Hedonism is back! From drag nights to micro-raves, heres where to party in London – Evening Standard

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t was during either my third or fourth live-streamed DJ set, not long into the pandemic, when I broke down in tears. I wasnt alone and in the months that followed, too many of my fellow DJs began to hang up their headphones. Many people in the scene retrained; it felt like the game was up. But fast forward to today and as people emerge from the cocoon of Covid restrictions, the rest of the year is somehow shaping up to be one of the most exciting, vibrant and even revolutionary times in Londons club scene for a generation.

The hunger to go out has never been greater and the desire for different experiences than what we had before is palpable. After years of stasis, a new generation of talent has finally broken through plus everyone is looking kinda amazing out there at the moment, which I put down to the inordinate amount of naughty club wear bought during dull lockdown days. So take this VIP wristband and saunter through whats new in 22.

Sex sells

Queer House Party

Probably the most interesting party in London right now is Crossbreed, a rave that celebrates kink and sex positivity. Its staggering popularity reflects the story of our shifting sexual attitudes a story which, frankly, everyones too busy having fun to tell right now.

Motivated as much by activism as hedonism, Crossbreed parties (crossbreedworld.com) offer both top DJs and purposeful spaces for sex. No surprise, theyre absolutely not for everyone. Uncomfortable with queerness? Not for you. Scared of wearing something provocative? Dont bother. Unwilling to take onboard issues like consent, white male privilege, neuro-diversity or the basics around pronouns? Stay home. Trust me.

As a signifier of the huge community it has created, and the general desire for nights that are both progressive and pervy in a consensual way Crossbreeds parties have tended to sell out in minutes. So from February, they will be held weekly at Hackney Wicks Colour Factory (8 Queens Yd, E9, colourfactory.com), which is currently being overhauled to accommodate a permanent playroom, a sweet new soundsystem plus an erotic installation from filmmakers Four Chambers. Theres a simultaneous spike in popularity for like-minded events such as Meat, Thorn, HTBX and HOWL (which are nomadic nights, but will also appear at Colour Factory), or established parties like LGBTQ+ fetish night Klub Verboten (which likewise moves around, with venues released on the day) proof that Londoners crave human adventure more than ever. The next Klub night is on February 18, with another two planned for March. Another not to miss is Queer House Party (@queerhouseparty), who play regularly across town; theyre next at The Garage (20-22 Highbury Corner, N5, thegarage.london) on February 26.

Four to the floor

If you havent been out in too long, heres a warning that the tunes are likely far harder and faster than you might remember. London has gone techno mad in the last few years and a fresh wave of female DJs are leading the hardcore charge. Pay attention when you see Saoirse, Loraine James, Elkka, Peach and Or:la on a bill, to name just a few, while venues such as Phonox (418 Brixton Rd, SW9, phonox.co.uk), E1 (110 Pennington St, E1W, e1ldn.co), Pickle Factory (13 The Oval, E2, ovalspace.co.uk), Fold (Stephenson St, E16, fold.london) and Venue MOT Unit 18 (Surrey Canal Rd, SE14, @venuemot) are typically able to scratch any techno itch.

Its also worth noting that London has its own non-male festival coming in April to various venues across Hackney Wick: Risen (ra.co) will celebrate the divine feminine, which according to festival director Kitty Bartlett signifies the energy of all the amazing women, non-binary and trans individuals across the entire music industry, who are fighting against the traditional patriarchal structures that clearly arent showing any sign of weakening after the pandemic. Risen also has a frankly outrageous amount of DJ talent on its line-up already, including Jayde Ward, Scarlett OMalley, Amaliah and more. If youve seen that price list doing the rounds online that charges straight, white, cis men more for entry, then youre already onto what Risen does.

Play safe

Feel It

Its ironic that as trends gently hark back to the Nineties heyday of renegade illegal raving think fast breakbeats, bucket hats, trance-evoking artwork and a Cyberdog-ish contrast between noir and neon clothes the reality is that the warehouse party era is, sadly, well and truly over. One positive byproduct of things being more legit is that security is slowly getting much better in clubs many London promoters are doing the work to educate security staff to: not assume gender, treat people whove overindulged with care (and not like criminals), and smile and listen, rather than to shout and intimidate. As a general rule of thumb, check to see if a club has a respect policy posted online. Im proud of Little Gay Brother (littlegaybrother.com), a queer night Im a resident at, for doing great work in this area. Im also proud that at their NYE bash, the dancers did a routine that reimagined a Downing Street party fortified by poppers rather than M&S finger foods. If youre into Little Gay Brother, try the weekly nights they host with Jodie Harsh, Feel It. These run every Friday at Omeara (6 OMeara St, SE1, omearalondon.com) from 10.30pm. With nights stretching until 5am and last entry at 3am, its one for those looking to go the distance.

Drag never drags

Having flown the flag for a certain lineage of tongue-in-cheek, east London drag for more than a decade, last week Sink the Pink (sinkthepink.com) announced its last ever party on April 15 (tickets sold out in 10 minutes, but theres a resale happening in April). And while that side of town is still the heartland check out Mimis at Bethnal Green Working Mens Club (42-46 Pollard Row, E2, workersplaytime.net) these days you dont even need to be east to experience east London drag culture. In the former cells of Bow Street Magistrates Court, in the heart of Covent Garden, sits Common Decency a spanking new late-night lounge bar under the Nomad Hotel (28 Bow St, WC2E, thenomadhotel.com). Adding to the bars mischievous air and cocktail-fuelled giddiness, inveterate DJ huns including Bestley and Jonjo Jury, plus drag icons such as Maxi More create a mood as stellar as the names who passed through the cells in its previous incarnation: Wilde, Westwood, Kray, Pankhurst and even Doherty.

Tear up the usual

Charlie Bones

If the tyranny of unchanging tempos and the hegemony of that 4/4 hntz-hntz sound leaves you cold, refresh yourself with the polar opposite by seeing Beiruti record collector Ernesto Chahoud and London hero Charlie Bones throw down at their wild parties at Peckhams Well Seasoned (95a Rye Lane, SE15, peckhamlevels.org). Both Chahoud and Bones come with boxes of truly divine and obscure records from a sweltering mix of styles breakneck blues, psych rock, gritty disco and Arabic jazz and then purposefully throw them down with a gleeful disregard for the dull convention of beat matching. It makes every song an explosive event, and combined with their genuine, non-dickish boisterousness, makes for a great party. The pairs latest gig has just passed, but Charlie plays next on February 18 at Well Seasoned, and you can follow his Instagram @doyoubabyyy for show updates. Chahouds next gig is at Dalstons Jago (440 Kingsland Road, E8, thejagodalston.com), when he presents the Beirut Groove Collective & 60s Rebellion. Hes on @ernesto_chahoud.

Other destinations for escaping conventional dance music include DJ nights at Cafe OTO (18 Ashwin St, E8, cafeoto.co.uk), late-nighters at arts space Ormside Projects in Bermondsey (32 Ormside St, SE15, ormside.co.uk), and coming up soon General Echo Sounds punk special in Walthamstow on Feb 11 (61 Tower Hamlets Rd, E17, @generalechosound). Incidentally, if you ever feel adrift from the sounds of London DJ culture, dial in Londons galaxy of amazing radio stations: Rinse, Balaami, NTS, Worldwide, Amateurism, Soho Radio and Charlie Bones own Do!! You!!! Channel would all be a wonderful way to start.

Go big or go home?

Printworks

London still has big spaces made for big nights out, but they are getting fewer and fewer. Vast post-industrial playground Printworks (Surrey Quays Rd, SE16, printworkslondon.co.uk) remains an incredible destination, while stalwarts such as Egg (5-13 Vale Royal, N7, egglondon.co.uk) and Fabric (77a Charterhouse St, EC1, fabriclondon.com) gave themselves a cheeky mid-pandemic refurb the latter boasting a whole new look to Room 2. Meanwhile, after three decades dancing, the Ministry of Sound (103 Gaunt St, SE1, ministryofsound.com) is still a thing; each week, theres something on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

London loves little

TOLA

Still, what the city currently excels at is intimacy: small events in small venues that create a big, big mood. At late-night parties at Spiritland Royal Festival Hall (Belvedere Road, SE1, spiritland.com), people tend to arrive at the same time, stay to the end, and then leave as one like a church congregation. Theres not a constant churn of punters coming in and out. Instead you always build a rapport with people around you, a bit like a party on a desert island. Its a genuinely lovely vibe, even before you factor in the honey-dipped soundsystem, delicious cocktails and their expert DJ programming which takes in Lakuti and friends on March 12 and Severino and Josh Caff on March 18.

Similar spots that boast world-class DJs in unnaturally small spaces include The Gun in Hackney (235 Well St, E9, thegunwellstreet.com), TOLA in Peckham (56 Peckham High St, SE15, tolapeckham.com), NTs Loft in Dalston (1 Westgate St, E8, ntloft.co.uk) plus Lion and Lamb near Old Street (46 Fanshaw St, N1, thelionandlamb.co.uk) where Fabrics Craig Richards and friends often perform beguiling techno hypnosis in a space smaller than most superclubs cloakrooms. Another spot to look out for is an ornate former chapel called Stone Nest on Shaftesbury Avenue (136 Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D, stonenest.org). Wildly influential DJ and producer Joy Orbison has just launched a monthly Thursday session there called Just For You. Its free entry but get there early theres only space for 250 dancers.

Hopefully see you at the next one in February, and frankly at all the places mentioned above. And never on a DJ livestream, ever, ever again.

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Hedonism is back! From drag nights to micro-raves, heres where to party in London - Evening Standard