The idea to start Rave Report came after a breakup in 2019. I’ve been in London’s deep Jungle/DnB scene since 2014 but this propelled me into new events. My vibrations were electric, and I kept connecting with underground music heads from around the world.
Most influentially, a pair of Techno ravers from Mumbai who I met at Anjunadeep Festival in Albania, and a Saudi girl at Studio 338 who connected me with her local Jazz community back home. They told me passionately about their scenes, and challenged my entire view of what I had perceived their countries to be. I had to share their stories!
So I founded Rave Report to credit and document the roots, exportations, and diasporas of the music genres I love most by interviewing local ravers and artists who love their scenes as much as I do.
5 years later, Rave Report celebrates the magic of art, culture, and co-creation. Through every feature and collaboration, you experience the expression of collectives, creatives, and friends I’ve collaborated with remotely and globally—and their communities that extend beyond mine.
Over the past 5 years, Rave Report (AKA Verity Raphael) has connected online and in person with movements like Cambodian Techno, Russian Garage, Kenyan Drill and Colombian Hip Hop in digital, print and radio, as well as in a one-off magazine and documentary. Rave Report has lectured on ‘World Music for Political Change’ at University of Westminster with Baile Funk Culture and Nairobi-based Creative Director Philip Koth, presented on radio stations like Reprezent, Kool/Rinse FM and Subtle FM and has been featured by DJMag, Mixmag, and Velocity Press. She has also organized 3 community events: a magazine launch and fundraiser in 2022, an opulence-themed soiree in 2023, and an exhibition/open mic in 2024.
Outside of journalism, Rave Report has been painting graffiti art and murals since lockdown 2020. In 2023 she was commissioned to paint a giant mural on Whitechapel main road by Idle Form, and in 2024, 4 canvases for Siteimprove which are now up in the Minneapolis, Seattle, Copenhagen, and London offices. Read the interview with Screenshot Magazine about her mission to create a safe, supportive environment to encourage as many women as possible to pick up a spray can and paint something revolutionary!