Champion & Highsnobiety Celebrate 30 Years of Rinse
As the clock strikes 8 PM, the boundaries between electronic music’s past and present converge into a euphoric fusion of sound, light, and spirit. And so, too, does the Village Underground as it roars to life. Against the dense, hot, beat-stricken air, an intoxicating mix of jungle, grime, and techno floods the speakers. Bodies slick on the dance floor, and overhead lights pulse, washing the crowd in a sea of cerulean blue. Jewel-adorned mini dresses catch light via the throbbing strobes, and throws of fresh blowouts whip around at the sight of a camera flash. The sounds of hard, staccato techno punctuate the blue haze. Transfixed by the energy of the dance floor, hundreds of dance enthusiasts sway collectively with the music—all turned towards the DJ.
They say at the core of every good rave is the DJ. Functioning as the heart, their pulsating beats course through the veins, resurrecting city dwellers with a renewed sense of vigor on the dance floor. On this very night, it is the OG Rinse FM collaborator Katy B who fills this role as the rave’s beating heart as she presides at our state of transcendence. To the London-born creative, DJing is not simply about sampling from a series of best-of lists, but rather it’s about creating a specific mood, leveraging a collective set of emotions to create a one-of-one moment. It all boils down to the science—one wrong track choice and the set flatlines.
“This is such a milestone for the station, and I can't wait to honor the [legacy] of Rinse with my set,” Katy beams from the dimly-lit underground green room. “When Gee and I were first coming up in the club scene [in the early 2000s], it was such a pivotal moment for UK music with the rise of grime and garage. So I definitely want to illustrate that and play some nostalgic hits that pay homage to that time.” Sitting on a red leather couch, as the thunderous beats from Lu.Re’s set rumbles overhead, she reminisces about her first interaction with Geeneus. Laughing, she recalls receiving a MySpace message from the then 28-year-old DJ. After exchanging a few messages back and forth, Geeneus invited her to attend one of Rinse’s famed raves later that weekend.
Since that fateful night in 2006, the two kindred spirits have been an inseparable creative force. After building a cult fanbase on air, Rinse FM expanded its pursuits to encompass a music label, Rinse Recordings imprint. The label first saw chart success when Katy B released her vivacious debut, On a Mission, which spawned two top-five hits on the UK Singles Chart. The rest, as they say, is history. Since then, Katy has been a fixture in London’s dance scene, blasting out at raves (Rinse organized and otherwise) down the full stretch of the country for almost two decades now. At the forefront of counter-culture, the station has always pushed an alternative to the mainstream account of music. And it is this fresh perspective and trailblazing spirit—along with the work of artists like Katy—that have propelled the station to the leagues of industry heavyweights today.
“Rinse FM has had a massive influence on my artistic vision,” she adds. “Especially with the radio station in the same building as the studio, all of this amazing creative energy feeds into each other. I’m never short on inspiration because I’ll go into the building, and the team will be playing new music and championing new artists.”
Thirty minutes later, Katy winds back up the stairs, taking her place behind the decks. She is calm and methodical in her DJing, weaving through the origins of grime and garage with early noughties pop hits. As she transitions her track, “As I,” to Fuzzy Logik’s “The Way You Move,” Geeneus steps out from backstage to join her. Wearing the limited edition Highsnobiety x Champion x Rinse t-shirt, he dons a pair of headphones and gets to work. The crowd erupts into a riot.
As music’s grandmaster once told us, “There’s not a problem that I can’t fix—‘cos I can do it in the mix.” Indeep’s seminal track, “Last Night a DJ Saved My Life,” distills a love for DJs and their celestial powers that still resonates with those who seek refuge on the dance floor today. And this past weekend, inside a restored Victorian warehouse in East London, there was certainly no shortage of saviors. Calling on Rinse regulars Arthi, Ella Knight, Lila, and Lu.Re to DJ, the all-female line-up brought out the energy and invigorated the attendees.
To commemorate the station’s lasting legacy, Champion and Highsnobiety pulled out all the stops, inviting London’s movers and shakers to help usher in the dawn of a new era for Rinse. Partygoers filled the blue-lit club space, downed tequila shots, and locked lips in darkened corners as techno reverberated off the venue’s brick walls. In between the oscillating strobes and clouds of Elf Bar smoke, we caught glimpses of musicians Nikita Adiranova and Papi Abz turning it up on the dance floor, model Daisy Jelley grabbing a drink at the enclave bar, and social creator Lea Ogunlami huddled in the ten-by-ten-foot smoking area with some friends, recapping the whirlwind LFW24 season.
Under the heat of the club lights, there was a palpable sense of yearning for the early days of the rave and the role Rinse played in it. It feels emblematic of both the future of rave culture and Rinse FM. Sure, you can lose yourself at the rave but don’t forget those who got you here.
