Collective Insight - Wax Galactique

Wax Galactique have well established their role as prominent party starters in South Wales, delivering a vibrant blend of underground house and garage infused with eclectic electronic influences. As the “little sister” to Swansea’s Dogruff, WXG continues the tradition of curating quality dance music events across the region, delivering a commitment to diverse and immersive electronic sounds.

With regular events in Cardiff at Paradise Garden, including your upcoming party with Ethan McNamara, this summer’s looking busy – what does the future hold for WXG?

Yes, summer is looking super busy for us at the moment. We just recently played Little Fields Year Zero, and it’s definitely a festival to keep your eye on in the coming years. We have appearances at Big Love Festival, Westival, and Funk in the Forest coming up this year, which we’re always excited about! Nothing quite beats festival energy in the summer. We also have our London debut as WXG coming up in June, which will be fun!

We host a boat party series throughout the summer in Swansea—we recently held the first instalment of this summer, and we have two more scheduled: one in June and one in September (which we have a little surprise planned for!). We’ve always wanted to try and push the boat out (no pun intended) when it comes to spaces to throw parties, and this is definitely one of our favourites so far!

There’s no typical goal for us in the future—we just want to keep enjoying what’s going on and showcasing our sound! The best things tend to spawn organically when you’re not putting too much pressure on an outcome, we find.

Based in Cardiff, there's a vibrant mix of veteran crews like Delete, FamJam, and yourselves, alongside newer collectives throwing parties citywide.  Can you share a bit about the scene's history in South Wales, including Swansea?

The electronic music scene in South Wales hasn’t changed a lot over the years, in my opinion. That being said, there are definitely some noticeable differences: fewer appropriate venues in recent years, and also the music policies at parties seem to be very one-sided. In the early 2000s, there would be three different rooms with totally different music policies in each. In my opinion, this definitely created a sense of variety in what you’d get in Swansea music-wise, but it seems to have narrowed down a bit since then.

Swansea is very different to Cardiff—being a smaller city, it can be hard to keep things as consistent as we would like. But it’s helped us find a variety of venues over the years. Sometimes we find it harder to fill spaces due to limited transport from the Valleys, and Swansea relies heavily on the student season, so we see the difference during the summer holidays. It also depends on what the students are into that year.

There have been some great parties coming out of Cardiff over the last few years. The FamJam crew really know their stuff—they’ve brought some of the most forward-thinking bookings to Cardiff and really push the true underground. We love the Delete team—they always make everything look so easy and are always so consistent with what they do. They really know their audience well. That’s been pivotal to their events’ success, and they continue to put on some of the best parties of the year.

Before Wax Galactique, you guys used to run a party in Swansea: Dogruff. Could you tell us a little about that and how we’ve arrived today at WXG?

The party’s original concept (Dogruff) was a Sunday daytime afterparty—hence the name. But it evolved quickly due to the lack of techno nightlife in Swansea, which was more geared toward trance and garage. We became more interested in alternative party spaces over clubs and bars. We found the creative process a lot more enjoyable because we had more control over the security, sound system, lighting, etc.

We never set out to be promoters—it was always about the music for us, and of course, friends and community.

Before Wax Galactique, there were actually three more projects I’ve been heavily involved with. One of those events was Platform, which was more student-based, with bookings like Ion Ludwig, Fumiya Tanaka, and Dewalta. And LAF (Lost and Found) is a private party we created out of the frustration of COVID—this one has zero social media presence, which I think can be important in this day and age. It was the first party we did during the last stages of lockdown, and it was probably one of the most special moments for us—to be back together again.

As for Wax Galactique, the idea was born from a DJ mix I did around seven years ago, and it organically evolved into what it is now. In my opinion, the best creative ideas are never forced—they evolve naturally.

Dogruff brought in standout names like Adam Shelton, Jane Fitz, and Ion Ludwig. Since moving to Cardiff, we’ve found parties like that harder to come by compared to other cities. Has the post-pandemic climate and shifting trends made it tougher to push underground sounds?

Over the past five years or so, there’s definitely been a massive shift in how people rave and how events get promoted. I think it’s a mix of the pandemic, Brexit, and the way everything’s shared on social media now, which has completely changed the dynamics. Brexit, for example—booking DJs from Europe has become difficult due to visas, taxes, and the loss of freedom of movement. When Bella Sarris played for us, groups of people were still doing summer seasons in Ibiza and had caught her playing during the time she was a resident for Richie Hawtin at ENTER. That made a big difference to us. In the winter, we could bring in DJs that people had seen over their summer holidays. However, that happens less these days—things are trickier, and it’s made branching out with more underground artists a bit harder.

Phones on the dancefloor pre-pandemic, I think, were also far less common. It felt more underground—you had to be in the know. People were there for the music, the community, and maybe a bit of escapism. You really had to go and find out for yourself if a night was for you. I do like seeing photos after a party—don’t get me wrong—and I’m guilty of it myself at times, but sometimes it’s nice when things are just left to the imagination.

The pandemic was a reset. For me, it took a while to find my feet again. But for younger people—those who were maybe 17 or 18 during lockdown—it kind of gave them time to ease into it all. It slowed down the rush into the scene, and in the long run, I actually think that’s a good thing. They’re still finding their sound, discovering new festivals and new communities. It feels fresh for them. They’re not burnt out like some were by 21 pre-COVID. They’re doing it their way—and that’s really nice to see.