The Zine UK

A potato-loving Black lady, a Roma Gypsy, and a non-binary icon walk into a bar. This ain’t a joke. This is TheZineUK.

We are here, unapologetically. This isn't a punchline; it’s a structural anomaly in a calcified media landscape. Caffy St Luce, myself, and Ruby Blue are the architects of a tapestry that refuses to be unpicked by the leaden fingers of the state. We are the Black, Roma, and Non-Binary resistance, weaving a narrative that the mainstream would rather memory-hole.

THE TAPESTRY: WEAVING THE NEW UNDERGROUND

Throughout 2025, Caffy, Ruby, and I were in the trenches. We weren’t just "covering" a scene; we were stewarding a movement. From the symbolic reclamation of "Kneecap Hill" outside Woolwich Court, to the sweat-soaked sanctuaries of our favourite under-threat venues, we have been documenting the New Wave of musical resistance.

The tapestry at TheZineUK and the digital archives of RocklandsArtbeat are vibrating with the sound of a #FertileEnvironment that refuses to be bought:

The Mo Chara Case: The state attempted to weaponise "terrorism" charges against Mo Chara for the "crime" of waving a flag and shouting truth to power. The case was initially thrown out because the state missed its own six-month deadline; a bureaucratic failure mirroring their moral one. But logic is not the point when the goal is a chilling effect. The British government has appealed its own failure. On January 14th, 2026, Mo Chara is back at the High Court. We were part of the stewarding that helped Kneecap navigate the leaden weight of the state, and we will be there again. Solidarity isn't a hashtag; it’s showing the fuck up.
NCP (New Commercial Product): The ArtBeat faves who launched their eponymous EP at Farsight Gallery. This is melody and rhythm as a middle finger to commercial expectations. They create journeys that refuse the algorithm’s logic, proving that "commercial" can be reclaimed as a site of resistance.
The 24:1900 Music Festival: A global infrastructure of defiance that unified the world across all 24 time zones. 24 independent artists, each performing at 7pm local time, proving that DIY culture doesn't sleep and solidarity doesn't require a permit.
The Musos Awards 2026: Hitting Camden’s Electric Ballroom on February 12th. This isn't an industry gala; it’s a manifestation. Expect the glam green carpet energy of Irish British Guitarish star turns. This is CUP—Creativity Uniting People—in its most unrefined, electric form.
Craic Killers: The South East London Irish/Welsh punk duo dismantling the comfortable with a brutal, honest manifesto.
Soccer Six: Finally making soccer accessible again. Through SoccerSixFest, they are reclaiming the pitch from corporate vultures and returning the game to the community.

THE MUSIC TOURIST BOARD: MAPPING THE PSYCHOGEOGRAPHY

The Music Tourist Board will continue to travel. We are not static. We are mapping the psychogeography of the underground, from the Midlands to the Marches, seeking the "Fertile Environment" wherever the soil remains honest. We are the cartographers of the Newer Wave, tracking the heat signatures of resistance across the map. We don’t just visit venues; we document the air they breathe. The Music Tourist Board is our commitment to the journey, proving that the revolution isn't just televised or livestreamed; it’s travelled.

2026 HAS BIRTHED THE CHAOS TWINS: SITUATIONIST PLAY

Later this spring, the documentation takes a turn for the disruptive. 2026 has birthed the Chaos Twins.

Ruby Blue and I (the sound and the vision) are taking to the streets. We will be conducting street interviews, prancing around with the unapologetic energy like falling out of the 90s. We’ll be asking the questions the "professionals" are too terrified to whisper, using joy as a weapon against the leaden weight of the world.

Why? Because the revolution must be playful if it is to be permanent. We are moving from the defence of the court to the offence of the street. We are the "Chaos Twins" because the state demands order, and we offer only the beautiful, socialist mess of collective creation. We are the situationist antidote to the bureaucratic morgue of Downing Street.

THE UNGOVERNABLE FUTURE

We are done being reactive. The state may appeal its own failures on January 14th, but the work we have chronicled is already out of its reach. We are documented, we are loud, and we are growing in the cracks of their crumbling system.

Something must grow. Something IS growing.

We are right and they are wrong.

Stay loud. Stay kind. Stay ungovernable.

FREE PALESTINE

P.S. — Royal Courts of Justice, The Strand, January 14th. Be there for Mo Chara. Solidarity is not a hashtag; it is showing the fuck up.