In Cork, on the south coast of Ireland, the illegal rave scene is thriving.
Across the city and out into the countryside, local techno fans are throwing free parties in a litany of forgotten abandoned spaces—from spooky psychiatric hospitals and warehouses, to old churches and castle ruins.
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“The thing I love about the city is that pretty much the entire Cork techno scene is made up of DJs,” says 23-year-old Irish photographer Maclaine Black, who’s spent the last two years documenting the city’s rave culture. “The standard of music is really high. When DJs from Dublin get booked to play Cork, they’re nervous to come here.”
The city’s free party scene exists out of necessity. “The commercial venues don’t like us coming because of a stigma around the crowd and drugs,” says black. “This has pushed young people away from the dedicated infrastructure and towards the illegal raves. People organise these parties so they can play longer sets and party until 7 or 8 a.m..”
The raves, they tell us, are still organised the way they always have been. “You get an email sent on the day with coordinates. Sometimes promoters organise a bus—it’s like a mystery tour into the countryside.” Black still remembers their first one, like it was some lucid fever dream. “It was such a new world for me. We got out the taxi and walked into complete blackness and silence—then we heard that rumble in the distance. You hear the music, see the lights and hear the people. That’s what I imagine heaven feels like.”
One particular photo of Black’s (below) has been doing the rounds, thanks to how symbolic it feels of the energy of the scene. “That’s Cyprian—he’s a good friend of mine, and a really good dancer,” says Black. “People always mix us up because we both have shaved heads. It’s because we’re both into gabber culture. We even went to Thunderdome together last year: Australia tracksuits, Air Max 90s, and bald heads.”
It’s that intimacy of club culture—those crystalline junctures of closeness and chaos, warmth and weirdness—that has made these illegal Cork parties so popular. “The thing I love about them is that you have to love the music to go; you have to really want to be there. And there is solidarity amongst everyone there. The organisers always work really hard to make sure it’s safe. There’s lots of working-class and queer people there, and they always make sure everyone feels safe and welcome.”
See more of Black’s photos below:
