Gen Z are grappling with what it means to club. For Bristol’s next-generation ravers, that means looking back in order to move forward, like the head of Janus, sparking a decisive rebirth of old skool principles with renewed energy and presence. This generation has drawn on the Free Party Movement of the late eighties to early nineties, and today’s undertaking carries the same rebellious spirit, with wide eyes and an even wider embrace.
Step back six years: COVID-19 lockdowns slammed the brakes on Gen Z’s introduction to partying, disrupting a formative moment when friendships might otherwise have taken place on dancefloors. Yet that enforced pause—growing up isolated or online—gave DJs and collectives the time to reconsider what was worth carrying forward from previous generations. Among this new guard, jungle and hardcore pioneers Elysium are creating a future for electronic music that’s spunky, hopeful, and sensitive, all rooted in a free-spirited philosophy.
Artists, promoters, and the constellation of creatives orbiting Bristol’s rave scene take a keen interest in physical culture beyond the Spotify taste matrix, something essential to the shared euphoria of the dancefloor. Collector’s Cave record store is one of the physical places that creates a point of connection. Found next door to Mickey Zoggs, Noods radio’s broadcast HQ and another local favourite, this is where DIY release nights unfold alongside a vinyl archive that keeps the city dancing. It’s also where I first encountered some of the DJs from Interlude.
Inspiring key players in the scene, the young jungle collective Interlude operates as a DJ trio—Ell, Spooks, Rubix—putting on nights under the Elysium banner with their motley crew, including DJ Doubt, Sierpinski and more. The collective promise vinyl all night long and sure as hell deliver it without compromise. Whether it’s rattling the walls at Venue MOT in London or reimagining the interior of Exchange in Bristol with strobes and DJs dropping ecstatic mixes on the floor, it becomes a natural non-hierarchical choice that engages the community on the same level, the same way a rave would.
These artists are already gaining recognition further afield. Rubix’s “Bass Beat Bang” is racking up significant IRL spins, including a play at Glastonbury 2025. That momentum comes partly from its distribution method — records sent through the post to other DJs the old school way.
The difficulty of finding a digital trace of that moment is a reminder of the screen’s fallibility too. Immediate and corporeal, the track is lively and stirring, built on a drum beat that (albeit unintentionally) evokes the racing pulse of the Lola rennt soundtrack. It makes you want to jump.
Interlude share a love for the music and a respect for each other as the only obvious tenets of their nights. The intimate size of the venues Elysium tends to use for their own ticketed events makes access limited and more special: exclusive without the problems that word might imply. Under the wing of veteran promoters including Distant Planet, this next generation quickly learned the ropes and graduating to bigger spaces.
There’s an interesting tension between building community in physical spaces and Gen Z’s constant phone addiction—thank you Instagram—and, of course, growing up online. Yet the digital promos these DJs create for their events don’t contradict the playful, intelligent approach of their club nights and sets. In fact, fun still sits at the center, taken seriously with palpable rigor on and off the dancefloor.
Pulling back from social media can feel like a triumph for some, but it also functions as proof of existence—an easy website or point of contact between ravers past and future.
While other events sticker phones in an attempt to change their emphasis, Elysium leaves space for choice. An event photographer is present at the parties, so there’s no need to snap your own selfies. Sharing online still supports their creative ecosystem. Elysium isn’t instructive about phones. But it’s the kind of night that makes you forget everything else except the music, and be relieved there are some photos to show for it afterwards.
Some tracks make the best sense in a club or a rave, where bodies are slicked with sweat. Artists might connect on the internet, but they live the full story on the dancefloor, night after night. Even for a generation born online, bodies in motion still shape music.
Lead photo credit: Eddy Hubble