Bridging the Gap (BTG) is a club night, podcast series and music / design website run by a London-based collective of djs, producers and designers (including myself, an account executive here at Inferno). Surviving in the fiercely competitive London underground music scene is not easy, and building a meaningful brand is certainly key to that survival. It was decided from the very inception of BTG that the night / blog / music policy needed to stand for something, a way of differentiating itself from the sea of competition hungry for people’s attention. So how was the BTG brand identity decided? Here is some of the thinking behind it:

Technology has changed the way we consume and listen to music. The digital revolution seems to have turned us into a ‘playlist generation’. It’s becoming far more uncommon to sit down and listen to a whole album sequentially from start to finish, people would rather build a playlist complied of their favorite tracks. Another emerging pattern from the playlist generation is their reluctance to be defined by one specific genre. People seem to get bored very quickly (particularly in London) music scenes pop up left right and centre (Fidget House, Grindy, Big Beat, 2.2 Step, Surf Revival, Wonky, Donk) only to die before they’ve had a chance to make any kind of significant impact. This attitude also seems to have had a direct impact on the way music is produced, with many underground electronic musicians throwing elements of techno, hip hop, dub, and house into their productions, feeling bored with the same old formats.

Bearing all of this in mind it was decided that instead of representing one specific genre or scene, running the risk of becoming old hat at any given moment, the BTG brand wouldn’t adhere to any specific genre or time-span. BTG is known for supporting and playing music across a whole spectrum of genres, while still staying relevant to ever evolving music trends. This idea / identity is reflected in the name, logo, design and website content, all mirroring the BTG ethos and music policy.

The next BTG live event is at the Alibi in Dalston (3^rd July) featuring Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs as headliner, known for fusing styles such as jungle, electro, 80s boogie funk and techno.

Written by Rob Waite

This entry was posted on Monday, June 28th, 2010 at 3:19 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.