Hot on Heels of Wafa Love
In London she was the raving queen. If you were playing right, you’d spot her dancing on the speaker! She’d collect techno, be playing at friends’, b2b sessions and long afterhour sets. When the warehouse parties started to phase out - largely owing to stricter regulations and the closing down of venues - she decided to focus her energies elsewhere.
The magic that she’d once found on the dancefloor she found at Ronnie Scott’s late night jam sessions. From there she started uncovering jazz, neo-soul, funk, experimental, post punk, world, to name but a few.Wafa Love has featured weekly on Netil Radio's Fear of Flying show by Kozber and last year she spent the Summer back in Tunisia, joining the line up at Childhood Festival and playing at bars Bird house Tunis, Bellini Gammarth and 117. She’s also held a weekend residency at one of London's neighbourhood joints. During the quarantine in 2020, she started Q-LOVE, sharing her journey of music discovery with the internet world. Though she never left the electronic world. An all-rounder creative (check out her paintings!) she, together with artist and friend Antonia Beard, designed a visual mapping for the Cartulis parties at Fold. She continues to play house parties, with her massive bag of records by her side, leading the vibes with her graceful curation of genre-defying tunes.Wafa Love shares her voice as she presents an alternative playlist by artists from pioneering Post Punk/Industrial band Throbbing Gristle, to actor and musician Jeff Bridges as he narrates affirmations to you. Her artistry translates to tasteful and cool selections.
We’re sitting in her living room in London (the “Linehouse”) amongst her plants, she pours herself some champagne and shares her latest finds…
So do you remember your first rave? How it all started?
Yes! It was this underground party called Techno Therapy in one of the warehouses on Commercial Road in East London back in 2009. One door, one security, go up the stairs and boom massive room techno pumping. I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the night. I think that’s when I got hooked on Techno. So much freedom, so much expression, it was brilliant. I loved Ees back then too hahaha!
The second one was the New Years’ Day rave at Fuse. I used to work in this salon at Knightsbridge. It’s funny how Knightsbridge brought me to Fuse. One of the hairdressers (she’s Korean and into electronic music) asked me,
“Have you heard about Fuse?
”I’m like “No?”
“Oh my god they have an amazing Sunday party, it’s free. And they’re doing a New Years’ Eve special.”
I was really nervous to go there like oh it’s my second rave and it’s a free party. Guest list only, you send your name and you could be refused entry at the door so dress accordingly. I didn’t really know what dress accordingly meant so I was like fuck it I’m going to go over the top. I put on a short leopard dress, red high heeled boots, laced gloves, fur coat. I had half my head shaved looking like a rockstar or popstar or whatever. When I got inside all the ravers were wearing ripped jeans and converse hipster style. I wasn’t a hipster. I was a bit boujie, a bit of a diva. I didn’t fit in the underground scene, this was all new to me since I’d only come from Tunisia couple of years or so ago.
I remember the music was so fucking good that day. Rossko was playing this lovely minimal techno stuff in the big room so of course I went to dance on the speaker. Obviously security wanted me down for health and safety reasons but then luckily Tony the promoter spoke to them and I was allowed to stay up there.
For years I kept going to Fuse, then Kubicle, Jaded and sometimes some random warehouse parties. I used to take a picture of the line-up on the flyer, go home and do my homework. At the beginning of my raving days RA helped me a lot to discover new events. I used it like a bible and I used to go on the numbers - the more number of attending guests meant that it was a good party, and believe it or not it was!
Then I discovered Toi Toi. What a quality party that was. It changed my whole perspective about music. I learned a lot about sounds, artistry and skills. Then Cartulis, I remember going to these live set nights with Claro Intelecto, Octave One etc…And let’s not forget Fabric obviously... it was an incredible education for me. I heard some amazing music in there.
Then one day I decided to take a step back from the electronic music scene and reflect about the journey. That’s when I decided to immerse myself in exploring other music.
Who are your favourite djs/producers?
Craig Richards no doubt was my biggest inspiration. His variation of music styles never seize to amaze me. His music transports me to another world. It took me a few years to understand his sets though. I remember hearing him playing some new wave or post punk in Room 1 and I was like what is this? I didn’t understand it at first because I was so hooked on that techno bpm back then.
What did you do after you decided to take a break from the rave?
Lots of research and digging new music. I started with jazz. I’d always liked jazz but I never looked deeper. I knew the popular names like Miles Davies, John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane. I once went to see Herbie Hancock at The Barbican but I didn’t know much more than that. So I thought I’d start again and unravel this world.
I spent my Monday and Tuesday nights at Ronnie Scotts´ for The Late Late Show hosted by Alex Garnier. It starts at midnight and finishes at 3am. It’s a jam session. Sometimes they host bands from the underground scene too.
Again, it was all new to me. Complex, vibrant, melancholic and sometimes energetic. These musicians were telling their stories with their instruments and I think that’s very special. It touched me. It made me understand more the music that I was listening to on the dance floor.
What type of music do you search for?
For years I was buying electronic music records. Then I started collecting neo-soul, jazz, funk, disco, afrobeat, new-wave, pop, experimental. But my heart still skips when I put on a dance track. I still have great memories from the raves and that sound resonates with me.I sometimes dig for records that have electronic sounds but still have some soul like vocals, something organic, earthy, spiritual but with a kick, a bit of an edge.
Sometimes I look for music that you can’t fit in a genre - it’s not always about that. It’s more fun when you find these records and try to fit them into your sets. I like to mix it up. It’s more appealing to me than sticking with one thing.
What’s your digging process?
I only collect vinyl so I use Discogs a lot, also some independent online retailers and some trips to record shops now and then. I have a Spotify account too so that helps me explore new music - I make a list of everything that I find so that I can get it on vinyl. I also use Bandcamp now, which is great. It’s good to support the artist directly. I encourage everyone to use it.
How did you start your Q- LOVE page?
We were in a lockdown in London. I recorded a set called “All I want is unity” and uploaded it on to SoundCloud. After that I set up an Instagram account to share my record finds. Yes it could be a rare find but I’m still gonna share it, why would you want to keep a good record to yourself? Share it with the world.
What would you like to do in the new year?
I would love to travel a bit more and buy some more records. I can never have enough haha. I also wanna showcase my paintings so maybe a solo exhibition somewhere in London, we’ll see.I’m going to spend 3 months in Tunisia this Summer. I’ll be going back to play at Childhood festival and hopefully some other venues. I love it there. My last trip was very inspiring and insightful. I’ve made new friends and had so much fun. There’s a really cool music scene flourishing with some amazing local talent. It makes me proud.
SAY WHAT Hot on Heels of Wafa Love
Photography by Simone Steenberg
Design by nemicodenso
Edited by Kajol Shah