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Rave

© Alan Lodge

Joyous photos from the heart of the UK’s radical free festival movement

Common Grounds — The photographer has been capturing British counterculture for the past half century. A new exhibition looks at his archive sitting at the intersection of music, community and grassroots protest.

  • Culture
  • Miss Rosen
© Cheyenne Clementi & Valentina Morandi

Grainy, yearning memories of Europe’s ’90s free rave heyday

Never Alone — A new photobook from Cheyenne Clementi and Valentina Morandi presents pictures they made over seven years while touring the continent as part of the Tekno Mobil Squad soundsystem crew. It archives parties, people and a lifestyle largely consigned to the past.

  • Music
  • Isaac Muk

Sepia splashed memories of Britain’s ’90s squatting and free party scene

Bygones — Moving into a Hackney squat at the age of 19, Tom Hunter spent years living on London’s edges, while documenting the vibrant, creative community and culture that it enabled. Huck’s art director Sam White chats to him about the freedom that existed, the collectivism and what’s been lost over the decades since.

  • Culture
  • Samuel White
DJ with headphones operating green-lit turntables in dimly lit booth, motion blur on hands from mixing records.

The story of World Headquarters, the beating heart of Newcastle’s underground

Refuge & ruckus — Sprouting from free party roots, the nightclub institution has been an inclusive pillar of the North East’s music scene since the early ’90s. Olivia Fee dives into its long history, evolution, and ongoing importance.

  • Music
  • Olivia Fee
Two images: Left shows person in winter ski gear with colourful clothing display. Right shows figure in blue mask, light blue top, striped trousers against red backdrop.

An interview with Jonny Banger, Huck 82’s Artist-In-Residence

Sports Banger — The fashion designer, rave thrower, DJ, MC and much more touches down in our latest issue to talk about his discipline-spanning work, the importance of action, and recommend some cultural gems.

  • Huck 82: The Music Issue
  • Josh Jones
Performers in colourful traditional costumes under bright green and red stage lighting in an indoor venue with exposed ceiling beams.

The rave exploring New York and New Jersey’s hidden crevices

Nocturnal Creatures Society — Founded in the wake of the pandemic, the underground party uses the Tri-state Area’s dense urban forest as a playground for its community. We spoke to photographer Matteo Cassina, who has been documenting it since its early editions.

  • Huck 82: The Music Issue
  • Josh Jones
Woman with surprised expression next to person in red cap, surrounded by crowd at nighttime event.
© Tony Davis / Museum of Youth Culture

World’s first youth culture museum is opening in London

Music, subculture and style — The Museum of Youth Culture will be opening in Camden in December, with 6,500 sq ft of space.

  • Culture
  • Isaac Muk
Two people in costumes illuminated by red and green lighting in dark indoor space with metal framework structures.

As Italy’s rave culture faces crackdowns, a cyberpunk citadel fights to survive

Mutonia must stay — Having fled the UK in the face of increasingly oppressive Thatcherite laws, a collective of artists and musicians eventually found a home in an abandoned quarry over three decades ago. Now, they may have to move once again.

  • Culture
  • Marco De Vidi
Black and white image of man in dark jumper with arms outstretched, yellow text overlay reading "hush presents Analogue Appreciation"

Analogue Appreciation: For Those I Love

Carving The Stone — In an ever more digital, online world, we ask our favourite artists about their most cherished pieces of physical culture. Today, it’s post-club producer-songwriter For Those I Love.

  • Music
  • David Balfe aka For Those I Love
Two men standing in courtyard surrounded by concrete residential buildings with white arched balconies and tall tower block behind.

We took techno legend Chris Liberator to a virtual rave, here’s what went down

Stay acid forever — With VR experience In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats currently running at London's Barbican Centre, Simon Doherty brought the acid punk figurehead along to see what he thought, and reflect on the health of the rave scene today.

  • Music
  • Simon Doherty
Crowded festival site with tents, stalls and an illuminated red double-decker bus. Groups of people, including children, milling about on the muddy ground.
© Alan Tash Lodge

New documentary revisits the radical history of UK free rave culture

Free Party: A Folk History — Directed by Aaron Trinder, it features first-hand stories from key crews including DiY, Spiral Tribe, Bedlam and Circus Warp, with public streaming available from May 30.

  • Music
  • Isaac Muk

Portraits of revellers at the birth of Northern rave culture

Party on — British photographer Steve Lazarides’s new book, Rave Captured, is a snapshot of defiant fun after a time of economic turmoil.

  • Culture
  • Ella Glover

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