47: Free parties, rave theories and a moment with Grace Sands

What connects Adonis resident Grace Sands, the free party
explosion of summer '91, Deleuzian dancefloor philosophy, and the
annual Gloucestershire cheese-rolling competition?


It's this episode of No Tags, obviously, but the connecting
tissue goes much deeper, we promise. The last third of the show
contains our recent conversation with Grace
Sands – house DJ, free party originator, icon of
London's queer underground – live in Sheffield on 9th May. In a
compact Q&A before a screening of Free Party: A Folk History
hosted by No Tags and local heroes Gut Level, she set out some of
the early ideals of a scene which changed the course of British
dance music.


We talk about our own reactions to the film, a superb documentary
charting the UK’s free party movement in the late ‘80s and early
‘90s, featuring members of UK soundsystems like Spiral Tribe,
Bedlam and Grace's alma mater DiY.


Before all that, for the first hour of the show we respond to
some excellent listener feedback on recent pod topics, including
who exactly goes to see Keinemusik and what makes the perfect
night out. Inspired by one Taganista in particular, Chal expands
her recent theory of rave with an important third axis from wiggy
theorist Gilles Deleuze. Show us another podcast whose listeners
write in about Plato and Love Island!


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