WATCH: MAGIC CASTLES & SLACK’S SENSORY OVERLOAD

In the late eighties and early nineties, an underground movement of free parties began to gather momentum during dance music’s genesis — one centred around a celebration of experimental music and the bringing together of people through their shared passions.   

 The Slack Crew were a collective that ran from the years 1992 to 1995, hosting free parties with a key aim: championing togetherness, freedom and music. In the process, this led to a deep exploration into the fringes of electronic music, with psychedelic branches of techno, house, acid and disco brought to the beaches and abandoned warehouses in Sussex.  

 Magic Castles is a label steadfast in its celebration of alternative music and its associated subcultures, something epitomised by their monthly podcasts on Soho Radio titled “Adventures From Beyond”. This season, Magic Castles partners with the Slack party consortium to celebrate this niche, yet pivotal, period in underground music. Magic Castles borrows artworks from zines and flyers of the free Slack parties, resulting in a bold collection that epitomises the label’s psychedelic aesthetic.