There aren’t many labels that can pull thousands of people into a venue as historic as The Roundhouse and make it feel both futuristic and rooted at the same time — but 1985 Music managed exactly that.

The venue carries a lineage most spaces can’t touch: Hendrix tearing the roof off in the 60s, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Amy Winehouse. The walls hold decades of cultural landmarks. Seeing it filled wall-to-wall with heads locked into 1985’s world felt like a moment — not nostalgia, but progression.

Captured exclusively for Conduct by Moon Immisch. (Full gallery below.)

A packed Roundhouse as the lights cut through the haze.

From the very first set, the tone was clear. Dub Athlete opened the day with a heavy 3pm slot that shouldn’t have been possible — large crowd, full energy, and the kind of weight you don’t normally see at that hour. A proper scene-setter.

That early momentum rolled straight into Drone b2b Ila Brugal, who moved effortlessly between flavours: sharp rhythms, dark swerves, and pockets of 140 influence. Their styles complemented each other cleanly — the kind of pairing you wouldn’t predict on paper but makes perfect sense in the room.

The Roundhouse’s iconic steel frame catching the glow of 1985’s production design.

By late afternoon, the pace shifted again. Cesco b2b SP:MC (with Koast) delivered one of the most talked-about sets of the night — playful, charged, and at times bordering on clash-energy. SP pulled out dubs that turned the room up a notch, only for Cesco to answer with his own inimitable pressure. The crowd was fully locked.

Then came Visages with Strategy — a dive into the deeper, darker, more atmospheric corner of the 1985 universe. Steppy patterns, controlled tension, and the unmistakable signature that has become one of the defining sounds of the label. The kind of set that synchronises the whole room into one pulse.

Laser-sharp lighting washing over the crowd at the iconic Camden venue.

As the night progressed, the energy morphed again. Neffa-T & Manga Saint Hilare brought pure dynamism — 140, breaks, grime adjacency, rapid switches, and the unpredictability that keeps a crowd alert. One of the most refreshing stretches of the evening.

The final run delivered exactly what the posters promised. Alix Perez and SP:MC — refined, technical, controlled chaos. Alix’s sound design has never leaned on hype, and hearing that precision at Roundhouse scale was a reminder of why he’s been one of the most influential forces in underground music.

Alix Perez with SP:MC — technical control in front of a packed, focused crowd.

Closing duties fell to Break with GQ, a pairing as reliable as it is timeless. Break’s rolling precision and GQ’s iconic presence — effortless, razor-sharp, cutting clean through the room. A proper finale.

Across seven hours, the night moved through a full spectrum of tempos and textures. This wasn’t a one-note drum & bass event; it was a curated journey through the wider ecosystem that 1985 has helped shape — drum & bass, 140, minimal pressure, rollers, razor-tight club tools, and the occasional left-turn into electronic adjacencies.

Hands raised as the Roundhouse shifts into full colour and motion.

What tied everything together — visually and emotionally — was the lighting design. Sharp beams cut the room open, blocks of deep red and cold blue shifted like architecture rather than decoration. Minimal visuals, maximum impact. It made the music look physical.

Performing to that crowd — thousands locked in, eyes forward, phones down, reacting to every micro-switch — felt significant. You could sense how much the music meant to the room. What makes 1985 compelling at this point in its life isn’t just the catalogue — it’s the identity. Clean, evolving, understated but confident.

A final burst of light as the night peaks inside the Roundhouse.

And with the label sitting six months shy of its ten-year mark (with a 20-track anniversary compilation on the way), this night felt less like a retrospective and more like a checkpoint.
A reminder of how influential this corner of the scene has become — and a preview of the next phase.

Conduct Magazine