Seminal club night, record label and one of the cornerstone’s of the UK early House music scene, the influence of Love to be… cannot be understated. Celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2024, this much-loved brand is announcing a huge series of global parties and significant releases as they continue to unite generations of house music fans around the world.
Championed as the ‘North’s original super club’ and winner of numerous awards, Love to be… set the standard for house music events in the UK. With cutting edge club decor, stilt walkers, flamboyant dancers and hosts, coupled with the finest resident DJs supporting world class guests, Love to be… built a huge following and remains a hugely influential force to this day.
On the latest label release Trimtone join forces with E Smoove to bring a fresh spin to the beloved house single “Baby Gets High,” originally released in 2000. This 2024 reboot blends classic vibes with modern electronic elements, promising a sound that respects its roots while embracing the new. Trimtone also play the 30th birthday event at Forge Sheffield later this month, along a huge line-up of house, garage and dance music talent.
Here we caught up with Trimtone to discuss the release, upcoming events and the last legacy of Love to be…
Over the past 30 years, Love to be… has been a significant presence in the house music scene. How do you think the brand’s identity and influence have evolved since its inception?
The main ethos behind the brand was to promote the best that House music had to offer from producers, vocalists, and DJs. Over the years, House music has diversified into many subgenres with various different nights supporting one particular genre, whereas we have always tried to remain open-minded to pushing quality house music of all varieties. Our ethos focuses on playing quality house music with vocal tracks sitting alongside tougher-edged sounds and deep grooves, always with energy to connect with the dance floor, occasionally delving into classic tracks and the history of the brand.
Looking back on three decades of Love to be…, what key moments or decisions do you believe were pivotal in shaping the brand’s enduring legacy in the music industry?
Firstly, at the Music Factory in 1994, we were one of the first UK brands to champion the roots of house music by bringing over DJs and acts from the USA, focusing on our energetic sound. A notable example of this is when, on NYE 95, we brought over Frankie Knuckles and Satoshie Tomiie, which really set a marker for where the brand was heading. Following these events in Ibiza, the brand gained international recognition, reaching a global audience. When Trance emerged, we remained focused on House music, turning to the airwaves on Kiss FM and Galaxy networks, putting together The Transatlantic Mix with myself (Tony) and DJ Disciple, featuring the best underground House from around the world. In 2017, we held a large-scale anniversary event at Magna, featuring a mix of iconic DJs and new talent on the lineup, drawing over 6000 attendees and repositioning the brand to a younger audience. Despite the challenges of lockdown, it enabled us to refocus on relaunching the record label and radio show, which now airs on over 125 stations worldwide, reaching over 7 million listeners. Our weekly streams reached new global audiences, allowing us to host larger scale events globally as we emerged from lockdown with a new army of fans and a fresh lineup of DJ talent mixed with legendary names on our lineups!
What inspired the choice to reboot “Baby Gets High” for your first 2024 release?
This was a track that was massive for us back in the day and featured heavily on the aforementioned Transatlantic Mix shows. We spent some time looking through our collections for collaboration and remix ideas, and E-Smoove tracks featured heavily on the lockdown streams, so it felt like a good move to reach out for a collaboration.
How do you balance the classic elements of the original track with modern electronic influences to appeal to both new listeners and long-time house music fans?
Modern production techniques add energy to tracks we are updating. A good example of this is the likes of LF System and Adelphi Music Factory, whose tracks cross over and receive heavy radio support. With this sound being relevant, we felt we didn’t need to pull apart the ethos of the track but rather add to the production, increase the energy, and rearrange.
Can you describe the creative process that went into producing the 2024 version of “Baby Gets High”?
What were some key decisions or challenges? The original “Baby Gets High” arrangement was long (over 9 minutes) and slightly more dubby in sections. So we stripped it back, reprogrammed the beats, which was key to getting a newer sound, and fully rearranged the track using the sections most relevant for a modern-day listener and DJ.
With the global parties planned for Love to be…’s 30th anniversary, what unique experiences can attendees expect at these events?
We have a really strong mix of global events this year, including daytime events, open-air events, club shows, as well as our first standalone festival. People can expect some of the world’s best headline DJs and PAs featuring legendary names and current headline acts, full festival production including live acts and entertainers. Our events are always focused on giving the crowd an energetic house music experience!
Looking ahead, how does Trimtone plan to continue innovating and impacting the house music genre?
We have a broad taste in music which allows us to produce varied styles as we don’t like to pigeonhole ourselves into one house music sound. This means we can release on labels such as Toolroom, Nervous, Stealth, Quantize, Peppermint Jam, Simma Black, and King St. Having a weekly radio show, we have to keep our finger on the pulse with new music and what’s happening in the industry. We are also breaking new talent through the radio show and the Love to be… brand for the future of house music. Although we own the Love to be brand, our main roles are programming music across the events, radio show, and record label.
What role do you see collaborations like this playing in uniting different generations of music fans?
We hope it can give newer audiences a chance to go and research some house music history, of which E-Smoove is a perfect example as a pioneer of the Chicago house music movement. It also enables great music to be introduced to new audiences and brings together varied styles, bridging generations as it does on Love to be dance floors.
For the epic birthday bash at Forge, Sheffield, what can fans expect in terms of lineup and musical direction, and how does it showcase the brand’s history and future?
The official birthday features three stages with headliners including Grant Nelson, Adelphi Music Factory, Tom Wainwright, Groove Assassin, and Bez (Happy Mondays), alongside ourselves and the amazing residents. We have a courtyard stage solely focused on that 90s/Music Factory vibe. The Warehouse stage pushes the modern-day House sound, and we are breaking some new talent in the Workroom, which is hosted by the up-and-coming Sheffield Brand Floc.
Anything else we should be looking out for this birthday year?
The year has gotten off to an amazing start with 2 sold-out Australia shows with Armand van Helden and Basement Jaxx, and our first UK event at Mint Warehouse, Leeds also sold out! After the official birthday in April, we have a huge lakeside terrace party in West Yorkshire at Casa with Todd Terry headlining. We are also back stateside with dates to announce in Detroit, NYC, Las Vegas, and Orlando. September is a very busy month with our first standalone Festival in Harrogate on the 14th, featuring Roger Sanchez, Darius Syrossian, Barbara Tucker amongst a huge lineup, and Cafe Mambo hosting stage 2. Then we make our way to Liverpool for our first launch event at Camp N Furness. We are also announcing our special one-off Ibiza date soon and finishing the year with more events in Australia and further dates in Sheffield and Leeds. As you can see, it’s been a very busy year, leading into bigger plans in 2025!