Words: Red Bull Music
Ketoloco was born in a seven bed Victorian student house basement in Headingley. It began as an after-party, a place for 200+ ravers to continue after club nights like Back To Basics and Dirty Disco had kicked out.
“All four levels of this house became a playground for the student kids of Headingley,” says Ketoloco co-founder Chris Halliday. The seven-strong crew – formed of DJs, producers and, as Halliday describes, ‘Leeds’ friendliest bouncer’ – all met in Ibiza. On their return in the summer of 2006 they aimed to replicate the hedonism found on the White Isle in their Yorkshire home.
They gutted their basement, painted the walls red in homage to DC10 and installed a makeshift DJ booth. Soon after, producers like 20/20 Vision boss Ralph Lawson and Paul Woolford were dropping in to play at Ketoloco after their sets in the city. “You feel like you have freedom and you can do what you want at a house party. They’re audacious, and that’s a bit infectious. People just go wild.”
But March 2007 could have signalled their end. In the early hours of a Sunday morning they heard a noise, quickly followed by a firm kick and around 70 police officers rushing in to see what was happening inside. What the police were introduced to, however, was much different to their usual bust. “Someone was dressed as a vicar, someone else a devil, and everyone else immediately put their hands on their heads in the hallway.” The party ended there and then, cautions were handed out and all of their equipment was seized. “If they wanted to come in they could have just knocked,” said Halliday, in a MySpace message to their followers at the time.
But the party must go on, and where there’s a will there’s always a way. "After the bust Back To Basics's founder Dave Beer offered Ketoloco a monthly residency at his club and we jumped at the chance. That was a turning point for us and loads more sensible and 'fully legal' gigs followed."
17 years later, Ketoloco hosted two roadblock 17th anniversary parties at Hackney wick's Number 90 in 2023. In true Ketoloco style the parties were free for all to enter which made for unforgettable atmospheres.