All Our Friends is a Saturday evening audiophile-community dance party hosted by Cyril Cornet, Cedric Lassonde (Beauty and the Beat) and me. We hold our events in intimate, welcoming spaces in East London, currently Folklore, previously Chats Palace. Please join the Friendship Train invite list, which is open to all, and dance with us!
The idea to start All Our Friends hatched after I danced at Joy for the first time in May 2017. Left with the feeling that I’d come as close as I ever would to David Mancuso’s Broadway Loft, I resolved to start something that would complement Lucky Cloud Sound System’s London Loft, a party I had co-founded with Adrian Fillary, Jem Gilbert, Nikki Lukas, David Mancuso and Colleen Murphy in June 2003—a more regular, smaller-scale, invite-only party that would begin early on a Saturday evening, with turntables shared and the music crossing time and space.
I discussed the idea with Jem followed by Ced and Cyril. A boundary-dissolving night at Beauty and the Beat in July fuelled the dream. The first All Our Friends party took place at Chats Palace on 15 January 2018. Whatever we started that night we won’t let go.
The All Our Friends name draws on the Arthur Russell/Dinosaur L line from “Go Bang”, “I wanna see all my friends at once, go bang”. We are indebted to the house-party-plus-high-end-sound-system ethos that I along with many others trace back to the Loft, where Arthur would head to listen to his music and dance. Our sound system features Klipschorn speakers, Sugden amps and an Isonoe mixer. Each party features a guest DJ who often comes from within the team of dear friends who help us run the party.
We love starting at 5pm because that way we have time for more socialising, more music, more dancing and more fun! A vegan buffet keeps us going through the course of a 10-hour-plus party. We politely request that dancers don't use phones or wear backpacks on the dance floor. We also insist that dancers are able to gather and express themselves free of harassment.
The invite list is open to everyone—just email tim@allourfriends.org. Once you’re on the invite list you’re on for all future parties and can bring a guest.
All Our Love,
All Our Friends
xxxxx