Slam are a producer/DJ duo from Glasgow consisting of Stuart MacMillan (Born in Glasgow 1966) and Orde Meikle (Born in Oxford 1964). They are co-founders of Soma Quality Recordings. Their music style consists of house and techno.
History
DJs Stuart and Orde’s first 'real' club event was a weekly Thursday night called Black Market in Glasgow club Fury Murrys. They played a mix of house, funk and rap to a keen following of Art School students and West End luminaries. Dave Clarke, a partner in Slam and Soma to this day, was their PR manager. In early 1988 they were approached by then fashion designer Steven Sleepman (AKA Steven Workman), after he heard his first Acid House track on DJ Segun’s late night show on Radio Clyde. Steven had been waiting since punk rock for the ‘next big thing’ and Acid House was it. During a brief stint PRing for Club Eden, Steven secured a Saturday night at Glasgow's Tin Pan Alley which was to become the home of Slam. The club instantly became one of the UK’s biggest acid house nights with followers from Manchester to Aberdeen. The club was unique, not only in its music policy, but in its professional approach to marketing and the content of the night. Go go dancers, performance artists, one-off merchandise, free fruit, wall-to-wall banners and projections all added to the club’s reputation. Dot Allison (future musical collaborator) worked with the PR team prior to the launch of her musical career and DJ Harri was a regular guest on the turntables. Steven became an equal partner in Black Market as part of the deal, working with Dave on PR and promotion for both nights. Slam then quickly launched a Friday night at the legendary Sub Club called Joy, riding on the success of Slam and the acid house scene. Black Market still kept it’s own musical identity throughout the Summer of Love playing an eclectic mix of musical genres. Steven finally left all three nights in a mutually agreed buy out. Shortly after, Tennants Lager’s marketing agency approached Slam with a sponsorship deal to tour Scotland’s upfront clubs over a period of two years. Steven came back for two years to work on PR, creative and to manage the tour. The tour ultimately led to Slam’s residency at T in the Park and increased Slam’s profile nationwide. Slam have released numerous singles since the mid-1990s, their most known being 'Positive Education', 'Eterna' and 'Lifetimes'. The last song to be played at the very last Slam at the Arches was 'The Bells' by Jeff Mills. The second to last song was 'Positive Education' by Slam. They co-founded Soma Quality Recordings in 1991, along with label boss Dave Clarke. More recently Slam Events was launched - a subdivision of Soma that deals mainly with the promotion of Slam and Slam nights. Slam are currently the resident DJs at Pressure, a monthly event promoted by Soma and Slam Events which occurs on the last Friday of every month at The Arches in Glasgow. They also have a residency at the Sub Club in Glasgow at another Soma and Slam Events night called Return to Mono which occurs on the second Friday of every month. They have also been resident DJs at Fabric in London. For the last 10 years Slam have curated and played in the Slam Tent, at T in the Park, and they have appeared on BBC Radio 1's "Essential Mix" five times (30/04/1994, 09/06/1996, 19/11/2000, 03/06/2001 & 05/09/2004).
Discography
- Headstates (Soma, 1996)
- Positive Education (Soma, 1998)
- Past Lessons/Future Theories (Distinctive Breaks, 2000)
- Alien Radio (Soma, 2001)
- Alien Radio Remixed (Soma, 2002)
- Slam in America (DMC, 2002)
- Fabric 09: Slam (Fabric, 2003)
- Year Zero (Soma, 2004)
- Nightdrive (Resist, 2005)
- Ekspozicija 4 (Explicit Musick, 2006)
- Human Response (Soma, 2007)
