Our first trip to Printworks

Last weekend we took our first trip to London’s latest clubbing hot spot to see what all the fuss was about.

Printworks is a 6000 capacity warehouse space in Canada Water that was previously used as a newspaper printing facility. Promoters LWE have teamed up with record labels and festivals to host some of the finest DJs on the planet inside the giant venue. Nina Kraviz described the place as “mind-blowing” while Adam Beyer said playing there was a “truly awesome experience”.

After seeing all the amazing reviews we decided it was time to check it out ourselves. Hot Since 82’s ‘Knee Deep in Sound’ label hosted the all-day event and featured sets from Mathias Kaden, Butch, Matthias Tanzmann and label owner himself closing the evening (with this cracking tune).

Everything about the venue is raw, from the wooden pallets used as tables in the smoking area to the huge industrial air vents running overhead. The outdoor area itself was clearly a car park or loading bay that now has seating and a few food stalls selling burgers and chips.

It’s difficult to articulate just how big the main room is – it’s MASSIVE!! Larger venues or festivals tend to lose some of the energy and atmosphere due to the sheer size of the place and the amount of people there. But not at Printworks. The main room is LONG (according to an RA Podcast, at full distance it can reach 100 metres!) but it’s narrow so it contains the intensity of the crowd. It took an age to weave between the thousands of sweaty dancers to get to the very front but it was worth it to see the vast sea of people behind.

The second room, The Charger Bay, was a much tighter and more intimate place to dance. The surroundings were just as mechanical and a far-cry from the modern day clubs. There’s no glitz and glamour and no fancy cocktails. Simply a great sound system, an insane light display (as seen below!!!) and some unrefined techno to match the environment.