A new live music venue and café, studio and record shop have opened in Brighton's North Laine.
Bella Union is an independent record label and artist management company.
They have won Independent Record Company of the Year four times, and their acts have won Mercury awards and earned Brit nominations.
Whilst this venue in Gloucester Street is new, Bella Union has been a prominent part of Brighton’s music scene for many years.
It is owned by Simon Raymonde, previously bassist for the Cocteau Twins, who established Bella Union in 1997.
In reference to their new venue, Bella Union said: ‘After nine years in small brick and mortar retail spaces in Brighton, we stumbled across a building in the North Laine that could fit our record label operations, management company, recording studio, as well as a shop big enough to fit a cafe set up as well as accommodate live events - all under one roof!’
Bella Union use their new vinyl shop and live music space to spotlight their Bella Union talent, signed under their record label and management.
A recent ‘grand opening’ saw performances from two of their bands, LuxJury and Family Stereo.
Both are recent signings, and each performed a set of original songs that went down very well with a packed crowd.
Family Stereo performed at Brighton’s Mutations Festival, in the Alphabet venue.
Raymonde also provided music, playing a DJ set using vinyl as people arrived.
For the evening, they sold Abyss beer, locally brewed in Lewes, with soft drinks also available.
Their new addition of a café also meant hot drinks were on offer, with the inclusion of matcha and chai lattes alongside the usual coffees and teas.
Read more:
- Up-and-coming singer films music video for debut single in the city
- Scientologists played bagpipe music on speakers to drown out protesters
- Musical tribute to Johnny Cash and June Carter coming next spring
The venue was filled for the grand opening and brought an enjoyable atmosphere to the new space.
Most of the employees at the Bella Union shop are also musicians.
The new venue, when not being used for live performances, converts into a café and ‘hang out space’ with its recording studio upstairs.
The building itself is a former ginger beer factory, and with this comes industrial features that, paired with its stylish interior, make for an interesting spot.
It has unique features such as a CD listening booth, a sofa area to relax and some rare Cocteau Twins memorabilia.
The shop sells merchandise, cassettes, CDs and vinyl, with the vast majority being Bella Union acts.
When speaking on the new shop they said: "We are thrilled to expand our in store programming and community outreach.
"It's a victory to be open this long as a high street shop in this day and age, and we have our fans to thank for that."
They previously hosted popular ‘Sandwich Sessions’, free live performances for bands in Brighton, at their record shop.
With this now over, how Bella Union decides to showcase talent in this new venue is something to look out for.
They finished by saying: "We will be celebrating 30 years as a record label in 2027, so watch this space!"
