Abbey Road hosted its first rave, with Soulwax

Soulwax, Abbey Road, Rave recording 20th February 2026 — Soulwax at Abbey Road on 20 February 2026. The mission was for the band to record a new track utilising the studio’s vast collection of vintage gear and play it out during their set using an acetate cut in the building

(Image credit: Scarlet Page)

Since Abbey Road’s Studio One emerged from an extensive six-month restoration in early 2025, the air inside the world’s most famous recording room has felt different. Long regarded as a private sanctuary for cinematic scores and rock royalty, the studio is gradually starting to unbolt its gates, inviting the outside world into the cavernous space where the likes of The Beatles and Pink Floyd once stood.

Last Saturday night (20 February 2026) saw it transformed into a vibrating cacophony of sound. That’s nothing unusual for a space that consistently attracts musical talent from across the globe, of course, but this wasn't the sweeping, majestic resonance of an orchestral session, nor the melodic ghosts of the studio’s storied rock history. Instead, the birthplace of stereo and the site of the world’s first global satellite broadcast was playing host to 300 people witnessing another notable first: an Abbey Road rave.

The event, ‘Abbey Road After Dark’, represents a bold pivot for an institution that has spent much of its history hidden away behind a no-entry sign. It’s something that Mark Robertson, director of marketing, creative, and artist relations, has been eager to strip away for some time.

'Over the past few years, we've been really intrigued by how music intersects with other creative disciplines, whether that's film, games, photography or fashion,' Robertson explains. 'Abbey Road has always had this curiosity to try new things and reflect what’s happening. It led us to a place of, you know, why not? It almost feels like it's taking that sort of creative spirit forward.'

When it came to selecting hosts for the event, Robertson only had one name in mind.

'Soulwax were the only people I asked,' he admits. 'Seeing their live show is a reminder that they are true, creative pioneers. They're people who are intrigued, have a curiosity, who want to explore and experiment, and they're always moving forward.'

Brothers David and Stephen Dewaele’s dual identity as frenetic DJ duo 2manydjs and a bone-rattling live band was an irresistible combination. The goal was never simply to book a DJ set but, rather, to initiate a collaboration that would utilise the building's unique characteristics to create something entirely from scratch.

'Dave and Steph were just really excited about exploring the possibilities,' Robertson enthuses. 'They’re people that know music inside out, in terms of its history, and they know so much about gear. They’ve been true collaborators all the way through this.'

At Abbey Road’s first rave with Soulwax, and the build-up to the night

On the evening of the rave, at the centre of Studio One, stands a monolith of sound: the Deewee soundsystem. Inspired by the legendary array at New York’s Paradise Garage, it is the physical conduit for the night’s curators. Tonight the duo will appear as 2manydjs supported by fellow electronic pioneer Erol Alkan and musicians Laima Leyton and Nadia Ksaiba, who will deliver hour-long sets of their own.

Thirty-six hours earlier, however, the atmosphere at Abbey Road is one of focused intensity. The Dewaele brothers are three days into the production of a brand new, as yet untitled track, sitting in a suite overlooking Studio One. Flanked by a film crew led by filmmaker and graphic designer Bertrand Lagros de Langeron (aka So Me), who are documenting their residency, the brothers are in fine, reflective form.

'I think the scientific term was: “Fuck”,’ David Dewaele jests as he recalls his initial reaction to walking into the building. 'We’re music history nerds. We’ve got the books, the documentaries, we know the space. But then you come into this room, which we’d never really seen in person, and it’s like, “Oh, wow.”’

While Saturday’s event will be a club-focused experience, the days prior have fostered a sense of quickfire creative experimentation as a band. Backed by their signature three-drummer line-up of Aurora Bennett, Blake Davies and Igor Cavalera, the Dewaeles have taken up residency across Studios Two and Three. Their mission is high-stakes: to record a new Soulwax track utilising the studio’s vast collection of vintage gear and play it out during their set using an acetate cut in the building.

In Studio Two, the Abbey Road team have created three separate rooms within the main floor to capture the drums simultaneously, with the studio’s agile nature affording the duo a rare degree of flexibility. 'It’s insane,' Stephen states on the Friday prior to the rave. 'We thought today was going to be the day we would have to track more drums, and we did everything last night.'

Regardless of where they find themselves recording, a lack of preciousness means that the Dewaeles are often fully prepared to scrap their work on the penultimate day of a project should a better idea surface.

'We have enough distance, I think, from our own work,' David says. 'We're very quick at saying, “Well, that's just shit. Let's throw it away.”’

Since entering the studio on Wednesday, the process has been a race against time, utilising the full band to capture a specific, percussive energy.

‘The visceral part for Soulwax was always having a drummer up front,’ Stephen says of their unusual configuration. 'Seeing that visceral part of somebody beating the shit out of some drums and this idea of having not just one, or two, but three. They never really play the track together. They do alternate parts, which become one part and logistically it's really hard. But then we went into [Abbey Road], and it just went way faster than we thought.'

While the duo are no strangers to setting themselves strict limitations, this has been a tight balancing act.

'We set a mastering date before we start mixing,' Stephen says. 'I know the cut has to be done at 2pm; 2pm is the last we can do.'

'So 1.45pm is when we come up with a different song,' David jokingly interjects as Stephen shoots a wry glance towards Robertson and the assembled film crew.

‘The challenge was to maximise the stuff we don’t have access to [in our studio]. I mean, we don’t have the piano ”Lady Madonna” was played on’
David Dewaeles

For the Dewaeles, who constructed their own studio in Ghent a decade ago – a Glenn Sestig-designed base for their Deewee label –stepping into Abbey Road naturally meant abandoning their comfort zones.

'Everything in our studio is designed for our workflow to be as creative and productive as possible,' David says. 'Coming here, the challenge was to maximise the stuff we don’t have access to. I mean, we don’t have the piano “Lady Madonna” was played on.'

As a result, the brothers found themselves in the unique position of being students within the space. 'Everyone we've been working with has been so accommodating, but also very keen for us to push further,' David notes. 'They’ll say, “We've pulled out machines that some people didn't know they had.” It’s a two-direction thing; we’re showing them something and they’re showing us something. It’s not just: “Come into these hallowed rooms and we'll show you what to do.”‘

This technical exchange has seen the brothers experiment with sound through a Leslie speaker – traditionally used for Hammond organs – to see how it might warp a vocal or a synth. Having recorded vocals, drums and other instrumentation in Studio Two, renowned for its storied history with The Beatles, who recorded most of their music for EMI there in the 1960s, the brothers moved to Studio Three for the mixing stage, a room known for its precision and clarity.

Working in a space where it’s joked that Paul McCartney could be hiding behind any door requires a certain level of modest irreverence. An ability to set aside any notions of awe proved vital in Studio Two – while other artists might be paralysed by the knowledge that they are standing where ‘Sgt Pepper's’ was recorded, the brothers have deliberately kept the history at arm's length.

'I tried to stay away from it,' Stephen admits. 'If you go into it and you have that weight on you, it becomes very intimidating. And in a way, it should just be blank.'

A recording and performative high-wire act

For the 300 guests who won the Soulwax Rave Hotline ballot – a lottery that saw 8,000 hopefuls dial in for a chance to attend – the night’s live experience is defined by the Deewee soundsystem. Unlike the brothers’ Despacio system, designed in collaboration with LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy – a purist’s altar to vinyl and McIntosh amplification – the Deewee rig is an altogether different beast. Comprising four black, monolithic stacks, the system fills the immense volume of Studio One.

'It’s the first time we're going to use it in its complete capacity, because it's humongous,' Stephen states, though David is quick to provide a reality check: 'But it might not look humongous in this room.'

Even within the 4,844 sq ft sprawl of Studio One, the system is imposing. And it had to be. This is a high-wire act of the highest order: opening a headline set with a track that has been recorded, mixed, and cut to acetate just three hours earlier. This is music played back on a system the brothers hadn't yet heard at full volume, in a room that traditionally demands months of symphonic planning.

'We have no answer to this question,' David says of the looming technical tension. 'We're wondering the same thing – how’s that gonna work?'

Stephen is even more candid about the potential for disaster: 'That was the whole challenge of doing it. Maybe people will just walk away.'

They don’t.

At 11pm on Saturday, the duo arrive on cue, acetate in hand. There is a brief, ceremonial moment as Alkan steps away from the decks and the Dewaeles place the fresh plate onto the turntable. As the needle finds the groove and the thumping rhythm of The KLF’s ‘What Time Is Love?’ fades away, Studio One is soon awash in a pulsing, rhythmic architecture that existed as a mere idea just days prior. The crowd's reaction is rapturous, a collective roar that confirms the Dewaeles have pulled off another of Abbey Road’s fabled miracle moments.

By the time the final beat drops on Saturday night – albeit slightly earlier than planned following an interjection from Westminster Council – the experiment has proven a success. Abbey Road is still very much testing its own boundaries, moving from hallowed creative ground steeped in legend to a site of active, rapid-fire collaboration and, now, jubilant public-facing celebration.

'I think for us, we would never just want to be a venue,' Mark Robertson concludes. 'We'd always want to have a genuine collaboration. To have that genuine creativity and then share that with an audience so quickly, I think that's what makes it worthwhile.'

As the crowd disperses over the iconic zebra crossing, silence returns to the studio, if only for a moment. Abbey Road has facilitated a party quite unlike any other; a site-specific manufacturing of the evening’s guest of honour, cut to wax in a matter of days. Even after nine decades, there are still plenty of firsts left to be discovered within these walls.

abbeyroad.com

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