A sophisticated art gallery is not typically the setting for an oldskool rave up but on a warm summers evening in London Town, hundreds of kind hearted ravers came out to celebrate the charity partnership between Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (LNADJ) and the uber cool, original and irreverent shirt manufacturers Frangipani. An incredible night unfolded.
Centred on the back of the Sweet Harmony Exhibition at the iconic Saatchi gallery, with a huge snaking queue at the entrance, supporters came out in their droves for a superb night of music, art and dance all in aid of Get Equipped and the LNADJ charity. The exhibition was an immersive retrospection of the acid house revolution, lovingly presented by a study of rave culture, through the voices and lenses of those who experienced the club scene of the 80s and 90s.
Attendees enjoyed exclusive after-hours access to the excellent exhibition and got to party in The Vinyl Record Shop. Very special guests Bushwacka and pioneering Balearic Acid House Queen – DJ Nancy Noise, two of the original DJs on the London acid house scene, both generously donated their sets to help raise awareness of the charity and took us all back to those glory days of house music. Love Drums hosted the Rave room with a line-up of special DJs and MC’s, who were flying the flag for Bristol rave culture. To explain just how prodigious the music was that night; Team LNADJ who were gathered at the entrance all abandoned post and flew in to the dancefloor, arms in the air on hearing one of the old classics!
The event helped to launch the latest Hawaiian shirt collection from Frangipani’s where half of the profits of each sale will go towards LNADJ campaign Get Equipped.
This is a LNADJ campaign which supplies tuition, music & DJ equipment to educational and community organisations and projects that support disadvantaged young people around the world.
Benny from Frangipani on the collaboration with LNADJ and the Saatchi event:
“LNADJ align with Frangipani perfectly as they are about fun and colour too. Adding electronic music to the mix is the cherry on the cake! We launched our Hawaiian shirts very late this summer and wanted to make a splash and get people talking about LNADJ. I noticed that Saatchi Gallery had put on an exhibition about Rave culture and the free party scene so, for want of a better word, I thought I’d try and blag us an evening there… Philly Adams who curated the exhibition is great and it turns out we had a lot of mutual friends from back in the day and over a coffee she agreed to let us have a party there. It’s not every day you get to put on a rave in one of London’s most iconic landmarks. Nancy Noise and Bushwacka! – 2 legendary DJs both currently and from the good old days, both volunteered to play and we were off. It was a great night – amazing to see so many faces, young and old(er) dancing to tunes we hadn’t heard in ages.
Benny continues ..
“Clem and I have both lived in India and Nepal in the past where we spent a lot of time hanging out with street kids. They have such tough lives but are always happy, wise beyond their years and always a pleasure to be with. Last year we decided we wanted to do something to make their lives more fun. Rather than helping build a school (which is an amazing thing to do) we wanted to help do something a bit different and then I remembered Jonny and LNADJ and we’ve been supporting them ever since. LNADJ already had an existing relations with Frangipani and it made sense to link with them. Their shirt already appealed to lots of DJs, many already wear their shirts and due to the nature of Get Equipped working with DJs it was a perfect fit. It meant all involved can get behind the campaign and raise both awareness of GE and funds.”
Dominic Sunderland from Get Equipped had this to say:
“The main aim of GE is to bring all facets of the electronic music industry (DJs, manufacturers, retailers, clubs, promoters etc.) into an ongoing charitable donation scheme whereby they provide equipment and expertise. This is then used to engage, support and change the lives of young people experiencing difficulties or who wouldn’t have the opportunities to experience the power of music and the wealth of benefits it brings. In a short time we have already set up a music school in Tanzania, Equipped on in Uganda and set a studio up in a special school in London with many more projects already waiting.”
This was a truly special charity event in celebration of club culture, with a unique back drop, unbelievable music and ambience and a night of reminiscing bliss. A heart-felt thank you to all that attended and generously donated, your money is changing the lives of those in need.
The power of rave, the power of people, the power of love.
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- LNADJ Charity Event at The Saatchi Gallery London in association with Frangipani - November 24, 2019