The past three years without a TRMNL venue has seen a noticeable absence of the underground sound in Birmingham. Now the team behind the former Birmingham club have re-launched at a new spot in Digbeth to bring techno back to the West Midlands masses.
Lab 11 opened to the public for the first time on Saturday night (March 31) with Radio Slave and Berlin-based DJ Mark Henning (pictured) drawing in a sell out crowd. A slow start meant it was 2am before the night really picked up, but that didn’t matter because revellers danced right the way through until sunrise.
TRMNL Music & Events founder and CEO, Dee Dixon said:
“We could not have asked for a better turn out at Saturday’s big launch party. The crowds were amazing, the sounds were incredible and although we were thrown plenty of obstacles along the way we have made it through to create what I hope everyone agrees is a top clubbing destination for the Midlands and the UK.”
One of the obstacles was the front door which had still not been fitted when we arrived – but the venue delivered where it mattered. Featuring two rooms of bespoke sound and lighting system plus a heated outside terrace – it has a rustic back to basics charm about it. The club is based in a disused warehouse space in Birmingham’s Digbeth district. Owned by Network Rail, the building has been derelict for decades before being re-commissioned by TRMNL Music & Events and completely transformed in just a matter of months.
‘TRMNL Presents…’ will take place every Saturday and this weekend is no exception with an Easter Bank Holiday Special featuring creative visionary and electronic music icon Carl Craig, Dutch techno master Lauhaus and Birmingham’s latest protégé Samu.l who is already achieving international success with hugely popular edits of Buriel and James Blake.
For more information and details of how to purchase tickets visit the LAB11 website. Advance tickets are priced at £10 and are available through a number of specialist ticketing outlets, the venue website, Facebook profile and directly from the box office.
Words: James Drakeford
Area Culture Guide 