Meet Bala Club, the young collective who refuse to play by the rules

When asked where the perfect Bala Club event would take place, the trio chat about doing a juggernaut party at London’s 02 arena, Endgame gassing that Young Thug would headline and Kami giggling that it’d be sponsored by Ciroc. This highlights their cheeky, tongue-in-cheek humour and then Uli-K strikes a soulful chord, something that’s just as important to them as jokes: “Honestly? The party would be at someone’s house. Just being with friends. Someone dropping tunes. I feel like super family vibes, man. That’s what we’re doing at Bala Club anyway.”

There’s hints of that in the room when Uli drops a live set at Health Mate, a neo internet café in North London, on April 8. It houses a bespoke events space in its basement, all low neon light and wood paneling. It feels like the luxury chillzone of a millionaire’s mansion, but with cheap drinks served across a makeshift bar in the back and music to make your mind and heart melt played out across a modest but capable system. Malibu and Organ Tapes are also on the bill, with Kamixlo and Mechatok playing an impromptu, surprise back-to-back. Later in the month they’ll organise another official Bala Club rave at infamous East London rave den Bar 512, with a stellar line-up topped by a special guest from New York, Juliana Huxtable. And in May they'll head just up the road to Tipsy to host an afterparty for Yung Lean. They seem to move across London as a team at night, deploying their vision with precision.

It’s working. Their parties are helping to bolster a London club scene that’s slowly but surely coming out of a deep obsession with house and techno. Their love of reggaeton and kizomba has inspired an interest in slower tempos among dancers and producers who might not have been acquainted with those genres before (the influence of Kami’s 2015 smash ‘Paleta’ on certain areas of underground club music is undeniable). And they’re feeding into a slipstream of artists making out-there tracks that engage in a range of emotions and are meant to be played not just in the club, but across the whole of your life. Rage. Pain. Lust. Euphoria. Bala Club bares all.

“Be honest,” Uli-K says. “That’s the key. If you’re dishonest with your music, it’s not going to be valuable in a year.”

The compilation drops, six months solidified.

Today, Kamixlo's in Seoul, finishing off a tour of Asia at Cakeshop; Endgame's just dropped the first cut from his Hyperdub EP and is prepping for a string of North American shows and Uli K is fresh from premiering a new video with Yung Lean.

You can feel the momentum and it'll only continue. 2016, year of Bala Club.

The next Bala Club party is on July 15 in London

Endgame's 'Flesh' EP on Hyperdub arrives July 22

Seb Wheeler is Mixmag's Digital Editor, follow him on Twitter

Vicky Grout is a freelance photographer based in London, follow her on Instagram