Godskitchen
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Godskitchen is an international
superclub A superclub is a very large or superior nightclub, often with several rooms with different themes. The term was first coined in Mixmag, the British electronic dance and clubbing magazine, in 1995, referring to the new wave of clubs such as Min ...
brand which is associated with
dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...
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 An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
, 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, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
. Godskitchen has an in-house
music label "Big Three" music labels 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 t ...
. 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 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 mus ...
scene of the early 1990s.


First events

They held their first event in the UK at the Junction Nightclub in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, 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 Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
. Godskitchen sold out regularly, soon filling the 1,500 capacity Planet Nightclub in
Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
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 The site was originally intended for industrial use, as par ...
in
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...
. 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 proces ...
had failed to fill only 12 months previously. Looking for "somewhere to call home", Godskitchen moved to the 2,000 capacity Sanctuary Nightclub (formerly the
Digbeth Institute The Digbeth Institute (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the O2 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 centr ...
) in
Digbeth Digbeth is an area of central Birmingham, England. Following the remodelling of the Birmingham Inner Ring Road, Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is under ...
, Birmingham. Godskitchen filled the Sanctuary on a regular basis. 1999 saw Godskitchen take their clubbing to the
Amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or brain diseases,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be temporarily caused by t ...
Nightclub in
Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...
, 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 In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communicati ...
". 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 House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...
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 and jungle production methods, but also incorporates elements from ...
, 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 in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
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 Long Marston Airfield was a Royal Air Force base between 1941 and 1954, situated approximately south west of Stratford-upon-Avon near the village of Long Marston in Warwickshire. It is now managed by Anthony Hodges, and is home to: * Second W ...
on the Gloucestershire/Warwickshire border near
Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...
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, England, and wa ...
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 The site was originally intended for industrial use, as par ...
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 An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
. 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 Newcastle Arena (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Utilita Arena) is an indoor arena in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Owned and operated by ASM Global, the naming rights are currently held by Utilita Energy. Ha ...
in
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
and The
National Exhibition Centre The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, England, near to Birmingham and Solihull. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International rail ...
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 "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
. Global Gathering 2006 was held in the downtown area of
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, Florida on 18 March that year. The success of that event spawned a second US festival held on
Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...
weekend (first weekend of September in the US) at
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
. Godskitchen events are held at Club Bonbon in
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
as well as in
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
, 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, the event was held in Papaya Club on Zrce Beach in Croatia for the first time. 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 (; born 22 November 1982), known professionally as Steve Angello, is a Greek–Swedish DJ, record producer, remixer and record label owner. He is a member of Swedish House Mafia, together with Axwell and Seba ...
,
Sebastian Ingrosso Sebastian Carmine Ingrosso (born 20 April 1983) is a Swedish DJ and record producer. He is a member of Swedish House Mafia, together with Axwell and Steve Angello. Career 1999–2007: Career beginnings Sebastian Ingrosso entered the music indu ...
,
Gareth Emery Gareth Thomas Rhys Emery (born 18 July 1980) is a British trance music producer and DJ. Best known for his first three studio albums '' Northern Lights'', '' Drive'' and '' 100 Reasons to Live'', he is considered as one of the most influential ...
, 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 Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...
group
Blancmange Blancmange (, from , ) is a sweet dessert popular throughout Europe commonly made with milk or cream, and sugar, thickened with rice flour, gelatin, corn starch, or Chondrus crispus, Irish moss (a source of carrageenan), and often flavoured wit ...
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 mus ...


References

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