Abbey Road Hosts First-Ever Rave
Abbey Road studios in London will host a rave for the first time in its history. The legendary recording space, forever associated with The Beatles, is opening its doors for a dance event that organizers hope will preserve the studio's unique atmosphere while showcasing the intersection of club culture and classic music venues.
- The event, called "Abbey Road After Hours," was curated by the Belgian electronic duo Soulwax, who also performed a DJ set under their alter ego, 2manydjs. - In a unique twist, Soulwax recorded new music live in the iconic Studio Two the day before the rave, which was then cut to vinyl in-house and debuted for the audience in Studio One the next night. - The rave took place on Saturday, February 21, with the unusually early hours of 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. - Attendance was highly exclusive, with only 300 to 340 guests in a space that can hold a 100-piece orchestra. Reports indicate that around 4,000 people attempted to secure a spot. - To get tickets, hopeful attendees had to call a special "rave hotline," a throwback to the method used to discover the locations of secret raves in the late 1980s and early 1990s. - The event featured the first major outing of the custom DEEWEE Sound System, a speaker array based on the iconic system from New York's legendary Paradise Garage nightclub. - The rave was held in Studio One, the world's largest purpose-built recording studio, known for recording the scores to films like *Star Wars*, *Raiders of the Lost Ark*, and *The Lord of the Rings* trilogy. - Opened in 1931, the studio building is a Grade II listed historic site, meaning it is protected from major alterations, a status granted in 2010 after threats of a sale to property developers.
