Locked on at wagamama wednesdays

Locked On is an independent UK Garage record label - formed in 1996, when Britain's Jungle scene was at its peak and 'Cool Britannia' ran rampant, the label initially found a home in the hidden depths of London's pirate radio scene.

Locked On's story is one that highlights the importance of music, subculture and community; so, it makes sense that in honour of their 25th anniversary, they turn to those who are emblematic of each of these things, the people who helped the underground movement become what it is today: young people.

In partnership with Wagamama, Locked On are hosting a competition to find the UK's best emerging student DJs. With the finale in Nottingham on the 9th of November, regional events have run every 'Wagamama Wednesday' in October. We were invited along to the Cardiff event on to see what it was all about.

My train arrived in Cardiff at about 8:30pm and I made my way through the drizzle to Wagamama Cardiff Library - when I got there the music had already started and the restaurant was somewhat full. Though it would be unrealistic to expect a restaurant to be packed on a dark and rainy Wednesday; it still felt slightly disappointing that more people hadn't come out.

However, the people that were there were engaged and bopping along to what was playing – with a particular highlight of the night being a collective moment of realisation that a mix of Vengaboys' 'We like to Party!' was playing.

Our DJ for the night was Kow (@kow_mvsic), who was so great and clearly very talented, his music matched the vibe of the room so well, it was upbeat and interesting enough to hook my attention while also remaining laid-back enough as not to disturb those who were not there for the event. It's a difficult tightrope to walk, but Kow did it well.

My only complaint was that he was put on a table in the corner of the room, which made him kind of hard to spot initially – though this is an issue that would have been difficult to solve, as the restaurant still needed to be functional.

Overall, the music was great, the staff were lovely, and the concept was exciting – this event was a really cool way to celebrate up-and-coming student DJs as well as Locked On's origins. With a little more polish and publicity, I could see another iteration of this event or something similar becoming really popular. It's always fantastic to see young people and emerging artists be celebrated, especially by large companies such as Wagamama and by such a mainstay in British music culture as Locked On - I'd love to see more events like this happen in the future.