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‘You can let your inner freak out!’: welcome to Pixelate and the growing craze for internet-culture raves
EntertainmentMusicMusic News•June 1, 2026 at 10:30 AMNational

‘You can let your inner freak out!’: welcome to Pixelate and the growing craze for internet-culture raves

By Henrietta Taylor•The Guardian Music

At Pixelate, the music is as garish as the meme-referencing costumes. Is it internet ‘brainrot’ come to life – or a much-needed offline community?‘It’s time to get … crazy!” DJ Compulsive Leia is yelling at us from the stage. Around me, clubbers in cat ears wave LED glow sticks and squeal in anticipation. Suddenly, an all too familiar sound: Crazy Frog’s much maligned version of Axel F, albeit remixed at an even giddier pitch and speed. “Ding, ding!”Tonight, Vauxhall Arches in London is a hyperactive fever dream for Pixelate, a rave currently touring the UK and celebrating the 00s era of “internet cringe”. This edition is cat-themed, and a person in a giant bobble-headed Hello Kitty costume is dancing frantically on stage, soundtracked by high-octane versions of 00s memes, video games, cartoons and dancefloor hits. Continue reading...

At Pixelate, the music is as garish as the meme-referencing costumes. Is it internet ‘brainrot’ come to life – or a much-needed offline community?

‘It’s time to get … crazy!” DJ Compulsive Leia is yelling at us from the stage. Around me, clubbers in cat ears wave LED glow sticks and squeal in anticipation. Suddenly, an all too familiar sound: Crazy Frog’s much maligned version of Axel F, albeit remixed at an even giddier pitch and speed. “Ding, ding!”

Tonight, Vauxhall Arches in London is a hyperactive fever dream for Pixelate, a rave currently touring the UK and celebrating the 00s era of “internet cringe”. This edition is cat-themed, and a person in a giant bobble-headed Hello Kitty costume is dancing frantically on stage, soundtracked by high-octane versions of 00s memes, video games, cartoons and dancefloor hits.

Continue reading...