Few brands in British dance music carry the weight of Godskitchen. The name itself came from a simple observation by founders Chris Griffin and Tyrone Matthews, who noticed that the best house parties always seemed to gravitate around the kitchen, and reasoned that the very best parties of all must be held in God’s kitchen. From that starting point in the mid 1990s, the brand grew out of Northampton in May 1996, filled the 1,500 capacity Planet in Coventry on a Friday night, took over the 2,000 capacity Sanctuary in Digbeth, and in 2000 opened its own superclub in Birmingham, CODE, later renamed AIR. By 2001 Godskitchen had launched GlobalGathering at Long Marston Airfield, and over the years that followed it grew into one of the defining brands of UK trance, shaping the careers of a generation of DJs and the listening habits of an entire audience. The brand retired in 2016, and now returns to Birmingham on Bank Holiday Sunday, 24 May 2026, with a day and night takeover across multiple venues in the Digbeth Triangle.
Few people are better placed to look back on that history than AJ Gibson. One of the founding members of the brand and one of clubland’s most loyal and long standing resident DJs, AJ spent his career in the booths Godskitchen built, sharing line-ups with the biggest names in the scene and helping shape the sound of the rooms from the inside. His reputation as a DJ rests on an eclectic musical style and an ability to play alongside world class artists from any genre of dance music, qualities that earned him the closing set at Godskitchen’s last ever club event in 2016, an invitation extended personally by the brand he had spent his career representing.
His focus has always been the crowd. After more than twenty years behind the decks, AJ has made the move from the dance floor to the studio, with a run of club records on Vandit, Rielism, Perfecto, Discover, AVA, and Universal Nation, alongside a series of remixes of classics from the era. The work has been steady and well received, and he is quickly becoming one of the more in demand producers working in the space.
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Last Night On Earth invites Reset Robot back for his latest EP ‘Simple’Ahead of the Birmingham return, we asked AJ to pick the twenty tracks that, in his view, shaped Godskitchen. Not the biggest records by chart position, or the ones the wider world remembers, but the records that defined the rooms, the sets, and the sound of one of British clubland’s most important brands. What follows is his list.
Nalin & Kane – ‘Beachball’ (Tall Paul Remix)
This was one of the first trance tracks that really stood out when electronic music started becoming a bigger part of club culture.
BBE – ‘Seven Days And One Week’
Whistle and clapping all the way with this track.
Mory Kanté – ‘Yeke Yeke’
This is a trance classic that any clubber will know. It destroyed dancefloors around the world and still does to this day.
Mauro Picotto – ‘Pulsar’
This was a huge anthem at Godskitchen. Mauro later became a DJ who regularly played for us and still does to this day. It brought a different sound into Godskitchen, and it really worked.
Marc Et Claude – ‘LA’ (Moonman Remix)
A massive breakdown full of energy. Ferry Corsten’s Moonman alias delivered something special with this remix.
Filterheadz – ‘Yimanya’
One of the finest moments in trance. Schulz seemed to turn everything into gold at that time. Masterful.
Reflekt ft. Delline Bass – ‘Need To Feel Loved’ (Adam K & Soha Remix)
Seb Fontaine made this a huge dancefloor record. It became one of those tracks that connected with everyone.
Three ‘N One pres. Johnny Shaker – ‘Pearl River’
A timeless classic with great vocals and a really well-produced sound.
DJ Randy – ‘Pandemia’
A great track with rolling acid lines that kept everything flowing. It always got a huge reaction at Godskitchen, even without vocals. Just a brilliant underground sound.
Tiësto – ‘Traffic’
I remember Godskitchen being one of the first clubs to book Tiësto. Three years earlier, while playing in Tel Aviv, I was told to keep an eye out for him.
Rui Da Silva ft. Cassandra Fox – ‘Touch Me’ (Double 99 Club Mix)
This was huge. Everybody played it during the superclub era.
Push – ‘Universal Nation’
When this emerged in 1998, trance was really starting to take off across the UK. It became huge at Godskitchen and had a massive breakdown.
DJ Misjah & DJ Tim – ‘Access’
A full-on dancefloor destroyer that featured heavily in my closing sets at Godskitchen.
Agnelli & Nelson – ‘Everyday’ (Lange Remix)
Lange delivered some incredible remixes and played Godskitchen many times. He did a huge amount for trance during the early years.
Marco V – ‘Simulated’ (John O’Callaghan Remix)
Trance was in full flow by this point. Marco and John both played the club regularly, and ‘Simulated’ rocked the place every time.
Giuseppe Ottaviani – ‘Through Your Eyes’
Giuseppe came through the Vandit camp and made a huge name for himself with his live performances. He was always a favourite at Godskitchen, and this track is pure trance.
John O’Callaghan – ‘Big Sky’
A huge anthem for us at Godskitchen with a massive vocal.
Atlantis – ‘Fiji’ (Lange Remix)
Another incredible remix from Lange, with one of the biggest reactions I’ve ever seen at Godskitchen when it was first played.
Signum – ‘What Ya Got 4 Me’
This became one of the defining sounds of the later Godskitchen sets, with a huge emotional breakdown and proper hands in the air moments.
Tony De Vit – ‘The Dawn’
Tony played a lot back in the day and helped shape the dance music and trance sounds we hear today. This track brings back a lot of memories from Godskitchen.
Tickets are still available for Godskitchen Birmingham via https://www.skiddle.com/festivals/godskitchen-birmingham/
Godskitchen takes place in Digbeth Triangle including XOYO Birmingham – Tickets via here
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