This month, the elusive, up-and-coming south London DJ known only as Love Remain is feeling like he’s come full circle. He’s been preparing for his headline live show at Fabric, the first club he ever went into. “I was 18,” he tells me, before quickly revealing that this is, of course, a lie. He was 17. Fabric’s bouncers are a lot stricter these days, but the club’s musical halls are just as hallowed as they were back when he first snuck in.
“It’s really amazing,” he says, “I went with my management to look at the venue [ahead of the gig] and to just walk around there in the day, it's nice to see it. It felt strange going in there when there's no one there. It's somewhere I've been in loads - I’ve always had aspirations of playing there and being able to do my own thing.”
Fabric isn’t until April 17, but this weekend, Love Remain has got quite the warm up planned. He’s on the billing for Drumsheds’ second iteration of The Hydra, a specially curated all-day rave held in Tottenham’s old IKEA-turned -15,000 capacity superclub. This version of The Hydra is curated by Brighton-born electronica musician Bonobo, and Love Remain is nestled among some of the most innovative DJs in electronic music right now. With names such as DJ Koze, Kerri Chandler, DJ Tennis, Mall Grab, and Salute leading the list, they’re also pretty established.
By comparison, Love Remain’s ascent is just beginning, but he’s quickly becoming one of the most exciting forces among London’s music scene. For his Friday night playlist, he includes his own track LDN GIRLS (Gboyega’s Theme), an impossibly catchy ode to the women of London that is sure to soundtrack countless Londoners’ summer nights in the city. The song is a dual love letter, to women but also to his friend Gboyega, who sadly passed away last year. Before he died, Gboyega and Love Remain worked together on LDN GIRLS one Friday before heading to their pre-weekend pub of choice, Molly Blooms, a “proper boozer” on Kingsland Road, Dalston. This weekend, Love Remain will be broadcasting the pair’s anthem to a room of 15,000 people.
Below, Love Remain curates this week’s Friday night playlist, listen here. He plays Drumsheds on March 31st.
Aretha Franklin - Rock Steady
Toots & The Maytals - Pressure Drop
Adam F - Circles
Love Remain - LDN GRLS (Gboyega’s Theme)
Joy Orbison - Flight Fm
