Deptford Northern Soul Club with the Simple Use Camera

Northern Soul was originally a UK dance scene that came about in the late '60s/early '70s and was heavily based in the North and the Midlands. Clubs emerged which would exclusively play rare or lesser-known black American Soul music with a certain tempo, the records of which, usually on 45 (7") were almost impossible to source in the UK and had been found on trips to the USA. From this club scene came a certain kind of dance and fashion which is now considered iconic. Deptford Northern Soul Club is a UK DJ duo who has been putting on these Northern Soul nights to a whole new generation of music fanatics. They documented some of their nights with the Simple Use Camera.

Hi Deptford Northern Soul Club, tell us a bit about yourselves?

We are a DJ duo (Deptford Northern Soul Club) and record label (DNSC.r) based in South East London. We put on parties all over the UK and Europe to bring the best soul music to the next generation of music lovers.

Our main aim is to make people dance to brilliant emotional stomping records that in the ’60s and ’70s paved the way for dance music culture to blossom here in the UK.

Tell us about these photos, what did you choose to shoot?

We shot some photos at our new residency at Moth Club in Hackney and some up in Manchester at YES where we have been spinning records on a monthly bases since the opening of the club over a year ago!

How did you get on with the Simple Use Cameras?

Easy as anything! It was nice how simple to use they were - we were able to give them to people in the crowd for them to take some shots from the dance floor!

What are your thoughts on film photography? can you see the appeal?

We like the process, you can’t check what you’ve got so it’s a bit more at the moment. We use a Nikon RF2 (35mm) at our nights as it’s small and works well in low light with a flash. It’s nice to have something that isn’t on a phone as it seems less intrusive somehow. We get great feedback on our photos on our Instagram (@deptfordnorthernsoulclub / @dnsc.r) it sets us a bit apart from other club nights and goes really well with our aesthetic!

What's coming up for you this year?

We are planning to resume our monthly residences at Bunker (Deptford) and YES (Manchester) and our bi-monthly residency at Moth Club (Hackney) after the situation with COVID-19. We’ll also hope to be hitting some festivals including Alfresco (UK), Funk & Soul Weekender (UK), Camp Bestival (UK)…

Thanks for taking part! For more information check out the Deptford Northern Soul Club website!

2020-04-02 #dancing #south-london #deptford #simple-use-camera #northern-soul #club-night