Although it’s as east London as pretending to like pie and mash, XOYO is a venue in the un-grand New York tradition. This former print works is a bare concrete cell, defiantly taking the ‘chic’ out of ‘shabby chic’. The open space means the atmosphere is always buzzing, as the only place to escape total immersion in the music is the tiny smoking courtyard outside.
The vibe is helped in no small part by the fact that the venue was co-founded by promoters Eat Your Own Ears and Bugged Out! – both of whom have a deserved reputation for booking exciting, forward-looking and high-quality acts with little regard for genre boundaries.