When we started out there was nowhere to play or listen to the music we were trying to promote so we started our own nights, starting of in halls and social clubs then taking our nights on to clubs and live music halls. Our aim was to provide Inverness with a much needed club scene and giving local DJ's a stage to perform. So after spending many years playing in social clubs and public halls on Fe
b 2007 we held our first monthly residency at the Picture House in Dingwall. Every month we invited local DJ's along to play at our nights. local DJ's headlined and emerging DJ's played the first hour. We then went onto play at various clubs around Inverness still supporting local talent and on 26th July 2008 after much hard work we played our first night at the Ironworks Venue. This was the first club night to be held at the Ironworks Inverness and the success of this night led for more nights to follow. Always looking for ways to keep things different we held a 3D party! With dedicated 3D visuals, with the people that attended wearing 3D glasses. The night was filmed and the extra lasers, lights and visuals became a standard for our nights at the Ironworks. On 23rd of August 2008 we booked Deadmau5 a little unknown producer at the time! Little did we know that in the space of months he would go on to become one of the biggest DJ/producer in the world at the time, the hype that surrounded this night was unbelievable and was and still could be one of the biggest club nights Inverness has seen. On December 2008 we held a Charity gig and along with Bakoo nightclub,supporting DJ's and public raised £1630 for Diabetes UK.
2009 was our 4th year running so to celebrate we held a celebration party at the Ironworks. We had fire dancers, podium dancers, a free DVD, tickets and money give away. Money and tokens were put inside balloons suspended above the dance floor! Then we drooped the balloons into the crowd at the end of the night. Guest DJ's we went onto work with :
Deadmau5 (2008) Funk D'void (2009, 2010, 2012) Phil Kieran (2008, 2009) Mark Sherry (2010) Justin Robertson (2009, 2010) James Lavelle (2009) Soul of Man (2009) Kissy Sell Out (2010) Graeme Park (2010) Harvey McKay (2009, 2011) Streetlife djs (2010) Firas (2010) Tom Middleton (2010) Cagedbaby (2010) Dave Clarke (2011, 2012, 2013) Debukas (2011, 2012, 2013) The Noisemaker (2011) Slam (2011) Gary Beck (2011) Silicone Soul (2012, 2013) Nathan Coles (2013) Harri & Domenic sub club (2013) Mark Archer (2013)
Festivals :
Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) The Mad Ferret Festival (2010) Rockness (2011)
Audiolife began life under the name Frequency, hosting outdoor parties and gigs at local village halls and social clubs around Inverness. April 2005 saw them secure the Spectrum Arts centre, holding 2 successful club nights there while working alongside Limelight Events. A year later saw the relaunch and rebranding of the night, under its current guise Audiolife. In February 2007, they held their first residency at the Picture House in Dingwall. Local already established Djs were invited along to these early club nights with DJ’s such as Steve Dell, Steven Flynn, Michael Blyth, and Kam Cheng headlining regularly with all of them attending many of the gigs and being very supportive and influential from the beginning. Guests including DJs Ally Ridgers, Martin Gowans, Liam Mackenzie, and Ross Kinder amongst others got their breakthrough with Audiolife and currently run successful nights themselves. The success of the nights arose further opportunities for the residents, allowing them to travel to neighboring town Aviemore, to the Vault nightclub, where they performed alongside close friends John Brownlie and Kevin Irvin who now own the Vault. Onto Elgin, to Dj at Electric Nights alongside Raymond MacIntosh and Roy Fraser and also performed at the Mad Ferret Festival, Kinloss ran by Decoded promoter Scott Divers. On the 26th July 2008, under new venue manager Paul Ashton, Audiolife hosted the first electronic music club night to be held at the Ironworks, Inverness. Their perseverance and hard work had finally paid off. They held a 3D party with dedicated visuals and projections, clubbers were given 3D glasses upon entry that allowed them to immerse themselves in an exciting and surreal environment while listening to the best of house and techno. The night was filmed, extra lasers, lights, and visuals were brought in becoming a standard for their nights. Although monetarily not the success they hoped for it opened the door for more club nights to follow and increased the hunger of the Audiolife crew. Following listening to a mix cd of Dj Deadmau5 in early 2008 promoters Alan & Darren contacted his agent. Months passed by before a reply came back with the agent advising that they had only one chance to book Deadmau5, as his career was about to go to superstar Dj levels and that the smaller venues would not be able to afford him. The fee offered alone was already at a nearly unattainable level but Alan decided there was no other option, knowing that this was their only chance and took the financial risk and went ahead, regardless. Deadmau5 graced the stage of the Ironworks Music venue on the 23rd of August 2008. 11 years on and it is still the most successful and significant club night Inverness has seen. To explain the magnitude of the event, Deadmau5's roster for the weekend was Colours, at the Arches, Glasgow on Friday, Audiolife, Inverness on the Saturday and Creamfields Festival on Sunday. Alan & fellow promoter Darren decided to run a local DJ competition with the best submission opening up for Deadmau5 on the night. Word spread beyond belief, with entries coming in from all over the UK and as far afield as London. Alan remembers some real quality mixes coming in the post, going well beyond anything they had ever expected. The hype surrounding the gig was unbelievable and has never been witnessed or replicated in the Highlands again. To be continued...
