Graeme Park will be part of the team bringing Hacienda Classical to Kenwood House tomorrow (Friday). Photo: Jack Kirwan

THEY were tracks that originally came from Detroit and Chicago, spun out of genres such as disco and garage – and then made the dance floor rocking in the clubs and warehouses of England in the late 1980s.

The anthems that provided the soundtrack to the Acid House explosion became intrinsically linked with clubs such as Manchester’s Haçienda. And now, nearly 30 years after this explosion that was to change the face of Britain’s youth culture, the seminal tunes of the period are being re-imagined by two of the proponents who gave them to ravers in the first place.

Original Haçienda DJs Graeme Park and Mike Pickering still play “Haçienda” nights, even though the original club, of course, no longer exists. And for the past three summers, as well as their usual DJ gigs, they have been reviving the music that was the soundtrack to a movement, with the help of a full orchestra and choir. Hacienda Classical will be at Kenwood House tomorrow evening (Friday).

“There has been a real resurgence in the cultural impact of the place in the last 10 years,” says Graeme.

“We found when we DJ’d at club nights under the Haçienda name, there would be people who used to go to the original Haçienda that came along, but the club nights were also going from strength to strength and the crowd were getting younger.”

It meant people who had never set foot in the famous Manchester venue would show up, and gave Graeme and Mike a fresh challenge.

“We have this heritage that people are aware of and we saw younger people getting increasingly interested in what it was about,” says Graeme.

“I have DJ’d literally every weekend since 1984 and I have always wanted to play new music and things I had discovered. And when the crowd becomes younger they are there to hear good DJs playing a good mix of music. And this meant I was getting to play a range of both the old and the new.”

Trying to balance the need to stay true to their Haçienda roots yet offer something that will sound fresh to their audiences – and keep them interested as DJs – was something they would think long and hard about.

The answer was to reproduce some of the greatest tracks they’ve ever played, but do it live and using an orchestra. Hacienda Classical was born.

“We didn’t want to piss off the original Haçienda fans, as they are important to keep happy, but we are always looking to do something different,” says Graeme. “So we got thinking, how can we do this?”

The inspiration came at 5am after a gig.

“We were going into a hotel lift and out stepped two people carrying cello cases,” he says.

“One of us said: ‘Wouldn’t it be something to score classic House music for an orchestra?’”

From there the idea took off. They brought in conductor Tim Crooks ands drew up a set list, as if they were DJing, with ideas of how they could turn seminal electronic dance classics into something an orchestra could recreate.

This meant finding ways to take drum fills, basslines and vocals to create a score for traditional instruments.

“We chose tracks and Tim arranged it,” says Graeme.

“It worked and the reception we have had was brilliant.”

Now into its third year, the set list has expanded to include a huge range of tracks they like to drop as DJs. And they have added a pair of turntables, a synthesiser and a sampler.

“This allows me to bring in parts spontaneously,” says Graeme.

“We have played places like the Royal Albert Hall and now we are coming to Kenwood. We are really looking forward to it. All the best gigs are outside – it’s what the summer is all about.”