Erol Alkan on the magic of ‘00s electroclash: “‘Sleaze’ isn’t a word I’m particularly a fan of”

As he announces a new book and gears up to play a huge London anniversary show, Erol Alkan has spoken to NME about his memories of legendary clubnights Bugged Out and Trash, and how the rush of the ‘00s electroclash scene is still having an impact today. READ MORE: 2ManyDJs: “David Bowie used to post on our web forum” DJ and producer Alkan has just emerged from two years dedicated to writing Trash: A Club, A Sound, A Home – an oral history of the scene-setting clubnight compiled of 70 hours of interviews with 39 figures from those who got on behind the decks and on stage there back in the ‘00s, combined with his own thoughts and memories of the era. Trash was best known for its connections to the 2000s scenes like the garage-rock revival, electroclash and new rave. Bands like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem, Peaches, Scissor Sisters, Bloc Party and Klaxons all performed there early on in their careers. It was first located in Soho, before moving to the West End. NME once described Trash as “the greatest indie crossover disco of all time”, writing: “The very definition of eclectic, DJ and founder Erol Alkan’s playlist – who ran the club from 1997 until 2007 – would skip around glee...