Sclews And Moonsleep: Redefining Music Through DIY Venues

By Munira Uddin

Sclews and Moonsleep, two alternative independent artists, found a way to share their art through DIY venues in Sheffield. The DIY community offers a stage and a voice to people whose art deviates from the mainstream. So how have DIY venues changed how we experience music?

Sclews performing at Hope Works: Photo taken by Eva Yap

Music has always been a form of expression and has always had a unifying quality. As a species, we long to create and share and through the mass distribution of music, it has become difficult to do this as easily as it once was. This is why we look to DIY venues and grassroots spaces to bring communities together to share what we find so beautiful in the hopes that people will enjoy it together.

Sclews and Moonsleep speak on their experiences performing at DIY venues and how they have been offered stages as artists who break traditional norms by creating art in unconventional and underrepresented music genres. Genres that can get lost in all the noise of mainstream music but still resonate with so many people.

Sclews began his musical journey at the age of 3 when he started playing the piano, he began drums at 10 and at 12 began focusing on improvisational pieces. His impressive musical beginnings led him to create beats in his friend’s studio at the age of 14. Over the course of his exploration, he found himself leaning toward more obscure sounds and finally saw himself settle into his current music genre; hardvapour.

“The genre that fits my music best now is something called hardvapour, a heavy subgenre of vaporwave. I’ve always liked pretty minimal melodies over industrial noisy percussion, I think it’s a super interesting contrast”

Moonsleep performing at DINA

Moonsleep found her love for music through her grandfather. At the age of 15 she began producing electronic music after getting a copy of Dance eJay, a music production software. She saw her sound evolve from house/trance to dreampunk to her current genre; darkwave.

“I try to mix in elements of dreampunk with my darkwave production to create something fresh and unique, as well as bring something new to the genre.”

Sclews and Moonsleep both bring something unique to the table, something that they have found resonates with them and allows them to express themselves through music. Hardvapour and darkwave are not terms you hear every day yet there are people who find themselves drawn to this music and feel a sense of belonging with others who enjoy the same style. Finding a place to share their music is just as important to many artists as creating is. Sclews and Moonsleep found a common place to share their alternative styles and that is DINA, a now closed DIY venue in Sheffield. DINA, along with many other DIY spaces, was a place that celebrated diversity. A place especially welcoming to queer folk who wished to find a space to create, share, drink, dance and connect. DIY venues seek to highlight underrepresented people and create an inclusive space for people and artists. Moonsleep found that a wonderful aspect of DIY venues such as DINA was the intimate feel. She felt that it was important to her that people have the ability to talk to her after performances or give her feedback personally.

Sclews found that the atmosphere of DINA, and venues similar to it such as Hatch, was welcoming.

“Another thing about DINA and Hatch I liked is the lighting. Not too fancy and quite easy on the eyes. This along with the decorations kind of makes it feel like you’re in someone’s home which feels very welcoming”

The way we share music has changed drastically over the course of human civilisation and we can fondly look back on sitting around a fire and singing a folk song together with your community, individuals who then sing the same songs to their children. This is how music culture and traditions were born, that is not to say this has been lost entirely, rather that grassroots music venues provide a refuge for people who seek to protect and celebrate alternative styles of music and give a voice to the common man. You don’t have to be a celebrity to perform, just someone who has something to share. DIY spaces provide the community with something that should be a necessity and accessible to all, a place that fosters inclusivity and nurtures creativity.

Sclews shares his feelings on the DIY scene in Sheffield and the unique ways artists create music. The musical qualities of Sheffield is something locals are incredibly proud of, and rightly so.

“I’ve made a ton of friends through gigs and I’m really grateful for that. I’ve definitely found a sense of community; Sheffield is home to some artists with really interesting ways of performing. I’ve seen loads of live-coding, music made with mechanical rotating machines, music performed with fabric and music performed with Gameboys to name a few”

Sheffield is home to a thriving music scene and among them are incredible innovators who craft sounds using unconventional instruments. These avant-garde methods continue to push the boundaries and inspire people across the city.

Finding a sense of community through her work is something Moonsleep also appreciates:

“I think a lot of the community I made in my vapour/dreampunk days have come with me on the journeys and new people have joined along the way too!”

“My favourite thing has to be seeing how my musical expression affects others. Be that in making people dance, making people connect or making people feel. I just love when people can use my music for escapism and to feel.”

The contribution made by the DIY music scene in Sheffield is fascinating. The local music scene supports emerging talent and promotes diversity. Friendships are made, incredible experiences touch hearts and people are encouraged to love each other and themselves in a way that is completely and beautifully human.