Underground club host changes track
A team behind popular club nights is adding vinyl to its lineup, spinning a special event to get punters back into the Adelaide dance scene.
Adelaide’s underground events brand Friends Rave – known for hosting some of Adelaide’s most popular club nights – is converting to a record label, with its first EP and vinyl release launching in Glenelg this weekend.
Friends Rave was born out of a love for electronic music in 2019, co-founder Blayke McMillan told CityMag.
He fondly recalls the group, made up of mates who worked in music events, throwing dance parties at some of Adelaide’s favourite venues like Sugar, 1000 Island, and Roxie’s.
For Blayke, the shift from events to a record label is much-needed after Covid decimated the dance scene.
“Pre-Covid, in the electronic music scene in Adelaide at the time, there was a lot going on… Roxie’s was a really cool hangout spot, Sugar was quite popular,” he said.
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But now, with Sugar and 1000 Island closed, and Roxies demolished to make way for student accommodation, the team have switched gears to capture the spirit of Adelaide’s underground dance music scene in vinyl.
“There was a big adjustment period in terms of how people were approaching nightlife,” Blayke said.
He said that while they were still running events under the name Friends Rave until 2023, the lack of interest put their future “up in the air” which led to the rebrand and record strategy.
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Friends Rave is officially launching their debut as a record label this Saturday at Closer Record Store in Glenelg, with a free listening party for McMillan’s six-track EP, The Wave Experiment. Exclusive vinyl of the EP will be available on the night.
The event will also include guest musicians DJ Freckles and Gwilym, who will be spinning vinyl played through the store’s iconic Funktion-One speakers.
The cult-status speakers are known for their extended throw and tight response.
McMillan said that the record label is “an interpretation of the underground scene that is present in Adelaide, the underground dance music scene”.
He said that they chose to launch at Closer Records because of the store’s commitment to the culture of music and the support of its owner Glen October.
“It translates to all over the world, there’s record stores all over the world that breathe the same sort of air that Closer does. It’s almost like a little portal to heaps of places in the world because of the culture that it’s supporting”.
Closer Records is located at 1B Rose Street, Glenelg, and the free listening party starts at 6pm this Saturday January 24.
