Hello!

I just wanted to briefly explain the music policy of the club and introduce you to the nebulous concept known as "the remit".

HDIF is - broadly - a club that plays indie and soul. The Smiths to The Supremes, as we say on the board outside the Buffalo Bar. But that doesn't mean that we play all indie and all soul. We favour indie pop rather than indie rock - and the soul originates chiefly from the sixties rather than the seventies. I find it hard to offer any logical explanation for this, other than (a) it feels right and (b) has something to do with the rich vein of pop that runs through both. I've never been too sure what the term "rockist" means, but rest assured HDIF is defiantly and decidedly unrockist. We love pop, we love guitars that jangle, we love footstomping melodies and huge choruses.

Here's a list of musical types we don't play.

No punk
No rock
No metal
No grunge
No britpop
No american college rock/indie rock
No contemporary haircut indie
No dance music
No hip hop
No shoegazing

Or as Mr Rowland put it:

"Sing me a record
That cries pure and true.
No not those guitars. They're too noisy and crude.
The kind that convinces refuses to leave,
There's no need to turn it up.
If it's pure I'll feel it from here."

Which kind of translates to:

Indie pop
Tamla motown
Northern soul
French pop
Girl groups
Sixties heartbreak
and so on

Our guest DJs are asked to re-interpret the remit in their own individual way - ie, to stay true to the spirit of the club but to play whatever they want. Some DJs trash the rules completely, others bend them gently. You - and I - never know until the night itself. It's all part of the fun.

Most importantly of all, please come up and ask for requests. The best nights are when I'm just putting on a stream of excellent suggestions and the club pretty much DJs itself. And don't worry about hitting the remit spot on. No point in having rules if you don't break them every so often...!

If you'd like to ask anything about the club's music policy, then our messageboard is here:

http://s4.invisionfree.com/howdoesitfeel/index.php?