It’s Time… 02:31

For many years Birmingham has been known for its high standard of after party culture, bringing in crowds from all over and letting them carry on through their Saturday night antics right until the early hours of a Sunday morning.

Last November we saw a new after-party emerge onto the scene, opening its doors at The Rainbow Venues at 02:31 on a Sunday morning and not so coincidentally going by the same name, giving ravers and party goers the option to go out later and still experience great music until 06.30am.

We caught up with two of the guys behind 02:31, promoters & DJ’s Tom Shorterz and Andy Bell to find out more about the concept behind the event, what they’ve got planned for their 1st birthday and what’s in store the rest of the winter…

How did you come up with the concept of ‘02:31’?

In November 2011, we felt that Birmingham needed a new after-party, not solely associated with the ‘glam’ style affair (so familiar in the city over the last decade). The main aim was to recreate a night where people went out for the music and to have a good time. We embrace rave / party culture and we try to portray this within 02.31 as an event.

DJ’s featured at your events include Redlight, Roska & Jamie George, DJ Q, Shadow Child, DJ Sneak, Mista Men & Squarehead. How would you describe the range of artists selected for 02:31?

Our music policy is definitely unique, We coined the term ‘House & Bass’ as elements from many different genres of music make the party what it is today. 2:31 is all about bringing in artists that we care about, and ensuring that they too have a proper party.

“The likes of Roska, Redlight and Kissy Sell Out have all posted on Twitter about how good the experience was for them personally”

This gives us a great feeling and drives us to continue bringing the same vibe week in, week out!

Your weekly parties are held at ‘The Rainbow’ in Digbeth; tell us about your overall experience of using the venue so far?

The Rainbow is the most unique venue in the UK. Its underground charm helps us create the renowned atmosphere associated with 2:31. Other massive and well respected brands such as Circoloco, Fantazia, Cocoon, and local heavyweights GLAS & Below all choose the rainbow as the venue to host their parties, which is why the Rainbow is in a league of its own.

You have an impressive list of local resident DJ’s how have you got such a strong base of DJs?

The amount of requests we have off DJ’s far and wide asking to come and play is very over whelming. Word of mouth has clearly spread amongst the DJ community “02.31 is the place to play”. It really is great that all the DJ’s/acts have this desire to play for us, we are very proud of that. We have a great team of local residents around us, from Hannah Wants, Mr Limey, and Cause & Affect to some of the fresh faced DJs like Ed Cooke, Pete Graham, and Tomola, and not forgetting the not so fresh faced DJs- Joe Hunt, Ste Savage and Alex Parkin [laughs] but having such a wide variety of DJs gives us a diverse edge crowd wise which we feel creates and makes our party stand out.

02.31 mix tapes are getting thousands of plays and downloads, what do you think attracts your audience?

They are a true indication of exactly what to expect at 2:31, so much variety and many styles of music. Our bumpy, bouncy beats are far from monotonous.

Do you have any favorite mix tapes in particular?

Our personal favorite is from Hannah Wants, she definitely knows how to create a proper mix. Shorterz’ mixes aren’t bad either!

We have heard of the ‘quirky things’ seen at your events including, an old coin operated motor bike and a beach hut turned retro Dj booth what is the meaning behind these objects?

We wanted to add an element of fun to the night and give people something to remember. With Alex’s D.I.Y skills, along with 100’s of second hand vinyls and a strip of AstroTurf, the Party Harbor was born.

“Our 2:31 motorbike was found in an overgrown garden deep in Knowle, one professional re-spray later, she was good to ride!”

Your big ‘1st’ birthday is coming up soon, what do you have in store?

The First Birthday will include a no holds-barred full warehouse and garden extravaganza with a line-up never seen before in the city. SBTRKT will be taking centre stage, with support from Oneman, XXXY and Mak & Pasteman. There will be live performances from Javeon McCarthy and Clean Bandit will add an extra dimension to the night’s proceedings.

SARF will be taking care of all things in the garden and Birmingham brand MILKK will be bringing a deeper edge to the party.

This is so much more than jelly and ice cream, this is the 2.31 first birthday and we are EXCITED! Early bird tickets sold out in just over an hour of general sale release. It’s going to be crazy good.

As you know Autumn/Winter 2012 is on our doorstep, do you have anything in the pipeline for your fellow Brum party crew?

We simply want to continue in the same vein that we have for the last year, bringing Birmingham the best after hours party that we possibly can. Our 2:31 crowd can expect a new venue layout, with improved sound systems, and heating. We really are pushing boundaries and will be bringing guest DJ’s which the party deserves. Look out for some huge shows in Autumn/Winter. We will team up with our close friends at FACE, taking 2:31 to yet another level. Expect tours to other cities in the UK, as well as visiting tours coming to 2:31, particularly Leeds’ biggest House & Bass promoters Insomnia who are scheduled to make the trip down to Brum in the near future!

Apart from 2:31 parties, which other Birmingham events would you say provide a ‘quality clubbing experience’?

On the deep and underground tip, huge respect must go to Below & Cloak & Dagger, two nights that have definitely raised the bar for Birmingham clubbing. The music is on a different level and the crowd are well up for the party day and night! Classics night Everybody Loves is always a top night, and always rammed with garage-heads, and for anybody in Birmingham that doesn’t give GLAS the credit it deserves is crazy. Stunning production, top quality line-ups and a real party vibe shows that they are consistently at the top of their game, hats off to them!

Finally, after a very successful year, is there anybody in particular you would like to thank?

We would like to obvious big up the most important people- the party people, who come and support us week in week out, they make the party! All the resident DJs, Rainbow staff, sound guys, Freedom Security who do an amazing job for us (Thanks Lenny & the team), Lee McDonald who is also part of 02.31 & the brain child behind its early stages and last but not least the toilet attendants who for £1 get you the finest aftershave / perfumes known to man!