Right now, Sydney is entering a new era of nightlife. The red tape and restrictions that once earned us accolades like “10th worst city in the world” are being replaced with late-night licenses, city-wide festivals, and new venues keen to tap into the government’s grand scheme for a 24-hour city.
The freshest addition to Sydney’s exciting new age is LABEL. Opening this week, LABEL. is a far cry from what we’ve come to expect from a nighttime venue.
Basically, forget everything you know and get set to embrace something totally new: a multi-purpose warehouse-style spot that's part-club, part-bar, and part-art space, with an in-house recording studio, an outrageous festival-like sound system unseen anywhere else in Sydney, and, best of all, artists, music, and community at its core.
Taking over the former Valentine's reception lounge on Pittwater Road in Brookvale, you could argue the first outside-the-box thing about LABEL. is its location. Sitting on the fringe of the Northern Beaches industrial stretch, LABEL. joins a brand new collection of breweries, distilleries, and cafes making Brookvale one of Sydney's most electric up-and-coming culture precincts.
Behind LABEL. is owner Kieran Bailey (Tropikana), as well as marketing director Jake Bulgin, and artistic director, Sydney-based producer Alex Preston.
The trio says their vision for the space, "has always been to create a community space that celebrates the arts.
"There are so many talented individuals from the Northern Beaches and Sydney as a whole," Bailey and Bulgin add. "So we wanted to create a space that allowed those individuals to showcase their passions, talents, and skills in whichever art form they find expression."
Up a secret set of stairs and above a local pizza shop, LABEL. is spread across a super spacious 630 square metres. Inside, there's a sunlit Miami Vice-style cocktail bar pouring seriously good mandarin Tommy's margaritas and rhubarb gin sours alongside craft beers from the club's neighbouring Northern Beaches breweries. Pizza from downstairs is available from open til close (that's 3am), ensuring no one goes hungry on the dancefloor.
There are two recording studios—set up for touring artists to record and collaborate—before the space gives way to a jaw-dropping marquee-like dancefloor. Drenched in lasers and bordered with moveable booths, ruling over the space is a state-of-the-art VOID Air Motion system.
"We have been fortunate to work closely throughout the build with the team at Buzz Speaker Hire," Preston explains. "And this is the best club system I've seen in Sydney. It's the type of system you would see on a boutique festival stage.
"We have also spent days acoustically treating the room to match the VOID system so it will be an incredible audio experience."
As for what's coming up at LABEL., the first opening phase will showcase "Australia's leading talent in electronic dance music with a focus on house and techno," Preston says.
The venue is kicking off its club nights and electronic music series with an all-out opening weekend spread across two noisy nights. This Friday 21 May, you'll be treated to Australian producer, DJ, vocalist, and ARIA award nominee, Stace Cadet, as well as Sydney-based LO’99, and GO FREEK. On Saturday, Preston will hit the decks alongside Robbie Lowe, and Drew Dabble.
"Phase two, which will commence in the coming months, will see us incorporate live bands into our programming too," adds Preston. "We aim to showcase the best international and Australian touring artists in our warehouse."
Tickets to LABEL.'s opening weekend are available here (Friday) and here (Saturday).
For more information about LABEL., including opening hours, jump over here.
Image credit: Maclay Heriot