Bleep

Press Release

Details the story of the legendary DiY Collective in all their eclectic, outrageous and occasionally deranged glory from early acid house to DJ collective, sound system and record label. The first autobiographical account of the remarkable and historically overlooked nineties free party/festival movement from someone who played a pivotal role and was involved from the start. Covers truly historic events such as the huge Castlemorton free festival and Criminal Justice Bill riots via wild stories of Britain’s rave counter-culture and mass trips to Ibiza, Amsterdam and San Francisco.

Emerging from Nottingham in the summer of 1989, the DiY Collective were one of the first house sound systems in the UK. Merging the anarchic lineage of the free festival scene, the cultural and political anger of bands like Crass with the new, irresistible electronic pulse of acid house, they bridged the idealistic void left by the moral implosion of the commercial rave scene.

From Castlemorton to the Café del Mar, the DiY sound and DJs became internationally renowned and beneath their banners of liberty, collectivism and untrammelled hedonism achieved an underground cult status that endures to this day. Having celebrated their thirtieth anniversary in 2019, DiY continue to challenge the idea that dance music is apolitical and to celebrate the ideology of liberation through fun.

Written by Harry Harrison, one of DiY’s founding members, this book traces their origins back to early formative experiences, describing in detail the seminal clubs, parties, festivals and records that forged the collective. Dreaming in Yellow is an attempt to distil the story of DiY’s tumultuous existence and the remarkably eclectic, outrageous and occasionally deranged story of them doing it themselves.

“Culturally, the most dangerous people in the country.” Tony Wilson’s In the City Music Festival brochure 1997

“If ever a name encapsulated an ethos, it was DiY. Set against swallowing the prêt-à-porter pleasures of consumer society – clubbers too militant about what they want, what they've paid for, their consumer ‘rights’ – they set out on an adventure that was simultaneously musical, psychic and social. An experiment in conviviality. No master plan or manifesto, other than: Do it yer'sen.” Scott Oliver, VICE Magazine

“Full of wild tales from the highest of times, this is the story of an intrepid crew of idealistic hedonists whose quest for freedom and joy created some of the peak moments of Britain’s rave counterculture.” Matthew Collin, author of Altered State and Rave On

“Harry’s hysterical tale of the adventures of anarchist pranksters DiY takes us on a sharp-witted, semi-mystical trip through the urban party dives of the north and the ancient pathways and sites of the southwest. Embracing the misfits and freaks it meets along the way with a massive hug, Dreaming in Yellow bounces somewhere between a magical memoir, acerbic cultural commentary and a rollicking rave story. It slaps us right back to a time of utopian and hedonistic counter-cultural exploration which, despite the acid spectacles of nostalgia, might just help us to reimagine the shitstorm we’re living through now. A riot, a scream, a fucking amazing party!”

Aaron Trinder, director of Free Party: A Folk History