Hello London,

What’s that smell in the air… wax?

Yep, it’s Record Store Day weekend, and my feed is flooded with pop-up vinyl events. So I tapped rising vinyl DJ and certified wax connoisseur Benebe (the mind behind Hoxton Cabal & Swedgers) to share his favourite record stores in London.

Onto the raves. House is still having a renaissance. So I had to dig a little extra hard(core) this week to find the standouts. Thursday is surprisingly stacked, but I’d point to our own Lab x Faded Open Decks. DJ slots are gone, but audience tickets are still up. Trust me, you’re in for a real treat this time. That’s all I’m allowed to say for now.

Friday, Sammy Virji at Ally Pally is fully sold out, but resale luck might be on your side. Trend Alert: SWANA artists take centre stage this day. Phonox will host an all-female lineup with Saliah, Deena Abdelwahid, DJ Haram and more, with 50% of proceeds supporting displaced communities. Over at M.O.T, things lean bass-heavy but still middle-eastern with Aleksandir and DJ Plead. If you want to stay out all weekend though, Star Lane is hosting their 8th birthday with a 46 hour party.

Saturday, you could do a full day at The Steel Yard with 90s trance icon Chicane, then drum and bass from Ed Rush, Optical and Audio. For techno heads, a daytime church rave, Necropolis Festival, is on the cards. Or you could risk it all with a secret venue event - Minus Pink. For something warmer, Manfredas and Paula Tape at Palais or El Búho at Colour Factory will be bringing the house down with a Latin-twist.

On Sunday, 160 Unity x Bumpah are bringing serious footwork heat to FOLD’s steam room. Or you could choose to wind down with Secretsundaze & Grace Sands at The Timber Loft.

See you on the floor,
Afaan

PS - We’ve been working behind the scenes to create a Lab.Club App. Sign up here for early beta access.

Record Stores Worth Their Wax, Curated by Benebe

  1. Jelly Records
    A really well-curated and broad selection of music while being remaining graded and reasonably priced

  2. Palace Vinyl
    Recently relocated to Brixton, has a huge club-focused collection with some rare finds and well-curated in-store events

  3. Love Vinyl
    Renowned for holding a broad selection of gems and regular guest DJ appearances from established selectors

  4. VDS (Vinyl Delivery Service)
    Has a fantastic international selection with a strong focus on Japanese imports covering a broad array of genres

  5. Phonica
    A London institution, especially when it comes to their selection of new releases focusing on club-ready sounds

London Raves This Week

Thursday

  1. Lab.Club x Faded: OPEN DECKS
    @ Lab.Club (Multi Genre)

  2. SKIP THE WARMUP: BRAVA, THEMPRESS + MORE

    @ M.O.T (Club, Footwork)

  3. Paradox Nexus: KT
    @ Palais (Deep House, Tech-House)

  4. Awaaz.ldn: The Butcher Bird, Pallavi + More
    @ Club Makossa (House, UKG, Techno)

  5. Heaven on Hertz: ARLYSS, Malur
    @ The Haggerston (Disco, House)

Friday

  1. Saliah b2b G33, Deena Abdelwahed, Dj Haram, Salam Kitty
    @ Phonox (UKG, Baile-Funk, Middle-Eastern Bass)

  2. Aleksandir, DJ Plead
    @ M.O.T (House, Garage, Bass)

  3. Kollektiv Turmstrasse, Innerstice, AVANTIME
    @ UNLOCKED (Techno, Deep House)

  4. Starlane 8th Birthday 46 Hour Party
    @ Star Lane Pizza bar (Deep, House, Minimal, Electro)

  5. Spekki Webu, Formant Value, TUSNIMAN
    @ Gaffe (Hypnotic Techno, Trance)

  6. Voigtmann [8 hrs set]
    @ The Lion & Lamb (House)

  7. Ceephax Acid Crew, Adam Curtain
    @ Thee Old Blue Last (House, Acid, Electro)

  8. Nickodemus + Souleance + Tigerbalm
    @ Hootananny Brixton (Latin House, Afrobeat)

  9. Hazaz Assembly
    @ Total Refreshment Centre (Live Electronics from SWANA artists)

  10. Sammy Virji [Resale]
    @ Alexandra Palace (UKG, Bassline)

Saturday

  1. Manfredas & Paula Tape
    @ Palais (Eclectic, Chuggy, Disco, House)

  2. El Búho & Dengue Dengue Dengue (LIVE)
    @ Colour Factory (Dub, Electronica, Global Bass)

  3. Chicane [Day Time]
    @ The Steel Yard (Trance, House)

  4. Ed Rush, Optical, Audio + more
    @ The Steel Yard (Drum & Bass, Neuro Funk)

  5. Necropolis Festival - Day Time Church Rave
    @ The Old Church (Techno, EBM)

  6. Anna Wall, DMC, KT, Phase O'Matic [Fundraiser]
    @ Next Door Records (Electro, House)

  7. Taito, Citytronix, Nohexcode, Modlar + More
    @ Secret Location (Techno)

  8. Exquisite Corpse: AAKAARA, Johana + More
    @ The Waiting Room (Techno, Industrial)

  9. HOUSEWERK: Adrian Tippets, Jazmyn Sadri + More
    @ Hoxton Cabin (Diva House, Hi-NRG, Detroit Techno)

  10. In Flight Entertainment
    @ Bar A Bar (Hard Trance, Hard House)

Sunday

  1. HEAVEE, Mantra, Tim Reaper + more
    @ FOLD (Footwork, Bass)

  2. Plants Can Dance w/ Brian D’Souza, Sofia Schnapp
    @ Number 90 (Workshops, Talks, Electronica)

  3. Secretsundaze, Grace Sands
    @ The Timber Loft (House, Deep House)

  4. Myriad Myriads aka Bass Clef + More
    @ New River Studios (Experimental, Electronica)

  5. Jaye Ward, Citizens Of Sound, NOYB [Free]
    @ Kings Arms E2 (Dub, Post Punk, New Wave)


    Jelly Records, London

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