Unity in the Community: Refuge Worldwide

Ethical, sexy and heterogeneous. Supportive, interested and welcoming. Diversified, honest and energised. Some organisations could only dream that their community openly used those descriptors for them. But the descriptors are a reality for Refuge Worldwide.

What started as a fundraising platform for grassroots organisations in 2015 has evolved into a radio station, events space and education platform amplifying music and issues important to its community. Founders, George Patrick and Richard Akingbehin, say it’s evolved in more different directions than they imagined. “It’s not just a radio station, but it’s something much broader. Even if we stopped the radio tomorrow, it could live on as just a workshop centre. It can live on as an event series, an editorial platform…all these different things, could, in theory, be independent, and probably still succeed. But when you bring them all together, it’s this really intensely creative melting pot of different things, and different people coming together. And they all feed into each other in different ways,” says Richard. 

In July 2021, the station officially offered Oona Bar to its followers: a space from which to listen, run workshops, work, grab a drink, or meet up with the community. The 45-odd square metres host interior classics like black-and-white checkerboard floors and timber finishes. They’re offset by modern elements like powder-coated steel, green walls, and a plastic butcher’s curtain that originally smelled like citrus. The space creates an intimacy that lends itself perfectly to the community that experiences, and has contributed to it. Richard says, “A lot of the community have also helped to build, paint and carry stuff.” It creates a sense of ownership that extends from pumping music within the booth and painting the walls around it. 

But Refuge doesn’t stop at online events. Gaby D’Annunzio is the Co-Founder of Berlin’s Open Music Lab: a school providing music production education to those who may not ordinarily have access. “It started as a refugee project, but grew into us working with different marginalised groups,” says Gaby. In the early days, Refuge supported Open Music Lab events but when the station launched, they decided to do an official partnership.

Now, Gaby incorporates her experience into community workshops. She says, “On Mondays we open up the space to allow people to practice…we also provide education in music, journalism, artistic development and discussion groups. We’re really trying to provide resources and material for our community.” 

Refuge Worldwide is an important tool shaping the evolution of Berlin’s music scene. George says, “the scene has gone through some dramatic shifts in the last few years, some of which were really, really important and necessary. Issues like racism, for example, or awareness and accessibility training. There were all kinds of things that were overdue including representation in teams and in audiences.” 

As it stands, Refuge Worldwide is an ever growing ecosystem of sounds, residents and talk shows. SLEEK was invited to Oona Bar’s Summer Hangout party to meet some of its residents and performers. Special thanks to SWAK, stillwarley, and Alex Kassian who broadcast on the day alongside the residents below. 

Take a trip through the airwaves and into the world of the Refuge Worldwide community.

(H)Our Realities
By BIWOC* Rising 

BIWOC* Rising is an intersectional work and social club based in Kreuzberg, Berlin established in 2019. The coworking space and network is exclusively for women, trans, inter, and nonbinary people who identify as Black, indigenous, or Of Colour. It is the first of its kind in Germany, so the trailblazing women behind it have their work cut out for them. Loubna Messaoudi , Lana Sirri, Cérise Carson and Surya Paasch founded and work for the coworking space and run the (H)Our Realities talk show on Refuge Worldwide. The talk show covers topics ranging from the experiences of neurodivergent BIWOC and TIN BIPOC to the challenges of creating a safer intersectional space. The point is to amplify discussion topics like intersectional feminism and anti-racism and present such topics to people outside of the communities that directly experience it. 

Loubna Messaoudi is the CEO and Founder of BIWOC* Rising. She is careful to describe BIWOC* Rising as a safer, rather than safe, space. She says, “unless it’s your home, or something you created just for yourself, then you can’t have a safe space. In our situation, having a co-working space, it is only safer. And even then not for everybody.” Loubna explains she was compelled to establish this network to shape a society that she was born into, but feels is not necessarily designed for her. “I am German with Moroccan heritage but in Germany it’s still not enough, because I don’t look like a white German,” she says. 

Part of BIWOC* Rising’s message is to provide education around gentrification as it sits at the intersection of racism and capitalism: a form of neo-colonialism. It’s vital in Berlin as a city experiencing a sustained housing crisis. Loubna says, “I think especially with the topic of gentrification, so many people are involved. Berlin has been sold to the highest bidder. We passed the point where we can say we still have the chance to make it affordable for everybody…” She says that proper State help is essential, but also that “every ally, with whatever power, can use their privilege to help marginalised people…not only for offices but also housing in general. People of Colour, black people, don’t get offered as many flats as white people do, for example.” 

Food for Thought, Gather Pop Ups
By Ella Victoria  

Ella moved from London to Berlin two years ago bringing her dinner concept, Gather, in tow. The nonprofit, community-focussed pop up restaurant “…focuses on food’s ability to connect people, spark conversation and create social change. Gather aims to diversify the food industry through profiling a range of cooks, stories and cuisines, and uses food as a way to bring people together within their community. All proceeds go to a different charity every event, agreed on between the chef and I.” Ella also runs Food for Thought; a radio show bringing together those involved in food.

“As a concept”, she says “it was easier to launch in Berlin than it was in London, particularly with the support of local restaurant owners. I was connected with Claude from JAJA, a natural wine restaurant in Berlin, and she immediately got what I was going for…and it kind of went from there. It’s people like Claude that makes Berlin what it is about. Community and connectedness.”

KhadijaSound
By Khadija 

Khadija is an emerging musician who’s officially been DJing for three years. She’s the woman behind KhadijaSound: a show that explores velvety textures from smooth R&B to house rollers. To date, her musical career has been the result of experimentation and acting on instinct. “I’m coming basically as a singer/songwriter…composing and producing. I produced a song, submitted it to a competition in Amsterdam and got selected. That basically gave me the validation that I was on the right path,” she says. It seems to be working. She’s since played at MELT festival and has the Berlin music circuit down pat with performances booked at Else, OHM, and Hör online. 

Khadija’s approach to music is decidedly spiritual. “Vibration is a universal language. It’s all energy. To connect to that is to be more connected to everything that’s around us,” she says. The South German native of Eritrean descent has spent 11 years in Berlin. While she’s had her fair share of thumping techno moments, she’s now focussed on the classics from Detroit and Chicago Techno/House. “After the pandemic, I felt really settled down and understood what I really wanted in my life in general. I found the complete consciousness of the world changed… People understand what they want or don’t want. I understand I want to play music that makes my body feel warm. That gives me joy, that makes my heart warm.” 

Comme À La Radio
By Maryisonacid 

It’s hard to talk about those diversifying Berlin’s music scene without mentioning Maryama Luccioni, or Maryisonacid. The Corsican native is the founder of the African Acid Is The Future label and parties that have been running for the past seven years. Discussing the parties, she says, “I felt like it was more of a window to a movement for the people of Berlin who wanted an alternative to just a full on club or techno night,”. The vision for the parties is to create a celebratory atmosphere “like a wedding or a ball” with live African music performances blending into DJ sets that layer techno and afro music. Maryama says, “To me, the origin of techno is a movement, it’s a spirit. And I think in the way of celebration in Africa there is that in common.” 

The raw, free spiritedness of Maryama’s parties and mixes extends to her radio shows which she appreciates as an outlet for live streaming her feelings for the day. With five years at Worldwide FM under her belt, she knows her way around a radio booth and is now sharing this experience with workshops, radio programs and mixes at Refuge.  

TABLOID Soundsystem
By NM DJ

Nat Marcus has a way of inhabiting the dichotomy of creativity. She is the cofounder of TABLOID publishing press, an outlet traditionally steeped in long and “geological” lead times, but can broadcast a live radio show. She researches and documents the realities of House music but fuses it with the mythicism of club culture. The poet from New York says “…house is an intellectual object of study, but also very emotional, mental and spiritual.” In her broadcasts you’ll hear spoken word, interviews, and sound bites feeding into cerebral ambient or walloping drum and bass tracks. 

From radio to clothing, poetry to music, her outputs are an exploration of publishing itself and a curiosity for nightlife. “When I was young I started listening to Jungle out of the blue, I think I already had a sense of a kind of nocturnal pull, that I felt really tempted by. I was interested in the ritual of going out. Even if you’re going to a house party you still feel this kind of texture of potentiality and a kind of playfulness and chaos,” she says. The self-proclaimed dancefloor lover is happy to have a space to explore formats. It’s part of what keeps her coming back to the Refuge Worldwide booth. “When I started, really, I just wanted to be able to play on some decks very regularly…Richard was down with the idea and I think they’re down with people who are trying to use the radio format for more than just playing out a power set. To think of it more like a broadcast.”

Fast Castle Transmissions
By Fast Castle 

An episode of Fast Castle Transmission could take you anywhere from a guest special with a world famous DJ to 60 minutes dedicated to the moon. Lucas, aka Gent1e $oul, and Felix, aka Cubemod, hail from Germany and have known each other since university where they hosted their own radio show and received credit points for producing music and videos in the studio on campus. Now, they run a small vinyl label called Fast Castle that, among other things, offers both fast and slower-paced bass-heavy sounds. From their work to their radio show, it’s obvious the guys have a sense of humour no matter the output. Lucas says, “Full disclosure, Fast Castle is actually an Age of Empires-themed record label. It’s a 2D computer strategy game from 2000 that Felix and I love to play. A lot of the artwork, the track titles, and somewhat of the sound is, is also inspired by this game that we used to play 80% of the time…Currently, I don’t have a Windows laptop, which is something I urgently need to sort out so we can we can go back to gaming.”

When it comes to radio, Lucas says, “our show is really an open place for experimentation and an opportunity for us to bring in all sorts of friends and inspirations from our extended network.” And according to Felix, “Radio, for me, is the most interesting format for combining information and aesthetics. I am a very regular radio listener, and I receive most of my information about what’s going on in the world through radio. The Moon Show was an attempt to recreate that, leaning a bit more towards the musical side.” Fast Castle has been streaming with Refuge Worldwide since the beginning. Lucas says, “Refuge embodies diversity in the programming that they do. For us two, male, white guys it’s fantastic to have a show there but I especially love that diversity and we try to mirror that in what we do.” 

One to Grow On
By Sweet Slice 

Stephanie Caldwell is Sweet Slice. Content Manager by day, avid music collector by night. She started cutting her baby DJ teeth only a few months ago as a participant in Refuge’s Open Decks Night: a night dedicated to those interested in DJing and looking for a space to play in a relaxed environment. “Up until this year, I’d just had the odd stint playing at friend’s birthdays, parties or a wedding. I genuinely wasn’t sure it was something I could be any good at, but I’ve been obsessed with collecting an insane amount of music over the years,” says Caldwell. At the Oona Bar Summer Hangout, she was booked for the prime slot at 8pm highlighting the equal playing field that Refuge creates for its community. 

Steph says it’s this community that’s helped her develop her skills since that first Open Decks Night. “Since I’m just starting out and don’t have equipment, I was lucky enough to run into an awesome DJ (@_ellll_) after one of my sets at Refuge, who kindly offered for me to practice using her setup. Richard and George from Refuge were also really encouraging for me to come and practice at Oona Bar whenever, which was amazing. I was blown away by the community support to keep persevering with it.” It’s the perfect place for Caldwell to explore her interest in a creative field that she says has been “the most powerful addition to all the highs, lows, and in-between parts of life.”