The Rotation Annual Garden Party has become a real event. Something that folks in the know plan for and look forward to. An intimate, boutique festival, it was founded by 2 friends, Dean Meredith and Ben Shenton. Dean is a dance music veteran, who started out DJing but made the transition into production way back in the late 1980s. Prolific, he’s employed a variety of aliases, dabbled in a several genres, but as part of the groups Bizarre Inc. and Chicken Lips he’s created both underground and big chart hits. 

Dean met Ben in 1999, at a monthly club night that Dean ran in Stafford, called “Stoopid”. Bumping into one another in this small, Midlands town, the boys bonded, and when Ben began making music as The Main Stem, Dean licensed their album, “Electric Church”, for Chicken Lips’ label, Lipservice. In 2010, the duo subsequently struck up a studio partnership. Again, they’ve assumed a few names, but the most successful of these is Mind Fair. Their debut, “Kerry’s Scene”, appeared on Balearic imprint, International Feel. Then in 2012 they launched their own outlet, Rogue Cat Sounds. Along the way hooking up with New York label, Golf Channel. With a passion for obscure vinyl and quality audio, it was only a matter of time before some of their considerable combined energy was focused into throwing a party. 

Dean remembers, “By the 2010s I had a young family, and any free time I had I was spending producing, but I was also thinking it would be nice to do something small, with a decent system. Just for our friends, really.”

With his brother Martin – “a mad Hi-Fi nut” – on board, Dean and Ben pulled together a couple of Klipsch Scala speakers, a vintage Yearland valve amp, a Revox reel-to-reel and a Bozak mixer. The first Rotation party took place at the No. 15 Cafe, Greengate Street, Stafford, on April 4th, 2013. Over a decade later, still going, far bigger, far stronger, Rotation now comes with its own tried and tested mantra: 

“Everything you’re about to hear is true.”

Taking David Mancuso’s legendary New York Loft parties as a major source of inspiration, the Rotation collective, which also includes Shenton’s artist brother, Oliver, set about fine honing their ideas and their sound. This saw them hold small shindigs locally at Oddfellows Hall, and further afield at the Manchester bar, Kosmonaut. Then in 2015 they put on their first garden party. Key to the Rotation plan was finding interesting, beautiful venues, and this inaugural event took place within Sugnall’s 18th Century Walled Garden. For the second they switched location, to the Grade II listed Georgian country house, Bishton Hall. There was a one-off held at the 11th Century, double-moated, Littywood Manor, in Bradley, but as they expanded the gathering into a 3-day, weekend long celebration, since 2022 Rotation has called Carney Pools its home. The party now housed in a giant yurt, the handiwork of Tobias Fairlove, and powered by a 6-way system. Something that Dean and Martin are constantly upgrading. 

To celebrate 10 years of the garden parties, Rotation have joined forces with Leng Records to mark the occasion with a fantastic 14-track compilation. The tunes have been selected by Dean, Ben and the Wrekin Havoc crew – Richard Hall, Robert Johnson and Stuart Robinson – friends who’ve been involved in Rotation since close to day one. 

Most of the finds are of European origin, from Germany, France and Belgium. With a significant detour toward Italy. This itself is almost an act of inclusive defiance in today’s troubled political climate. There’s the odd beloved Balearic Beat classic – see Luc Van Acker & Anna Domino’s “Zanna”, and Michael Heart’s surefire party-starter “Some Girls” – but the vast majority are obscurities, secret weapons. If you want cosmic, then look no further than Moondata. 

Sorting through 45s, 12”s, album cuts, private pressings (Colourfool’s harmonica’d “Hey You”) and hand-stamped white labels, Rotation’s selectors demonstrate a quite honestly crazy devotion to digging. Seemingly continually unearthing new and “new old” tunes.* If you were to search for original copies, some would be as cheap as chips, but many are most definitely not. J Dalton’s “Game” is a fine example of Italo that’ll break your bank, while the tag on The Quick’s “One Light In A Blackout” is a tad more reasonable. 

Much of the collected mid-tempo, boogie bumping could be classified as pop. Dance floor dynamite discovered in unexpected places. Certified stars, such as Roger Ronning and Jean Louis Murat, rub shoulders with also-rans, like Amy Cooper, but all of these forgotten, non-chart-topping moments strut their stuff seamlessly alongside the guaranteed groove of Yeah Bo!’s South African kwaito and Gregg Brown’s US indie funk. Every track is a cherished Rotation favourite, with stories and memories attached.

Talking to Dean I’ve become incredibly aware of the amazing amount of commitment and care that goes into Rotation, ensuring that everything, from the location to the catering, from the sound system and the DJ line-up, even folks transportation and accommodation, is just right. The team of people behind this event basically put a whole year aside to make sure their patrons’ weekend is perfect. The people who attend the party are, as they arrive, instantly aware of this. The yurt is a very special environment. As result, largely by word of mouth alone, the event has grown. Go once, you’re certain to return, and bring some friends with you. It’s in the construction of this community, something so important in our increasingly divisive times, that Dean, Ben, Martin, Oliver, the whole Rotation posse, plus the partygoers themselves, should be most proud. 

*Friends of Rob J can attest and confirm.

Rotation Sound System Presents Everything You’re About To Hear Is True Vol 1 can be ordered directly from Leng Records.

This year’s Rotation Garden Party takes place between July 18th and 20th. You can find more information on the Rotation website and  purchase tickets here.