Thirty years of Hospital Records. One night on Karangahape Road. A venue full of the D&B whānau, basslines you can feel in your ribcage and outfits bright enough to be seen from the Sky Tower. Here is your Ravers Co guide to doing the Auckland round properly.
Your Guide To Hospital Admission
Hospital30 lands at Studio the Venue, 340 Karangahape Road, on Friday 16th October from 10pm until 4am. It’s 18+, so pop your ID in your pocket before you leave the house. Studio holds around 1,100 people, which means this is a proper up-close-and-sweaty club night with a lineup that usually plays much bigger rooms. Tickets are on Resident Advisor, and if you’re thinking about it, don’t sit on it too long.
It’s a three city run, so if you can’t make the Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland date (or you fancy doing it three times), Ōtautahi/Christchurch opens the tour at the Sydenham Underpass on Friday 9th October from 9pm until 2am. Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington closes it out at Meow Nui on Vivian Street the night after Ours, Saturday 17th October. Ours is the only date with confirmed local openers on the bill though, so Tāmaki Makaurau gets something the others may not.
Meet The Doctors Behind The Maddness
Hospital Records is one of those rare labels that helped shape the sound of an entire genre. Founded in London in 1996 by Tony Colman and Chris Goss, They have has grown into one of the most loved independent drum and bass labels on the planet, and its Hospitality parties are legendary for their energy and their sense of community.
That community bit matters. Hospital has always felt more like a family than a record label, and this 30th birthday tour sees them bringing the celebration to our side of the world for the first time in years.
Christchurch gets the first dose, then Auckland and Wellington get their fix the following weekend. So if you’ve got mates across the motu, get them filming. Doctor’s orders. Three shows, one wicked montage, all in honour of 30 years of Hospital Records and drum & bass.
The Specialists Will See You Now
Your appointment is booked for 10pm, and your bass treatment team is ready and waiting.
Danny Byrd is the headliner and a true Hospital original. He signed to the label right at the turn of the millennium and has been serving up soulful, feel-good rave anthems ever since, mixing in hip hop, house and R&B like it is the easiest thing in the world. “Ill Behaviour”, “Sweet Harmony”, “Shock Out”. If you know, you know, and if you do not, you are about to.
Unglued brings the deep, heavy bass weight. The Brighton producer first landed on Hospital in 2018 and made waves straight away with his High Contrast “If We Ever” bootleg, which won Best Remix at that year’s Drum & Bass Arena Awards. His love of jungle began on childhood fishing trips with his uncle, and you can hear those old school roots in every set, blended with big, modern bass.
Hoax is the fresh energy. The Bristol producer grew up in a music-filled home, and his background in piano and music theory shows in his crisp, rumbling, peak-time sound. After his anthem “Crowd Control” took off, he signed to Hospital around 2023 and has been one of the label’s rising stars ever since, citing Break as his longest-standing influence. His latest EP, Sick Notes, is a love letter to the Hospitality Weekender, so expect big subs and plenty of rowdy energy.
Chiccoreli (Auckland Only) is one of the most loved names in Aotearoa’s liquid scene. Originally from London, he started his professional DJ and radio career in 2011 and has called Auckland home for over a decade. He’s best known as the man behind the Liquid Lowdown, a radio show and club night celebrating the smoother, more soulful side of D&B, which has been voted the world’s number one liquid drum and bass show. His Hospital connection runs deep too, having played Hospitality On The Beach in Croatia alongside festival sets at Rhythm & Vines, Splore and Northern Bass. Expect silky selections with enough grit to keep the floor moving.
L’amour (Auckland Only) is Auckland born and raised, and music has been part of her life since keyboard and singing lessons at school. It was in London that she really found her sound, immersing herself in the D&B scene before bringing that energy home to the airwaves at Base FM. She’s since played Northern Bass and opened for the likes of Satl, The Upbeats and Truth, and she’s back on the Northern Bass lineup this New Year’s. A proper local talent to catch early.
Side Effects May Include
This is not a festival. There are no chill tents or grassy hills, just six glorious hours of 174bpm and sweet, soulful bass, in a venue with a sound system that will rearrange your insides. It is the good kind of chaos!
Arrive early to skip the queue and settle in before things get busy. The big names usually land somewhere in the small hours, so pace yourself and save a bit of magic for the last few sets. If the front gets too intense, drift a few metres back. The sound is often cleaner and sweeter there anyway, the sweet spot as the soundies call it. Besides, you’ll have a bit more room to actually move.
Please bring earplugs. The good filtered ones take the edge off the volume without killing the detail, so the bass still hits just as hard and your ears still work for the next rave. Chur to whoever invented them, because raving is better and a whole lot kinder on our ears.
Your Prescription For The Perfect Fit
This is our favourite part. Mid-October in Auckland means crisp nights on the street and a steamy room inside, so dress for the dancefloor and layer up for the walk.
For the floor, go light, stretchy and colourful. Mesh Rave Wear was practically invented for D&B nights. The Rainbow Flare Mesh Pants give you a full sunset of colour from waist to hem, the Monarch Flare Mesh Pants turn you into a butterfly with wings on your legs, and the Flame Mesh Rave Pants are basically a fire emoji you can wear. They breathe, they move with you and they look unreal on the dancefloor.
If you want more coverage, the Reflective Circuit Rave Trousers flash rainbow every time a strobe or camera catches them, and the Cyber-Synapse Sweats in neon green and violet details, they are comfy enough to dance in for six hours straight.
On your feet, closed toes are a must. A club floor in the small hours is no place for sandals. Our Cyber-Glow LED Transparent Boots in UV Purple, Toxic Green, Electric Blue or Cyber Pink keep your toes safe and light up every step.
For the street, this is your moment to make an entrance. Rock up in the Aurora Panther Faux Fur Coat, the LED Faux Fur Coat or the Glowing Aura Glowing Aura LED Faux Fur Cropped Vest and you will be the brightest thing on K Road (Well, at least you’ll be something!). The ICU Tarot Cloak Collection (Full Collection Launching Soon) is pure mystical rave royalty for the queue. Just be honest with yourself about the heat inside. Faux fur or Berber Fleece and a packed dance floor are not best friends, so plan to drop it at the cloakroom and pick it up for the 4am glow-walk home.
Looking After Yourself And Your Rave Whānau
One gentle note: leave the LED hoops at home for this one. A full club has no room to spin, and your hoop deserves a festival field where it can really fly.
Post-Rave Recovery Room
The best part of a K Road rave is that you can crash nearby and skip the late-night drive completely.
Out the Door And Into Bed: Haka House Auckland K’ Road at 373 Karangahape Road is about a minute’s roll from the venue. K-Road City Travellers and HIT Hostel are both at the Queen Street end of K Road, perfect for the budget-conscious raver.
A Short Wander Away: Abstract Hotel on Upper Queen Street, Mercure Auckland Queen Street and VR Queen Street are all an easy five to ten minute walk. Parkside Hotel & Apartments on Greys Avenue is a touch further but looks out over the park, which is lovely for a slow wake up Saturday morning.
Treat Yourself: Legacy Airedale and Four Points by Sheraton near the Town Hall are about fifteen minutes down Queen Street. Or book Quest Ponsonby and wake up close to the best brunch spots in the city.
Mid-October books up fast in Auckland, so lock something in sooner rather than later.
Raving is at its best when everyone has a good time and gets home happy. Here is how to make sure you and your crew do.
Drink water, but not too much. Six hours of dancing is a high intensity workout. Sip regularly, take little breathers, and if you or a mate feel dizzy, overheated or just not right, step outside for some air and find someone from the event organiser’s team. They are there to look after you and they have seen it all.
Know what you are taking. Aotearoa was the first country in the world to legalise drug checking, and it is free, confidential and judgement free. KnowYourStuffNZ runs regular clinics at the Button Factory in town, and the Drug Foundation has a daily clinic in Grey Lynn. Check thelevel.org.nz for times and for straight up info on staying safer. It is one of the most caring things you can do for yourself before a big night.
Make a crew plan. Pick a meeting spot inside the venue for when you lose each other (you will), and agree roughly when you are heading out. Phones die and reception can sometimes get patchy at best.
Keep your drink close. If it has been out of your hand, grab a fresh one. It is never worth the risk.
Check in on each other. Hugs, water, a little ‘you all good, mate?’ between tracks. That is what the rave whānau is all about.
Arrive Standing, Leave Smiling
Getting there and getting home
Big news for this one. The City Rail Link opened in September, and the brand new Karanga-a-Hape Station sits right under K Road with entrances on Mercury Lane and Beresford Square. That means you can train in from almost anywhere and be at the door in a minute. Very cool, very futuristic, very Auckland finally catching up.
Trains will not be running at 4am though, so sort your ride home before the night starts. Pre-book a rideshare, split a taxi with your crew, or book a bed nearby and roll home happily.
When you step back out onto the street, stay on K Road itself where it is busy and bright rather than cutting down quieter side streets and laneways. Walk together, keep your bag zipped and in front of you, and wait for your ride by the venue entrance rather than somewhere tucked away. Check the plate before you hop in. And please do not take the shortcut through the park, however tempting it looks on the map.
Most importantly, nobody gets left behind. You arrive as a crew, you leave as a crew.
Thirty years of Hospital Records, one magical night on K Road, and a room full of beautiful, sparkly, bass-loving humans. Grab your ticket, pick your outfit and we will see you on the dancefloor.