & production. We have also showcased some amazing live electronic bands like The Propolis.

[beep] is a collective of amateur electronic musicians based in & around Brighton who love electronic music and are all about playing it LIVE, with a focus on hardware & laptops over DJs and decks. We are 100% non-commercial & not for profit, and cater to all musical tastes & genres, from spacey ambient soundscapes to banging, glitch-tastic techno.We host regular open jam sessions every two months at the Speakers Corner cafe in Brighton, where everyone is welcome to come along with their equipment, sync up & join in the jam, meet like-minded musicians, make new friends and get involved with the scene. We also run club nights and gigs where we play our music and showcase the city’s hidden talent live to an ever-growing audience.

 

When is the next event and what have you got planned?

BEEPs next event – REGENER8 is on the 23rd November at The Richmond – it’s gonna be a night of deep dark house & bangin’ techno!

Where was your first gig in Brighton?

My first gig in Brighton was either The Service with Tracy Rhodes or one of our first BEEP nights at the old Brighton Arts Centre before it got turned into a luxurious rented holiday home.

Are there any standout nights you just can’t miss?

Berlin Brighton of course!

Nice! Where’s your favourite place to just to kick back and chill in Brighton?

The beach when it’s sunny.

Which other DJs or producers are you liking right now?

The DJ’s doing it for me right now are Steve Lawler, The Black Madonna, Honey Dijon, Claude Von Stroke and Tracy Rhodes

 

What are your go-to labels?

Dirtybird, Probably Fine, DFT, Classic House Co.

You have compiled Berline’s latest Brighton Mixtapes Series Episode 006 – tell us more about your mix.

My mix starts with a classic, a nod back to my early career and then moves into a deep squelchy bass line tracks, then a moving melodic deep house section, and of course the hands in the air section finishing with some tech house anthems.

You can hear me every 2nd Thursday of the month on Trickstar Radio, then a BEEP presents REGENER8 on the 23rd November at the Richmond.

 

Great news, it’s been an absolute pleasure as always talking with you Tor but before we go is there anything else you’d like to add?

If music is the food of life – then stuff ya face!

 

Exciting stuff! It’s been an absolute pleasure as always talking with you Tor. Next up here’s the Quickfire Round:

Genre: Deep House/Tech House

Favourite Colour: Silver

Where in Brighton are you: Hove actually

What do you put on your chips? Curry sauce

Apple or Android: Apple

Pioneer or Denon: Pioneer

Ableton or Logic: Logic

Can you juggle: Yes I juggle work, DJing, and a beautiful relationship

Weirdest/Coolest Item of clothing: Crocodile slipper

First record ever bought: DJ’s never buy just one record….

Favourite place to hang out in Brighton: Bomb Hair in the Laines

Favourite Pub: The George Payne

Favourite place to eat: The Hope & Ruin

Best club: Concorde 2 (it’s where I met the love of my life)

Who does the best roast: Me

Coffee or Tea: Coffee

Have you swam in the sea: Yes. braved it this year rather than paddled

Favourite Footy Team: I’m going to have to say ALBION!

Favourite Track right now: Beez In The Bass Bin Tweek – Flex Ds

View on Seagulls: Today I will be happier than a seagull with a stolen chip

View on Oysters: I’m vegan so its a no

Favourite word: Discombobulate

Three words to describe your mix: Platters that matter

To find out more and listen to BN1BOI’s music catch her on these socials and stores:

Facebook

Soundcloud

Mixcloud

Listen to Brighton Mixtapes – BN1BOI 006 – Here

About the author

Newsdesk

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Close

Latest articles