Room 1, Fabric

XLR8R is offering current and new XLR8R+ subscribers free passes to Picnic’s 8th Birthday, taking place at Fabric, London on Saturday, March 14.

All you have to do is SUBSCRIBE HERE, then email xlr8r.plus@xlr8r.com with your name and “Picnic” as the subject. If you are already a subscriber, you can simply email in. Learn more about XLR8R+ and the ethos behind it here.

After eight years in the game, London’s Picnic is celebrating with one of the best lineups we’ve seen in London in 2020. Francesco Del Garda, Laurine & Cecilio (Slow Life), Christian AB b2b Quest, and Andy Luff all make up the bill in the famous Room 1 which has hosted some of the world’s finest selectors since the clubs inception in 1999.

Picnic Started off in 2012 throwing illegal raves in the Vaults down in Hoxton. They booked the likes of Priku, Christain AB, Harry Mcanna, and Rich Nxt during their time there and it’s a location they look back at with fond memories. Room 2 was used as the smoking area, with Room 1 providing an ideal backdrop for the music—essentially it was a blank canvas that the crew could do what they wanted with, bringing in huge sound systems and a crowd who loved to get down.

Christian AB playing at the Vaults back in 2012.

Since then, they’ve dipped in and out of a host of London venues, utilizing intimate spaces with quality systems all stemming from the ethos of the party, as co-founder and resident Andy Luff states: “We just wanted to take what we do in our bedroom and give it to our friends.” This then evolved into throwing a rave down in the Hackney woods and hiring a half-ton generator only for the police to show up just as the first track was being played.

With the co-founders, Andy and Tom Ashplant, both working full-time jobs, those types of financial hits are not easy to take, so they left the risky business of illegal raves behind, going onto host an infamous after-party in a hilltop villa in Ibiza, as well as gaining a year-long residency at 93 Feet East in London, where they booked some of the finest names in house, techno, and minimal. They’ve also taken the Picnic brand across Europe, including to Culture Box in Copenhagen, the now unfortunately closed down, Parker Lewis in Mannheim, Veronica Ship in Amsterdam and one of the finest spots, in Berlin, Hoppetosse. Their first label release is also due on February 28, with Swedish producer Martinez. It’s available to pre-order here as a vinyl-only release.

After eight years and more than 50 events, they will now debut at fabric with a killer lineup. Don’t miss out on this special offer.

You can find out more about XLR8R+ here.

Tickets for the event can be bought here.

The latest edition of XLR8R+ explores Portugal’s thriving dance scene with tracks and content from DJ Nigga Fox, RS Produções, BLEID, and Serpente, plus artwork by Márcio Matos. Listen to the tracks here.