No Tags

For 20 years, Mantra and Double O have been running Rupture, the London-based party that’s become guiding light for 160-inclined ravers. As any promoter will tell you, that’s a damn good shift.Next month they celebrate two decades with a book – We Are Rupture: Signals From The Heart of the Rave – which gathers stories and reflections from their community, from international pilgrimages to processing grief on the dancefloor.They’re also working on perhaps the world’s first junglist play, Ferry to the Underworld – a theatrical prelude to their London and Bristol parties this November. A play!The blurb for their book asks: why do we rave, and why does it matter now more than ever? That felt like too big a question to ask of Mantra and Double O on a Tuesday morning, but we did find out what makes Rupture such an unusual D&B night and what’s kept them going for two decades.We also pried into both of their individual histories: from Dubs bringing Detroit techno to the Doncaster Warehouse in the early ‘90s to Indi’s hippy-Sikh upbringing, and the chance Xbox Live encounter that led to their first ever party in – ahem – Windsor.Plus, in this episode’s lengthy intro: Tom and Chal return to the conversation about proteinmaxxed dance music and what makes a festival a festival, with added insights from the listener mailbag.Our next 180 Studios listening session takes place on 11 November with NTS residents Nadia Ksaiba and Sofie K! That’s sold out already, but you can keep an eye out nearer the time for resales. Follow us on IG if you want a better chance of nabbing tickets next time.We record and edit No Tags ourselves. If you like what we’re doing and want to keep us ticking over, you can subscribe to our paid tier or buy our latest book, Conversations on underground music culture Vol. 2. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Prospa, Josh Baker and Kettama’s Finsbury Park takeover sparks a deep dive into the rise of “protein-house”: tech-house, gym culture and aggressively straight party-boy energy. The discussion explores viral promo tactics, synchronized supergroup branding, clip-ready tracks and the algorithmic machinery behind DJ stardom. Plus, festival commercialization, sponsor stages and the elusive line between a festival and a brand activation.

What makes a festival a festival? Two seasoned attendees compare camping, glamping, corporate branding, DIY spirit and the elusive sense of communal participation. They trace British festival culture from hippie gatherings and free parties to today’s branded city parks, revisit formative festival memories, and debate which events truly qualify.

Henry Bruce-Jones, described as a zillennial savant and No Tags' 'third Beatle', guides listeners through fried corners of underground music. Short takes on Kelela, Charli XCX and M.I.A. segue into dub, northern electro and collage-style home listening. Dancefloor picks range from Rustie to Will Hofbauer, then global party rap, inventive UK grime and instrument-driven experimental records close out the report.

Lauren Martin, a music journalist and author of *Aftershock*, traces dubstep from Croydon’s early-2000s youth culture to its global breakthrough. She explores Big Apple Records, the DMZ crew, FWD>> at Plastic People, pirate radio, and the Dubstep Warz broadcast. The conversation also examines Bristol’s influence, the genre’s mutation, and what happened when its intimate underground scene exploded worldwide.

They dissect whether modern music promotion looks like a manufactured operation, from engineered viral clips to paid crowd stunts. They trace the rise of short-form content, clipping culture and creator-led seeding as the new promo playbook. They debate who actually runs these campaigns and whether flooding feeds with context-free moments corrodes authenticity.

Why be seamless when you can go KLANGGG? This week’s guest is living proof that doing things wrong, backwards, upside-down or simply not at all can reap creative dividends.We speak, of course, about Djrum. Recorded at our book launch at London’s ICA last December, our conversation with the Oxford-dwelling DJ-producer followed up on the wild acclaim for his 2025 maybe-opus, Under Tangled Silence.The interview starts at 48:00, but before that we debrief on some new music from old favourites. Is the spirit of 2011 still haunting dance music? We couldn’t possibly say.Look out for our third listening session at 180 Studios, to be announced soon! Our second book, No Tags: Conversations on underground music culture Vol. 1 is out now. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Sheffield punches well above its weight when it comes to tunes. From #1 synth-pop hits to underground techno classics, clattering industrial funk to accidental Britpop icons, the Steel City might have produced more brilliant music per capita than any other world metropolis.And yet, no one has published the definitive book on the subject – until now! Daniel Dylan Wray is one of the UK’s best music writers, and his new book Groovy, Laidback and Nasty: The History of Independent Music in Sheffield chronicles the maverick artists, chart invaders, parties, labels, venues and even Christian cults that shaped the city’s musical history.We talked to Dan about why Sheffield wasn’t swept away by punk rock but instead loved Kraftwerk and Wendy Carlos, how Peter Stringfellow became a crucial early mover in Sheffield’s club scene, and why there are no murals of Jarvis Cocker in the city centre. We also heard about the unlikely chain of events that birthed Warp Records, and one of the most important yet undersung ‘80s club nights, Jive Turkey.We also unveil a major expansion of our Rockufiction canon of ‘music films that bend reality’, including Frank Zappa, Daft Punk, Macca and S Club 7. That’ll probably be the final update on Rockufiction, but if you have any burning additions then get them in quick…As ever, if you like what we do on No Tags, please do consider signing up to our paid tier for a mere £5 per month! Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

The Q1 report is here and the charts are clear: buy underscores. 📈On this episode of No Tags, we talk through our favourite releases of 2026 so far – not to mention some music that we’re more mixed on but felt like it was worthy of discussion regardless.Before we get into it, on 5th May we’ll be returning to 180 Studios for our second session at their audiophile listening room. Following March’s session with Call Super and Parris, this time we’ll be joined by Al Wootton and Valentina Magaletti, collaborators in Holy Tongue and live bandmates in Moin, to play records from their collections and explore where their musical tastes meet. Tickets are on sale now, it should be a treat!If you discover something you love on this episode, why not send us a tip? We have a paid tier which allows you to support No Tags for £5 a month, and also gives you a discount on our book – which is out now.Discussed on this episode, in order:Maara – Ultra Villain (Naff)Zora Jones – Angel Crisis (Bellyfat)Kim Gordon – PLAY ME (Matador)Mandy, Indiana – URGH (Sacred Bones)Fcukers – Ö (Ninja Tune)2charm – star scum city (self-released)Slayyyter – WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA (Columbia)Charli XCX – Wuthering Heights (Atlantic)underscores – U (Mom+Pop)Sade Olutola – Arrow Heart (Rogue Collective)Shy One – Mali (Touching Bass)PACH – The Wake-Up Call (Peach Discs)SY3 – 梦游 Sleepwalker (Music from Memory)Simo Cell & Abdullah Miniawy – Dying is the Internet (Dekmantel UFO)Egg Meat – The most Pathetic poem is small people on fire (Mutualism)Mammo – Lateral (Short Span)Crespi Drum Syndicate – Colada Talk (Cinnamon Disc)Valentina Magaletti & Upsammy - Seismo (PAN) Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

We all know what sound is, but are we any good at describing it?This week’s guest is a musician, writer and one of independent music’s wisest observers. Damon Krukowski has been playing in bands since the ‘80s, drumming for dreampop originals Galaxie 500 and, for the past 30 years, fronting Damon & Naomi with his partner Naomi Yang.He’s also written three books about sound and its strange, intangible properties (most recently Why Sound Matters) and he's a proud member of UMAW, a cool young labour union for music workers.It was a privilege to talk to Damon about the full spectrum of sound – from noise pollution and sodcasting to the merch table, from the ‘red herring’ of intellectual property to the hidden value of hanging out backstage.Unsurprisingly he had several excellent movies to recommend to us, including one for all you Coen Brothers fans out there.Before that, we debrief our recent nights out and the last ever weekend at Corsica Studios, which could still be going as far as we know. We also hear your Rockufiction feedback and offer a hot new entry to the canon: Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe