Last week, inside a former piano factory in East London, four musical outfits from London and Berlin took to the stage for a raw, uncompromising live music showcase of original tracks set to projected live camera visuals. Organised by Sabina Hellstrom, frontperson of London-based group Bande á part (who performed with special guest Zilcho Hamblin), the event also saw performances by The Midnight Audience, End of Europe, and Tabac Rat. In this article, we exclusively share a video documenting the event filmed by Alexander Schipper alongside imagery taken by Angela Ricciardi.

The concept for the gig stemmed from the musicians’ meeting at Stefano Gallici‘s Ann Demeulemeester FW24 show in Paris. During his time at the fashion house, Gallici has cultivated and curated a community of exciting young talent whose sonic output reflects his romantic vision. Within this world, artists have met, shared ideas, collaborated and formed a network of like-minded individuals committed to creating visceral, impassioned and poetic music.

“The idea for this night started when I wanted to showcase my band’s music in the way we wanted to be perceived rather than the usual gig,” Hellstrom tells us. “Shortly after I met the Berlin boys during the Ann Demeulemeester show in Paris. Seeing as we had many mutual friends and they were coming down to London to play some shows we were both down to play, I came up with the idea of a raw showcase of our bands inspired by London and old Berlin’s post-punk music scenes from the late 70s to late 80s.”

Speaking on the need for DIY locations and community-led spaces, Hellstrom says: “It seems there are groups across the world slightly starved of what I feel the London music scene only has to offer at the moment. That’s why spaces like these and our grassroots venues are so important, it’s all being shut or torn down. A close likeness to the location we used here is Hinterraum in Berlin where The Midnight Audience operates and puts on shows. I want it to be bigger, I want it to stretch across the world, the people want it. It’s now up to us to do our work and show it to the world. And that’s the thing – we are all just starting out.”

Bande á part is a London-based rock band that thrive on confronting, reverb guitars, pulsating basslines and resounding drums. Led by musician, poet and writer Sabina Hellstrom, the band has barely started yet has already sold out famed venues in London and hosted radio shows on New York and London airwaves. They are set to release recorded music this year, and Hellstrom is also publishing her first poetry book Ode.