Durham is set to play: An interview with Recess, Durham’s latest ‘boiler-room’ style club night

We spoke to the founding members of Recess, Durham’s latest “boiler room style” club night, housed in the Klute basement. They provide events every Saturday, as a complimentary option to the city’s classics.

Recess seeks to appeal to everyone, specifically those “looking for a bit of an escape”, offering something uniquely alternative, focused on a diversifying range of music.

Why did you start Recess?

Recess was founded by Gethin (DJ) Charles (DJ), Xav (DJ), Reu (DJ) and Kit (graduated), ranging from second to fourth year, tending to a diverse student body across all years. Their representative team lends itself to their broad and universal demographic, hoping to reach as many students as possible.

Indeed, Recess was created in the summer of 2025, having hosted its first event in June, during Easter term. Gethin, one of the founders, spoke of his experience in playing the main room in Klute since February, in shaping his musical influences.

Recess was built on both a shared enjoyment of the Durham scene, but also a desire to reflect their individual backgrounds too, integrating more alternative styles into the mainstream. They emphasise they too are “here for the music”, fighting against the often desensitised nature towards the very purpose of nightlife itself.

What kinds of events have you hosted previously?

After their launch back in June of the previous academic year, Recess aimed to make events more frequent. Freshers’ Week saw two Recess events in the Klute basement, on Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for first years. They then hosted another event, two weeks later, on the 25th of October, upon making the decision to run events every single Saturday.

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Recess then got the all important go-ahead from Klute, and have ever-since hosted events on Saturdays as one of the most popular clubbing nights, as usually, “people are going out for a reason”.

Very recently, Walk On, one of Durham University’s charity fashion shows, hosted a club-night in collaboration with Recess on the 8th November, where all proceeds went to their chosen charities.

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Artists showcased at events: What to expect

Recess told The Durham Tab about their adoration for house music, speaking of the sense of freedom which comes with the genre. From there, they sought to create a non-judgemental space focused on individual expression, and an appreciation for the music itself.

Recess likes to play music from a mix of mainstream artists in house and garage genres (John Summit, James Hype, FISHER, Fred Again, Sammy Virji) and loves introducing people to smaller, more niche house and garage artists, whose tracks we love and want to share with Durham audiences who may not have come across them before. For example, music from the likes of Overmono, Oppidan, Bushbaby, Bakey, Interplanetary Criminal, Goldie, Dom Dolla and many more, are played.

They aim to break away from the classic night-life scene, while not opposing it entirely. They spoke of the benefit in holding events on Saturdays as a complimentary alternative to other names.

What makes Recess unique?

Recess emphasises the accessible nature of their events, being not only free, due to the support of Klute, but also the fact they host weekly events every single Saturday. The regularity of events aims to build a community of like-minded music enthusiasts, “whether you are desperate for something more underground, like house or garage”, or perhaps “invited by a friend”. Recess is for everyone.

They stress the importance of location, crediting the insularity that comes with the Klute basement, opting for a more intimate, personal and “boiler-room” feel.

Also, they spoke of the over-familiarity, and restrictiveness of other alternatives, comparing this to different university cities throughout the UK where “every door is different”. Recess aims to bring variety back to Durham, “stepping into something students have never seen before, and are longing for too”.

What are the origins behind the name?

Charles came up with the name, describing how a quote from the School of Rock, “we’re gonna have recess all the time”, ultimately shaped the beginnings of Recess’ journey. Its clever play on words infuse a sense of the unknown, and underground scene with a more general apt for fun, or merely “breaktime”, as derived from its definition.

From there, the team produced a promotional video themed around the School of Rock to truly launch this vision, expanding on their philosophy of “work hard, play hard”. They hope to tap into all aspects of university life, emphasising how rewarding night-life feels when balancing academics with fun.

What is the future for Recess?

They are committed to growing their event every single Saturday, as well as looking beyond this initial project and branching out into other realms, perhaps collaborating with other names, and businesses in Durham to host events.

Recess also spoke of plans to work with other student-led initiatives, such as fashion shows as well as opportunities to fundraise too. Their charitable ethos lends itself to their goal in making events as inclusive as possible, caring for the music, rather than profit.

Excitedly, they told us they “want to be as welcoming as possible while also emphasising the curation of people”. Recess is very hopeful about the future, and is open to new people joining, praising the value of new faces, names and talent, both in booking and getting involved.

Themed nights are an area Recess plans to explore, perhaps centring nights around a specific genre, from exclusively garage, to baseline, jungle, to drum and bass nights. This comes from their flexibility, seeking to brand nights according to interest.

They also hinted at the potential for live music events intertwined with their Saturday club-nights. A live drum night combined with dance music and a drummer, or jungle drums even, is yet to be explored, as well as incorporating other musical instruments such as trumpets and saxophones as a chilled, yet exciting alternative to the typical scene here at Durham.