DJ Mag • 19th March 2026

Bristol’s Club395 co-founder vows to continue championing grassroots arts and music after venue closure

Ridwanul Kabir Shakib, a Bangladesh-born creative producer and co-founder of Bristol’s Club395, has vowed to continue supporting grassroots arts and music in the city despite the venue’s recent closure. The cultural programmer better known as Ray recently secured a five-year UK Global Talent Visa following a successful appeal. Their initial application was rejected in January, despite their prolific championing of emerging talent via the arts space they took over with Bristolian rapper Kwazi thr...

Resident Advisor • 22nd January 2026

Woman sentenced over Guy Gerber rape allegation files appeal · News ⟋ RA

Rolling Stone UK • 4th December 2025

Come Together: Girls Don’t Sync

Unapologetic in their drive for inclusivity, Girls Don’t Sync are redefining the gender balance of lineups and dance floors across the UK and beyond. In their time together, these four friends have evolved from a DJ collective into full-scale artists. With their radical reshaping of ye olde sausage fest, they could well be the Slits of the rave scene, urging the unseen, unheard, misgendered, violated and abused to claim their space. They’re sparking a movement, platforming new talent and mentori...

The Quietus • 27th November 2025

Organic Intelligence L: The Legacy of Bollywood Disco Legend, Bappi Lahiri | The Quietus

Draped in his signature gold chains, velvet jacket, and glittering bracelets, Bollywood’s flamboyant disco king Bappi Lahiri would have been basking in the limelight of his 73rd birthday this week. Born in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, the prolific composer who electrified 80s India with his disco-infused anthems died on 15 February 2022, leaving behind a legacy that democratised music by bringing Western beats to Indian streets – sounds previously only accessible to the elite – and reshaped the coun...

Rolling Stone UK • 20th November 2025

'I wanted to use my voice for the voiceless': DJ Snake on Nomad - Rolling Stone UK

EDM-Trap screeches through the cavernous hangar at Paris-Le Bourget Airport as 2,000-plus fans bounce in unison to the warm-up DJ. Behind the open-air stage, a private jet emblazoned with Snake’s new album title NOMAD glints under the industrial lights. DJ Snake is about to make an entrance, and the crowd is waiting for him to alight from the jet and step onto the stage any minute now. He eventually does, to rapturous applause from the roaring crowd. Fans have been waiting for this moment fo...

DJ Mag • 14th November 2025

Documentary on Sister Nancy, Jamaican dancehall icon behind ‘Bam Bam’, set for London screening

A documentary about dancehall trailblazer Sister Nancy is being screened in London this month. As part of this year’s Women of the Lens Film Festival – a four-day event celebrating Black women in film – Alison Duke’s Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story will be screened on Thursday, 20th November, at the Garden Cinema in Holborn. The multi-award-winning documentary, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in New York last year, celebrates Sister Nancy’s incredible legacy by telling the story of her...

The Quietus • 13th November 2025

The Strange World Of... Lovers & Lollypops | The Quietus

Two decades and 150 releases since their formation in the Porto underground, Lovers & Lollypops has grown into one of Europe's most vital connecting points for DIY culture. Anu Shukla charts their story so far via 10 key releases, from early makeshift gigs with battered soundsystems to the thriving community of today It only took Lovers & Lollypops co-founder Joaquim Durães a decade to clock what had happened: the defiant DIY label he and Márcio Laranjeiras had spawned in Porto’s abandoned corne...

Rolling Stone UK • 10th November 2025

DJ Snake 'Nomad' review: finding emotion in chaos - Rolling Stone UK

Following two platinum albums (Encore and Carte Blanche) and over 30 billion streams, Nomad represents the next chapter in the global DJ Snake experiment. EDM-trap oracles and ravers know he can deliver festival-shaking bangers: tunes like ‘Propaganda’ and ‘Turn Down for What’ prove he can shell a system good and proper. Nomad features tracks tailored for mass appeal but also reveals the duality of thriving in both commercial and some scene-rooted spaces. Stand out tracks include ‘Patience’,...

Resident Advisor • 22nd October 2025

New documentary on West Bengal sound system culture sets London premiere · News ⟋ RA

DJ Mag • 9th October 2025

Gaza flotilla: Berlin venue Oyoun founder released from Israeli prison as Björk calls for "safe return" of detained childhood friend

Despite threats, she said the crew maintained radio contact with Israeli forces, insisting their mission was legal under international laws including the San Remo Manual, the Geneva Convention, and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Around 2 AM, she said Israeli forces boarded their boat. “Dozens of soldiers pointed guns at us with lasers on our chests. They took over the boat, kidnapped us, and brought us to Ashdod port.  “We endured severe dehumanising violence, physical and...

DJ Mag • 3rd October 2025

Berlin arts venue Oyoun founder Louna Sbou detained after Gaza flotilla intercepted

Louna Sbou, CEO of Berlin cultural venue Oyoun, is among 450 international activists detained after Israeli naval forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla on Thursday, 2nd October. The flotilla was carrying essential supplies to Gaza, including baby formula, medicine, and clean water. In a pre-recorded Instagram video, Sbou said: “If you see this video, I have been abducted by the IOF or similar and have been taken to Israel against my will.” She urged the German government to act immediatel...

DJ Mag • 9th September 2025

Berlin arts venue Oyoun founder joins Global Sumud Flotilla for Gaza

The CEO of Berlin-based BIPOC arts collective and venue Oyoun has joined the Global Sumud Flotilla to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.  Artistic director Louna Sbou will sail with more than 50 vessels in the largest civilian-led maritime convoy in history. It unites global networks like the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and the Global Movement to Gaza, carrying trained crews and volunteers, including skippers, medical staff, humanitarian aid workers, content creators and public fig...

DJ Mag • 28th August 2025

New sound system musical explores London's 1970s Black power movement

The production has set this intention with a programme of school workshops in collaboration with HighRise Theatre and the Black Cultural Archives. "The aim is to inspire young people to continue the fight against oppression while learning to protect themselves – to find the balance and make the right choices about when to stand and fight and when to safeguard their humanity," said Klein-Mekongo. Shaw builds on this ethos with a score inspired by the energy of the Black Panthers. Reflecting on wh...

Resident Advisor • 12th August 2025

New book Minor Keys investigates gender inequality in electronic music · News ⟋ RA

Resident Advisor • 23rd July 2025

Beatport launches mobile stage to support emerging DJs amid venue closures · News ⟋ RA

Resident Advisor • 13th July 2025

Read a Q&A with Brixton Academy founder Simon Parkes about new London play, Brixton Calling · News ⟋ RA

DJ Mag • 2nd July 2025

Smash Repression: how Italy’s free party scene is fuelling a protest movement

Basslines pierce the air and coloured smoke swirls skyward as the sun breaks through the clouds over Lake Garda in Brescia, Italy. It’s Saturday, 10th May, and in the lakeside town of Desenzano, thousands of peaceful protestors have gathered around stationary rigs for the Garda Street Parade. They’re preparing to march alongside sound system crews Circus Bandits and Red Moon Music in the name of social justice and against state repression.  It’s a scene that’s becoming increasingly familiar in I...

Resident Advisor • 16th June 2025

Just 22 percent of 2025 Ibiza bookings are female or gender fluid artists, new study finds · News ⟋ RA

DJ Mag • 22nd May 2025

Peshay leads fight against "copyright abuse" following legendary mix takedowns

A Change.org petition was launched by Pye and Peshay earlier this month, calling for an end to “abusive copyright strikes on legacy music”. As well as linking to a video showing Shazam-based evidence that ‘Links’ was created by The Chameleon, aka Mark Pritchard and Tom Middleton, the petition calls for penalties to be given for repeated fraudulent copyright claims, and for reforms to YouTube’s counter-notification process. At the time of writing, the petition has been signed over 2,300 times.  S...

DJ Mag • 19th May 2025

Play inspired by 1992 rave at Castlemorton debuts this summer

A play about the infamous rave at Castlemorton in 1992, told from the perspective of the area’s locals, is set to premiere in the nearby town of Malvern this summer. The Last Free Rave is the work of first-time playwright Rachel Tobin and will debut on Saturday, 9th August at the Coach House Theatre as part of the Malvern Ink and Curtains Festival. Tobin, who's lived on Castlemorton Common for 20 years, told DJ Mag that the production opens with voice recordings of locals reflecting on the free...