Last week saw the launch of Dublin’s newest, most diverse club night. With rather fewer teacups and finger sandwiches and more than a few spoonfuls of house, funk and techno, Tea Party kicked off with a rhythm and beat that kept everyone in a soulful groove. Founders Kyle Cahir and Oisín Hogan christened the upstairs with a strong mix of 80’s house, disco and funk. As we went further underground, the stonewalled rave-cave emitted deep, dirty cellar vibes. With the bassline flooding through the speakers, the energy was elevated by a concentrated selection of techno from DJ Kieran and the Vereisen boys. Back up the stairs, Daire O’Shea closed the night with the sublime disco-funk track Dreamin’, by Greg Henderson, which left the crowd wanting a taste of the next Tea Party.
Kyle Cahir and Oisín Hogan are two Dublin-based DJs eager to pour in some local, innovative sounds to Dublin’s clubbing scene. Their down to earth attitude is matched by a decisive intention: to bring recognition to Dublin’s own talented DJs. I caught up with Kyle and Oisín to find out about the vision behind Tea Party, and to hear about what they’ve got coming up in the near future.
How would you describe Tea Party?
Kyle: The idea for the night is to have plenty of disco and funk and finish upstairs with some pretty hard house. In the basement, we have Kieran starting off; he usually plays quite minimal techno and dabbles in a bit of industrial. You can expect a complete dungeon of sweat and flashing lights downstairs – exactly what we want from a basement.
What kind of music influenced you?
Kyle: We always like stuff that’s different to your everyday, run-of-the-mill house and techno. We’re looking out for guys who bring something different to the table. The likes of Moodyman, Leon Vynehall and Kerri Chandler have influenced us a lot.
Why the name?
Oisín: Initially the idea was to involve a load of puns in the marketing. We’re just trying to look as different as possible and not be seen to be following any other established nights.
Will you be bringing in any international DJs?
Kyle: The whole aim of Tea Party is to support the locals. There are a lot of international acts coming into Dublin. Promoters are paying for these DJs to come across the water from the UK and further afield. That’s cool, but we want Tea Party to support locals for as long as possible, and really show off their talent.
Do you think the music scene in Dublin is becoming more international? Is that helping the nightlife become more diverse?
Kyle: There’s a great variety of nights, but there isn’t much musical diversity amongst local club nights. It’s stagnating at the moment in Dublin, there’s a huge emphasis on bringing people in. You have lots of big name acts playing on the same nights, even local club nights, like Toast, for example, are bringing in people from abroad now.
Oisín: Some of these acts are getting completely normalized. They have lost the pull that gave them that gave them the potential to be great nights, because there are so many other things going on.
Kyle: What are the locals going to do? Where’s the support for them?
Was the launch everything you were hoping for?
Oisín: I think it exceeded what we expected; it was that and a whole lot more! We were expecting a big turn out, but not that big!
Kyle: It was the perfect amount of people and a great crowd. It’s exactly what we tried to attract with our Facebook page and our social media. It couldn’t have gone any better, it was all good times!
What’s in store to keep people coming back?
Kyle: We’re unsure of what’s coming next, but if the first night was anything to go by, it’s going to be very good!
Oisín: Keep the night diverse! We know that people want different things. Some people don’t want to be soaking with sweat – they want to groove out to disco. We want to keep playing to all of these various tastes.
Are you going to stick around at the South William?
Kyle: Yes! I think we’re gonna make that our home. Even before Wah Wah club moved there, we had our eyes set on the South William as a venue. Personally, I love the whole dark basement theme, especially now that they’ve turned it into an absolute dungeon – it’s a nice contrast from the upstairs.
Oisín: That’s what we were really going for – the strong deviation between the heavy techno downstairs and the house upstairs. The South William really accommodates that.
If you’re dying for a taste of Tea Party, check out the next soiree: Tea Party II- The Mad Hatter’s Gaffer, on Tuesday 28th March at the South William. Whether you want to groove to some disco or hop on down the rabbit hole to sweat out to some heavy techno, Kyle and Oisín will take you to a wonderland of funk and soul – because for these two mad hatters “It’s always Tea Time.”
You can find Tea Party on Facebook. Alternatively, tap on to their instagram @teapartydublin to hear mixes from their resident DJs.
Images courtesy of Tea Party.
