Those who know my history, and particularly my Steel City roots (I may have mentioned them a few times), will know why I’ve been keen on getting a Join The Future event in Sheffield set up. Naturally the city plays a key role in the book – and is heavily represented on the compilation too – but there’s more to wanting to do a talk in the city than that. For a variety of reasons, Sheffield is at the beating heart of the book and my personal story, so heading there to speak about something that puts the city and the wider Yorkshire region front and centre was always a priority for the current tour.

I’m therefore delighted to announce that we’ve joined forces with Mondo Radio, a community-focused online station that has been doing great things since it launched, to put on a rather special event on Saturday 18th March. It will take the form of a panel discussion, hosted by journalist Daniel Dylan Wray – a Steel City-based music scribe who has written pieces on such local dance music institutions as Jive Turkey and Niche – and featuring the following panellists:

Winston Hazel
He should need no introduction, but for the uninitiated, Winston is one of Sheffield’s most storied DJs – someone who has been making the city dance since the early ’80s. He was in breaking crew Smac 19, was a resident at Jive Turkey, worked behind the counter of FON Records and Warp Records on Division Street, recorded the first tune to be released by Warp as part of the Forgemasters, and is one of the masterminds behind the legendary Kabal parties.

Desiree Reynolds
Author and academic Desiree Reynolds is writer in residence at Sheffield Archives. A South Londoner who has been living in the Steel City for many years, Desiree is committed to anti racism and intersectionality. She draws on her experiences of these to make her creative work.  Her short stories have been widely published in various publications and online. Titles she has contributed to include A Generation Defining Itself, Hair: A Journey into the Afro and Asian Experience,  Moss Side Stories, The Suitcase Book of Love Poems,  Tangled Roots and Closure: Contemporary Black British Stories published by Peepal Tree Press She edited the anthology ‘Writing As Resistance’ published by the University Of Sheffield. She has a short story in The Book Of Sheffield, Born On Sunday Silent, Comma Press, inspired by the true story of a Black child buried in Sheffield General Cemetery 1902 and with Dead Ink and Bloomsbury Test Signal, Dead Ink Books.

Katie Matthews
Katie is a DJ, promoter and community organiser. She’s involved in Sheffield’s Gut Level parties and regularly plays on Mondo Radio. Along with her friend Elle, Katie is featured (but not named) in the concluding chapter of Join The Future. While she was working at S1 Artspace at Park Hill, I wandered in (I was early for an appointment with Rob Gordon so went for a walk around the infamous Brutalist estate) and ended up having a conversation with her and Elle about the city’s techno heritage and identity. As I mentioned in the book, both Katie and Elle had made the connections I was making and discussing in the book – something that stayed with me and in some ways reinforced my view that the story I’d set out to tell was relevant to a younger generation of DJs and producers.

Matt Anniss
He gets around a bit, this fella. I suppose he did write the book.

Tickets for the event are free, but advanced booking is recommended. You can grab your tickets via this link.

In addition to the talk, there is also this event afterwards (click on the link for more info and tickets). It may involve loud music and dancing.