It’s that time again! Broke Magazine is back with a lil’ taster to round up our flavours of the month from the jam-packed July just gone.
Read below to Get To Know:
Voices Radio Station
From Monday through Sunday every week, ‘Your favourite DJ’s mum’s favourite radio station’ Voices stream live from their base in Coal Drops Yard, channelling the sounds of 300+ residents from across the globe. This community station showcases emerging grassroots talent next to established artists to provide an almost-24/7 broadcast of genre-diverse music and meaningful discussion.
The Voices radio waves are surfed with a spectrum of sounds from ambient and jazz, through postpunk, afro beats, indie or Italo disco, onto hardstyle techno and breaks – along with everything that comes in between.
Nocturnal takeover Voices At Night (endorsed by Pirate.com) brings together artists and guest speakers for moonlight entertainment and insightful conversation. Monthly Podcast Mondays also cover a multitude of topics to talk music and influence awareness around prevalent sociocultural issues.
Joining forces with non-profit organisations Pollination and Safe Passage UK, Voices are involved in the fundraising event series Open Culture: No Borders, where panel talks and a multi-genre lineup take place to raise proceeds and advocate for those seeking asylum across Europe, particularly unaccompanied children.
Voices are an active supporter of industry creatives, offering paid opportunities to more than 50 freelancers and sorting members out with a discount on Pirate Studios bookings. They provide a number of workshop programmes, one led by DJ Priya focusing on uplifting people of colour and the global majority of individuals interested in learning to DJ through mentoring and developmental resources.
Partnership with Body Movements festival, which celebrates queer bodies in electronic music, and event collab with culture-led creative agency KRPT further establish them as a Voice for the community and underrepresented groups within it.
Not only do Voices present a stereophonic splendour through the soundwaves, their platform is also used to address and combat significant and problematic social issues, on top of making inclusive space for musical creatives at all skill levels in their limelight. Rest assured we will remain firmly tuned in to the Voices channel to soundtrack our weekly wanderings.
BeeYou Label/Part
The buzz around BeeYou in the UK house music hive has seen DJ/Producer Laidlaw’s Ibiza-brewed pipedream manifest into one of the scene’s favourite record labels and event series.
Launching as a vinyl-only label in 2018 with the release of BEEY001 Nectar EP, they have since produced a sweet selection of serious (bees)wax, accompanied by the later addition of digital sister label Pollen. Their roster of artists boasts seasoned selectors such as Rossi, Casey Spillman and ADMNTi.
In 2021, the wake of the lockdown snooze saw dancers swarm to shake a leg to the bouncy beats of BeeYou Records up and down the country, as a range of highly anticipated parties began ‘spreading love and happiness through the form of dance music’ at community locals Star Lane Pizza Bar (East London), The Loft in Manchester and Leeds’ Mint Warehouse.
A colourful array of themes – The Queen Bee’s Dirty Disco, The Acid ‘Honey’ House Experience and The Mad Hatter’s Bee Party – create an inviting atmosphere brimming with vibes and funky attire, forming a space for people to express and BEE themselves to the sound of wobbly house tracks infused with acid and garage influences.
A festival partnership with Hide and Seek, Spring Series at The Pickle Factory and ventures overseas to Venice’s After Caposile are among the numerous notches in the BeeYou belt on their flight so far.
The latest excursion Honeycomb Studios is a platform calling DJs and Producers at all levels to learn how to make music, use hardware and improve their production skills. We can’t wait to see what opportunities this programme has in store for up-and-coming artists of the era.
The bee symbolises community, brightness, and personal power – and BeeYou embodies this energy through their productions, parties, and people. We are certain the vibrant Beeyou family is only set to grow and further pollinate the scene with their ‘made with love and honey’ manifesto.
TB to when we chatted to BeeYou Boss Laidlaw about his pre-set rituals …
Huns n’ Roses Collective
Annie Get Your Hun, and get to know these gorgeous hype girls, who’ve been ‘livin, laughin n loving since 2020’, solidifying a presence as the life and soul of any party they touch down into.
The LGBTQIA+ inclusive DJ and event-hosting collective, pioneered by a group of lovely ladies, has spread far and wide across the UK festival scene, bringing along a dazzling array of tunes and activities injected with nostalgic noughties vibes; did someone say Lady Gaga Dance Workshop?
The Huns n’ Roses girlies had their first festival set up at Come Bye in 2022 (complete with catwalk runway, of course) and have since been spotted running riot around Glastonbury, Secret Garden Party and one of the Head Huns Alice Joly’s baby, Divine Risen Festival.
At Stowaway, the Huns were spinning alongside esteemed artists such as Orbital and Nightmares On Wax.
The Hun festivities also sparkle throughout the capital city, with a Hunday Service at The Hand Of Glory, and collab with bespoke hand fan designer House Of Huns for nights of Hunbelievable Liberation complete with ‘iconic bangers, cocky T’s and gorj tacos’ at Stoke Newington’s bar Doña.
Huns n’ Roses glittering services have been generously ‘Giving Everyhun The Stage’ at weddings, hen dos, Christmas parties, whatever the occasion … even making an appearance at Maya Jama’s Halloween bash!
These beauties have breezed through the scene like a breath of fresh air, bringing beats and energy that we always want to catch on a fezzi lineup.
Everything about Huns n’ Roses aligns with our Broke ethos – we adore seeing girlies uplifting one another and spreading love through good tunes and good times!!