The return of the free dial-a-rave
- Text by Gabriela Helfet
- Photography by Phil Clarke Hill
Raves were born out of necessity, like most of dance culture we know and love today. From their beginnings in New York, Chicago and Detroit, before they swept across the Atlantic to Europe and beyond, these illegal disco parties have served as homophobia-free, racism-free, and sexism-free havens from the mainstream.
Unconventional off-the-grid spaces – rent houses, lofts, factories, abandoned underground stations, patches of grass in the middle of nowhere – became audio sanctuaries. Who you fancied or how you looked or where you came from didn’t mean a goddamn thing.
You didn’t know the line-up. You didn’t know whether your best friend’s ex-boyfriend’s sister’s cousin’s mother’s pet turtle was ‘maybe’ attending. You didn’t even know exactly where the party was. Here’s what you did know: a date, a city – possibly a meeting point near a motorway, if you were lucky – and a telephone number.
This year, Red Bull Music Academy are paying homage to those halcyon days, and throwing a free dial-a-rave in London, Saturday April 11, 10pm – 4am. Lineup and venue tba on the day.
And, on a real, this is 2015 not 1992, which means no flyers. Here’s what you do: Tweet #0800R1NG2RAV3. Check your DMs. Follow the instructions. Go to the address. Turn your phone off. Put your hair up. And get down. Sounds like our kinda party.
For more information on the 2015 RBMA UK/NYC tour and to find what’s happening near you, check out Red Bull Music Academy.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
What we’re excited for at SXSW 2026
Austin 40 — For the festival’s 40th anniversary edition, we are heading to Texas to join one of the biggest global meetups of the year. We’ve selected a few things to highlight on your schedules.
Written by: Huck
Wu-Tang Clan forever, and ever
The Final Chamber — RZA, the spiritual leader of one of the most important hip hop groups of all time explains why they won’t rest until their legacy is secured.
Written by: Yoh Phillips
On The Mountain, Jamie Hewlett’s Gorillaz explore life after death
Going East — As everyone’s favourite animated band release their latest album, the visual artist behind it all catches up with Josh Jones to chat about the grief and spirituality underlining the record, as well as his learnings from how other cultures approach death and the afterlife.
Written by: Josh Jones
Lisette Model’s ’50s jazz pictures were nearly lost to McCarthyism
The Jazz Pictures — A landmark new book edited by Audrey Sands uncovers nearly 1,500 photographs from the genre’s golden age previously thought to be lost. Featuring the likes of Billie Holliday, Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong, they tell both a story of music and resistance in the face of oppression.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Analogue Appreciation: Murkage Dave
Brut Thoughts — In an ever more digital, online world, we ask our favourite artists about their most cherished pieces of physical culture. Today, alt-pop chronicler of modern life, Murkage Dave.
Written by: Murkage Dave
Analogue Appreciation: Searows
Death in the Business of Whaling — In an ever more digital, online world, we ask our favourite artists about their most cherished pieces of physical culture. Today, Portland hauntologist Searows.
Written by: Searows
