Recess announces Drumsheds party alongside "large event" plans for 2024
Renowned as a "staple" of Black British nightlife, the show is set to the be the biggest since Recessland in Margate
The acclaimed nightlife series and champion of Black music Recess has announced it will be returning to its home, Tottenham, for a special Drumsheds show in early 2024.
Primed for the March 2, the Drumsheds show will be the biggest party that Recess has thrown following the success of its Recessland day festival in Margate to a buzzing 7,000 and a day event in Paris attended by a further 4,000 partygoers.
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Recessland marked the milestone of 100 parties since the beginning of one of London's hottest clubnights, ran by the minds behind the independent radio station No Signal which describes its broadcasts as "a time machine, taking you from the roots of Black music to the very edge of its future."
Recess was formed with the mission to "create an oustanding party that featured all the popular black music genres in well-known venues across the city," with the music "on point" and "accessible to everyone, ensuring it was not exclusive to any specific cohort or community."
You can hear everything at a Recess party from Afrobeats, amapiano and dancehall to house, UK funky and old school grime, or even hip hop.
Initial complications included venues resisting to host parties featuring Black music, citing prejudices against certain genres and "claiming they incited violence."
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Access to said venues were only granted on Wednesday or Thursday nights but thanks to the growth and success of Recess and other parties celebrationg Black culture this is no longer the case, with many of the old preconceptions dispelled.
In conversation with The Face, co-founder Jojo Sonubi said that it was "time for [Recess] to move from [the club] space into a bigger space," following Recess' initial success.
"There's loads of options for other genres. For the type of genres we operate in there's not that many festivals that have the same pulling power, or spending power that Wireless has. Or even good curation, d'you know what I'm saying? We're tryna be in that space, to be like: here's another option."
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Moving into the large event scene means that the regularity of Recess parties will drop, with only eight parties confirmed for 2024 so far compared to the whopping 25 events arranged in 2023. Fear not, however, as No Signal will be ramping up its parties to "fill the gaps left by the previous Recess schedule" according to the Recess 2024 manifesto.
Sign up for tickets to the Recess Drumsheds party on March 2, 2024 here
Tibor Heskett is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow him on Twitter