Hardmatter

13/10/2025

The Hardmatter crew returns to The Waiting Room with their new party series, Late Sessions, and are excited to inaugurate the new London night with special guest .

Lyla's distinctive touch is infectious and present in everything she does. Straight out of Karachi, Pakistan, she's been making waves from being part of the lineup at Pakistan's first-ever Boiler Room to curating her own nights at "Sunny Side Up!", an organisation whose profits go towards sustainable energy resources and providing training opportunities in remote villages of Northern Pakistan. Her energy behind the decks is commanding yet joyful, with an encyclopedic knowledge of music that flows seamlessly through her fluid selections. That infectious smile and pure happiness she radiates make every set feel like a celebration.

For this special showcase at The Waiting Room, we've brought together some of our favourite selectors to round out the evening. Local talent will also be behind the controls, not to mention HM's very own JVXTA and Zapata.

Deep house is far from dead and this is where the real heads unite - so come on down if you miss what proper house music sounds like. It's going to be one of those nights where music tells the whole story.

Tix available below!

The Hardmatter crew returns to The Waiting Room with their new party series, Late Sessions, and are excited to inaugurate the new London night with spec...

28/06/2024

It's release day for Zapata's debut EP, Retrospect! The record is now available worldwide.

Make sure to grab your copy today on Bandcamp or from your favourite record outlet. https://hardmatterrecords.bandcamp.com/album/retrospect

29/05/2024

We're excited to announce Hardmatter's next release "Retrospect", produced by none other than our very own co-founder, Zapata!

And damn, was it time! With roots spanning from Colombia to Mexico, Zapata was born in New York and grew up on a rich tapestry of salsa, jazz, and rock. After falling in love with the jazz-infused house scene of 90s NYC, he began DJing, seamlessly blending hip-hop, funk, and disco into his sets. Since then, he's maintained a profound underground presence in Berlin, and although he’s not much of a fan of being in the spotlight, he’s nonetheless been a critical exponent of deep and jazz-driven house in the local scene.

HM008 finds Zapata in top form: forging a mesmerizing blend of live instrumentation and deep, soulful samples that pay tribute to his New York origins and the classic deep house of the city. The man lives and breathes musical legacy, and it's evident in every track.

Pre-orders are available now on Bandcamp alongside previews of the tracks on our SoundCloud:
https://hardmatterrecords.bandcamp.com/album/retrospect
https://soundcloud.com/hardmatterrecords/hm008-zapata-retrospect

30/06/2023

Respect to for the review of 's new record!

Check out our bio for more info on how to grab a copy and for those in London, the record release party is tonight at with herself, , Zapata and . Final tickets available on RA, so don't sleep!

28/06/2023

Respect to for the write-up of 's new record!

Check out our bio for more info on how to grab a copy!

22/05/2023

Excited to announce that we'll be celebrating the launch of our seventh record by bringing none other than Jenifa Mayanja herself to play on June 30 at The Waiting Room in London!

Having just joined the Hardmatter family with her forthcoming record, HM007 "Chances", we present a night of Jenifa's soulful cuts in one of London's most intimate underground venues alongside the HM crew and special guest Beeches of No Rewinds.

Head to our bio for more information on tickets, and stay tuned for more info on the record itself!

16/05/2023

We're excited to welcome one of dance music’s unsung heroes to the HM family:

With her roots in Uganda, Jenifa has fully immersed herself in the underground deep house music scene for over 25 years, tracing back to her breakthrough in New York City during the early 90s. Since then, she’s maintained a profound underground presence, leading to her esteemed recognition as the "first lady of deep house." Simply put: she’s one of our heroes.

HM 007 sees Jenifa do what she does best: take her deep, spacey sound and create sonic stories for the dancefloor. Pre-orders are available now on Bandcamp alongside previews of the tracks on our SoundCloud.

Check out our bio for pre-order link!

04/05/2023

We're happy to announce that Hardmatter's party series will return to Paloma to pay homage to one of our favorites: Al Zanders.

Al runs A-Z records, which has been home to some of the most fantastic house and broken-beat explorations of the last 5 years. Besides releasing on Wolf Music Recordings and Phonica Records, he also cut his teeth under the Lodger moniker - a true expression of his skills as a sampler and editor.

Expect groove, funk, and tons of rhythmic cuts from his deep collection.

20/04/2023

This Saturday we touch down at The Waiting Room with certified New York legend Olive T. for the first ever collab event between the No Rewinds and Hardmatter crews. Make sure you get yourselves down to Stoke Newington's finest basement club for an evening of deep grooves and heavy house hitters with support on the night from the HM and No Rewinds residents!

Also, catch JVXTA and Zapata warming up live on Balamii Radio tomorrow 5-7pm.

Event tickets via RA:

Having conquered New York’s dance floors for the better part of a decade, it is our great pleasure to present the master technician herself, Olive T, for a very special evening at The Waiting Room. A critical part of New York’s revitalized dance music scene, Olive’s irrepressible groove and im...

11/04/2023

To celebrate the release of his new record on , did his magic on our latest Balamii show. Check it out by going to our bio!

Don't forget to cop tickets for our London get down with .rewinds and on the 22nd of April at

03/08/2022

Happy to announce the premiere of Malik Alston Artist/DJ - Stand, the B2 on the forthcoming record, The Dirty Digital EP. Mad thanks to the Ransom Note for the beautiful write up too!

Presale is moving quickly so make sure you grab your copy! https://hardmatterrecords.bandcamp.com/

The room was crowded with onlookers who had come to witness what had been described as a beautiful miracle. What could be the harm in that? For it was always...

20/07/2022

Mad thanks to Gazzz696 for premiering the B1 on HM006, Martha's in Love by Javonntte (Brian Mars). Pre-orders are out now so don't sleep! Check out our Bandcamp for more info: https://hardmatterrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-dirty-digital-ep

The Dirty Digital EPLabel - HardmatterReleased - https://hardmatterrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-dirty-digital-epBUY FROM - 29th July 2022Support --https://...