Godskitchen
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Godskitchen is an international superclub brand which is associated with
dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded da ...
and organises events, particularly in the UK and US. The company used to run a club night of the same name at their nightclub
AIR The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...
, in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
. Godskitchen has an in-house
music label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...
. This label annually releases compilation albums, in addition to supporting new artists whom they believe bring something new to the genre. The brand ran two outdoor events utilising the car park area adjacent to its venue AIR in Birmingham in 2010 (Godskitchen Afresco) and again in 2012 (Godskitchen SixFiveTwelve). These events had total capacities of 4000+ people and were arguably the first of their kind to take place in the city which set the precedent for similar events at other nearby venues. The 2012 event was the last time the venue was utilised before being closed and mothballed for almost a decade prior to the end of its lease with the Custard Factory. The brand retired in 2016 with "Last Dance" events in Sydney in April, Melbourne in May and Birmingham in June 2016, although Facebook activity had suggested an event in February 2018 in Birmingham.


Roots

Godskitchen's roots date back to the golden era of the UK rave scene of the early 1990s.


First events

They held their first event in the UK at the Junction Nightclub in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
, launching a series of sell out nights across the UK. Thereafter, Chris Griffin and Tyrone Matthews decided they would launch Godskitchen on a regular basis. In May 1996, Godskitchen began to hold weekly events in Northampton. Godskitchen sold out regularly, soon filling the 1,500 capacity Planet Nightclub in
Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
every Friday night.


Scaling up in Milton Keynes and Birmingham

In 1997 Chris and Tyrone staged an event for 4,000 people at the
Sanctuary Music Arena The Sanctuary Music Arena was a 22,000 sq ft, 3,500 capacity music venue in Denbigh North, Milton Keynes in the UK, and most well known for its connection to the rave scene. Origins Originally intended for industrial use, the unit was built ...
in Milton Keynes. Billed as Britain's first "stadium house music event" the party sold out in advance at a venue that fellow superclubbers
Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...
had failed to fill only 12 months previously. Looking for a "somewhere to call home", Godskitchen moved to the 2,000 capacity Sanctuary Nightclub (formerly the
Digbeth Institute The O2 Institute (originally known as the Digbeth Institute) is a music venue located in Birmingham, England. The venue opened in 1908 as a mission of Carrs Lane Congregational Church. It has also served as an event centre, civic building and ...
) in Digbeth, Birmingham. Godskitchen filled the Sanctuary on a regular basis. 1999 saw Godskitchen take their clubbing to the Amnesia Nightclub in Ibiza, pulling in up to 5,500 revellers on a Tuesday night. Godskitchen continued to flourish on Ibiza for another three seasons, moving to Eden in San Antonio for one summer in 2002. Back in Birmingham, Godskitchen continued to go from strength to strength. Neil Moffitt was now on board and Godskitchen began work on a nightclub of their own, the superclub " CODE". The club opened its doors in the autumn of 2000 and, it is claimed, reached capacity and had to turn away over 20,000 people on its first night. With Friday's Godskitchen fast becoming synonymous with the
trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
sound, Godskitchen launched two further clubbing nights at CODE. Saturday night saw Babooshka filling the 2000 capacity venue for a second time each weekend, entertaining the masses with its glamorous style of U.S. house music and
UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...
, while Sundays played host to the mixed night Polysexual, which continues to be one of the UK's most successful names in hard dance. 2003 and 2004 featured 'The Strongbow Rooms' that housed performances from the likes of
Medicine 8 Medicine 8 are a British electronic music duo composed of brothers Liam May and Luke May. Biography The duo began Djing and producing in the mid-nineties under a variety of aliases, releasing music under their own imprint. Luke explained ho ...
. In June 2003, CODE was closed for a significant renovation and reopened in late September 2003 as AIR. Expanding into the north of England, the first Godskitchen night was launched at Club Mission in
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
on 8 February 2008, and has become a monthly occurrence at the club.


GlobalGathering

In the summer of 2001, Godskitchen staged their first outdoor festival, Godskitchen GlobalGathering, which saw 25,000 partygoers descend upon Long Marston Airfield on the Gloucestershire/Warwickshire border near Stratford-upon-Avon on a balmy July evening. The venue was a British summertime veteran, which had previously played host to the
Phoenix Festival The Phoenix Festival was set up by John Vincent Power of the Mean Fiddler Music Group in 1993 as an alternative to the established Glastonbury and Reading Festivals. It was held at Long Marston Airfield near Stratford-upon-Avon and was one of t ...
and the Bulldog Bash. GlobalGathering was a major success, and Godskitchen finished 2001 by returning to one of their original homes, The
Sanctuary Music Arena The Sanctuary Music Arena was a 22,000 sq ft, 3,500 capacity music venue in Denbigh North, Milton Keynes in the UK, and most well known for its connection to the rave scene. Origins Originally intended for industrial use, the unit was built ...
in Milton Keynes. 2002 saw the capacity of GlobalGathering increase to 35,000 and in 2003 Godskitchen completely transformed their home venue CODE, renaming it
AIR The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...
. AIR now featured three rooms. As well as staging yet another GlobalGathering, 2003 saw Godskitchen embark on an arena tour, selling out parties at the
Telewest Arena The Utilita Arena Newcastle (formerly the Newcastle Arena, Telewest Arena and Metro Radio Arena) is a large indoor arena in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Owned and operated by ASM Global and sponsored by Utilita Energy, it hosts m ...
in
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
and The
National Exhibition Centre The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, Solihull, West Midlands, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway sta ...
in Birmingham, then the UK's largest venue. 2004 saw financial controversy with the company GK entertainment—a subsidiary company of Godskitchen, and who owned the CODE venue—going into receivership subsequent to a £1 million refurbishment of the venue. Receivers were appointed and spoke to the company's current and recently departed directors Neil Moffitt, James Algate and Chris Griffin. GK entertainment was then closed down but Godskitchen and Godskitchen LTD were unaffected and continued to trade


International tours

After another successful year and GlobalGathering in 2004, Godskitchen took the party overseas to Ireland and the US, staging events across the continent. New Year's Eve 2004/2005 saw Godskitchen hold their last Friday night in Birmingham, moving to Saturdays in 2005 in order to compete in what many had come to see as a flagging market. The final jewel in the Godskitchen crown was to take place in July 2005: GlobalGathering was expanded to cover an entire weekend (complete with camping) and the Friday night saw a fresh music policy with more emphasis placed on live acts. The capacity was again increased to 45,000 and the following day saw Godskitchen take GlobalGathering to Ireland for a 15,000 capacity event in Cork. Global Gathering 2006 was held in the downtown area of
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, Florida on 18 March that year. The success of that event spawned a second US festival held on Labor Day weekend (first weekend of September in the US) at
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...
. Godskitchen events are held at Club Bonbon in
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
as well as in
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
, Philippines in 2007 and 2008. Australia held its first GlobalGathering in 2008 (a day rave for one day only) after many successful annual Godskitchen events. In 2010, for the first time the event was held in Papaya Club on Zrce Beach in Croatia. It lasted three days, 11–13 August. Artists who performed include
Axwell Axel Christofer Hedfors (; born 18 December 1977), better known by his stage name Axwell, is a Swedish DJ, record producer, remixer and owner of Axtone Records. He is a member of Swedish House Mafia along with Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello ...
,
Steve Angello Steven Patrik Josefsson Fragogiannis ( el, Στέφεν Πάτρικ Γιόζεφσον Φραγκόγιαννης; born 22 November 1982), better known by his stage name Steve Angello, is a Greek-Swedish DJ, record producer, remixer and record ...
, Sebastian Ingrosso,
Gareth Emery Gareth Thomas Rhys Emery (born 18 July 1980) is a British trance producer and DJ. He is best known for his three studio albums: '' Northern Lights'', ''Drive'' and '' 100 Reasons to Live'', and winning the prestigious A State of Trance Tune o ...
, and Arno Cost.


''Godskitchen''


The name

While trying to come up with a name for their new house night, promoters Chris Griffin and Tyrone Matthews observed that the best house parties always seem to gravitate around the kitchen. They soon concluded that the very best parties would be held in God's kitchen, hence the name. This name was also used by the 1980s synthpop group
Blancmange Blancmange (, from french: blanc-manger ) is a sweet dessert popular throughout Europe commonly made with milk or cream and sugar thickened with rice flour, gelatin, corn starch, or Irish moss (a source of carrageenan), and often flavoured ...
who produced a song called "God's Kitchen", although the two may not have been connected.


See also

*
List of electronic dance music venues A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mu ...


References

{{reflist 1990s establishments in England Rave culture in the United Kingdom Electronic dance music venues Global Gathering