I caught up with promoter David Griffiths to see where it started, what it’s all about and why House Rules is one of the fastest growing house nights in the capital but first here's how their recent guests described the night...

Lottie said “What a night I wasn’t expecting that, one of the best I’ve played in London for along time”

Chris Lake said “They’re crazy in there. I’d come back no question, awesome night”

Norman Jay MBE said “The best night I’ve had for a long time, 2nd only to my Carnival warm up - that’s saying something”

Micky Slim said “ I loved it, amazing night House Rules Rules..!”

So how did House Rules start?
It all started four years ago this October. My brother and I happen to know a lot of people who love house music and we wanted to give them all a place to meet up and party. We’d been all over the place traveling, at uni, working etc and wanted to throw a big party in London. We hired the top room at the Artesian Well in Clapham, which had a capacity of 100 people. We’d promised the venue a party to remember but by 10:30pm on the night only 3 people had arrived – two of whom were the DJs. I remember it clearly, the manager said “you’ve had one here boys, so much for a big turn out”. With that taxi after taxi started to appear 150+ people later the party was really going off and House Rules was born. We were too concerned about getting people in and having a good time, we totally forgot to charge people and only made £3 profit…

What makes House Rules different from any other London house night?
Each one is different and there are some great house nights out there, particularly in South London. House Rules is all about big DJs, playing big records on a big sound system! There seems to be a tendency in London for nights to put on 10 - 15 DJs on a single bill, each DJ gets 45 mins to an hour and there’s no real headline talent. I got in to the scene through Godskitchen and Cream, they had headline acts playing the best slots, it provides a focal point for the night as the crowd has something to look forward to and remember. We emulate this at House Rules by booking big name headline acts but we also champion local London talent, something we’re really committed to. Also, we have a residency at Plan B so people know where to find us and when we’ll be on. Consistency is important when you’re trying to create a following.

On that, you moved to Plan B in Brixton this year, how’s the move?
Brilliant, I loved Plan B the first time I walked in. We’d out grown The Artesian Well and it was time to move on, but saying that, I do miss our parties there. The manager and staff are legends but it got a bit silly cramming 300 people in to the top two rooms.
We started to look around for a new venue and had a number of good offers but moving to Plan B was the easiest decision we’ve made. A quality venue with a Funktion One sound system, which for the non-technical people out there means it’s the best money can buy. It makes such a difference and the DJs we book appreciate playing on the best equipment. The main room booth is raised making the DJ the focal point for the entire club. As well as the club itself, the staff and management are awesome and they absolutely love house music. We’ve made some changes to the layout and put our own touches in place for our shows and it now feels like home.

What makes House Rules so special?
The people, we’re lucky to have a great following of glamorous, loyal party people who appreciate good quality house music and top DJs. We provide the tools for them to have a good time, if you have been to any of our shows you’ll know what I mean or if not have a look at the videos / photos on the website and you can see for yourself – www.houserules.tv

You mentioned the video’s, you record every show. Where did House Rules TV come from?
It was my brothers idea, he wanted to provide something extra, something different to other nights that would give customers a night to remember and a topic to talk about in the weeks after the show. Doing bi-monthly shows, it is difficult to keep momentum and your name fresh in peoples minds - House Rules TV does just that. It’s getting more and more popular with the regulars, people are bringing signs and props to make sure they’re seen. Lately we’ve received a few bribes from some people to include them on the video – its hilarious. The DJs love it as well, we always send them a copy after the show for them to see what goes on outside the DJ booth. Overall we’re really pleased with how it’s taken off, I get a bit of stick from a few mates for my interviews but I’m getting better and when I ask them to do it they run a mile.

What’s the best party you’ve done?
All of them have been awesome, right from the word go we’ve had a special atmosphere at our shows. The Artesian Well in Clapham was our home for three years; some of the scenes in there were unbelievable. People would be physically hanging from the rafters and literally pulling the speakers off the wall. We used to finish at 3am and the last hour was always special - the 2nd Birthday in 2006 was the best there and I remember thinking “we’re on to something here” as 300+ were crammed in to the top two floors. The venue was bursting at the seams - It was a proud moment for everyone involved.
Recently though, our show with Chris Lake at Plan B in August took us to a new level, the atmosphere in the main room all night was similar to that I experienced at the old Godskitchen or Cream. A bold statement I know, but it was electric – see the video and photos and draw your own conclusions.

September 6th is your monthly residency launch night why have you changed from bi-monthly?
Simple economics really, supply and demand. We’ve talked about it for a few years now and decided to trial it over the summer with back to back shows in July and August to see if our crowd would take to it and if they wanted a more regular show – I’ve mentioned how good the Chris Lake show was previously so we all agreed after that we’d go for it.
With regards to workload, yep its double the work and twice the hassle but we love it and have a strong team working with us so we’ll be fine – you get out what you put in.

What can we expect from a House Rules event and why should people come down?
House Rules is about a big Saturday night out, our crowd is mostly professional Londoners who work their socks off all week and look for a release at the weekend. We aim to give them that by providing a quality, enjoyable night to remember. Right from the minute they walk up to the venue they’re our guests and we aim to give them the best treatment possible. A huge part of our night is about the music and we spend hours planning each event making sure the right DJs are playing at the right time to create a logical progression from warm up DJ to the headline act. I’m fortunate enough to have some of the best residents in London in Haran De Lucas, Dave Duffield and Umberto Giannini. They really understand our approach and always deliver – I couldn’t ask for better. We also champion London DJs and provide them with the opportunity to play alongside some of the biggest names in house music.
If you’re a lover of good quality house music, enjoy partying, you’ll love House Rules. If you’ve never been then you should come and see what all the fuss is about.

What does the future hold for House Rules?
We tend to concentrate on the present more at the moment taking each month as it comes. We’ve got four massive shows left in 2008. We’ve booked some of the biggest names on the house music scene to come and play - watch this space and expect some of truly epic parties in South London. If our last six months are anything to go by they’ll be off the hook.

Anything else?
We’d just like to say thanks to everyone that makes House Rules what it is, the crowd is fantastic and the major factor in why we do what we do.
Also a big thanks to our friends for their help so far, they know who they are. Without them we wouldn’t have got past our first event.

Interview by: Gemma Southland for Don’t Stay In

House Rules is now on the 1st Saturday of every month at Plan B Brixton. Entrance is £10 b4 midnight £12 after. Doors open from 9pm and run until 5am.

Website: www.houserules.tv

DSI profile: Click here

Facebook group: Click here