The Lab is our weekly live stream / office party based in London and L.A where we live stream some of the biggest and best names in dance music from genres across the board. Since launching back in 2012 we've played host to some incredible sets and each week we'll be uploading some classic Mixmag Lab material from the vaults. Download this and many more timeless Labs here: bit.ly/1lzDBrs


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Calibre & Craig Richards in The Lab LDN -  March 2014

Craig’s journey began at art school in the late eighties. Over a six year period he attended Bournemouth school of art, St. Martins School of art and the Royal college of art. 
Artist, record collector, DJ, producer, festival organiser and gentleman of the night - Craig Richards can be described in many ways but most of all he is a storyteller. His ability to bring life, breadth and narrative to everything he does is the secret to his success.
As artist in residence and Musical Director at Fabric for 15 years he was responsible for the modern approach taken to the programming of Saturday nights and as a DJ his unique and uncompromising sound provided a unique identity for the club. His early morning sets at the club were legendary, never the same and always challenging. He is as an originator and a DJ held in high esteem by his peers.
His label THENOTHINGSPECIAL has released music by Schatrax, Calibre, Trevino, dBridge and Mathew Johnson to name but a few. Craig’s paintings and drawings appear on all of the covers. He has an ongoing collaboration with studio genius Howie B. In 2006 they created the soundtrack for the award winning animation Rabbit and released a limited edition boxset of music, poetry and drawings to accompany the project. Craig’s own notable releases to date include “Sleeping Rough’ and ‘My Friend Is Losing His Mind”.
In 2017 an opportunity came about for Craig to curate a new festival in Norfolk. Craig was so impressed by the venue Houghton Hall and the existing sculpture park that he decided it should be an arts and electronic music festival. The first edition of Houghton was a huge success. Craig’s ethos of doing things simply but to the best they can be was a winning formula.
After 3 years of cancellations due to extreme weather and the pandemic, Houghton made a grand comeback this year and with some 230 artists from around the world. This instantly reinstated the significance of Houghton within the underground electronic music scene.
To accompany the festival, Craig illustrated a book of drawings representing every artist who performed at Houghton 2017. The work was exhibited in a disused building opposite the Bank of England. The exhibition was entitled ‘A Show of Heads Inside and Out’. Craig’s paintings, drawings and handwriting are synonymous with the festival.
2018 saw the launch of Craig’s project ‘I Want To Like You But I Find It Difficult’ a three part series of events which took place at the Fondazione Prada in Milan. His curation explored the relationship between juxtaposition and preconception.
In recent years Craig formed a project called Collisions. Again exploring the idea of juxtaposition and contrast within Dj sets, it involves infamous back to back sets with Ben UFO, Ricardo Villalobos, Nicolas Lutz and Ivan Smagghe. It takes place bi monthly at Fabric, at Wonderfruit in Thailand, Love international, The Lion and Lamb and every so often around the globe. His solo DJ sets are varied and highly considered. They continue to inspire and excite in equal measure.

Music is like wine, with time it becomes tastier and richer.