Refraction ᛥ IRL

From ramen joints to retro arcades, @benoit.tokyo maps a Tokyo that runs on crate digs, café lattes and fighting game combos. Benoît is a Tokyo-based producer, writer and curator working across new media art and internet culture. He co-founded LAN Party, a curatorial duo focused on digital art, gaming and internet subcultures, and works with @mutek.jp as a content strategist. For our IRL Guide to Tokyo, Benoît shares nine spots across the city, from a Sasazuka coffee shop co-founded by a FWB alum to a Bakurocho gallery dedicated to digital art. 1. @menottis_tokyo 2. @flotsambooks 3. Game Spot Versus 4. @domicile.tokyo 5. Hakata Ramen Barikote 6. @katanebakery 7. @park.in.park.tokyo 8. @the_haruki_murakami_library 9. @neort_2 Comment “IRL” to get the Tokyo guide in your DMs. #tokyo #tokyoguide #tokyotips #tokyoart #tokyofood

999HEARD and @irl_energy invite you to the Toronto stop of the IRL Tour for Low End Theory on JUNE 12 .𖥔 ݁ ˖ִ ࣪⚝₊ ⊹˚ A night dedicated to the expansive and evolving electronic sounds of the African continent and its diaspora. .𖥔 ݁ ˖ִ ࣪⚝₊ ⊹˚ We are thrilled to welcome Kem Kem (@kemkemlij joining us from the UK. Known for her technical precision and sets that traverse Lagos-inspired grooves, heavy club edits, and UK bass, Kem Kem brings a global perspective to the Toronto underground. Supporting the night is a heavy-hitting lineup of local favourites: Sonic Griot @sonicgriot , Jelz @jelzjelz and 999ADJ @999_adj .𖥔 ݁ ˖ִ ࣪⚝₊ ⊹˚ This event is a collaboration with IRL @irl_energy , a platform that connects you to artists and venues around the world. In the spirit of the IRL mission, your presence is your participation, discover the sound, check in, and earn rewards just for showing up and being part of the community. .𖥔 ݁ ˖ִ ࣪⚝₊ ⊹˚ We’ll be serving free jollof starting at 11 PM while supplies last, so come early to fuel up for the dancefloor 🌀 poster by @samuelwasserman early bird tickets available on RA DONT SLEEP! .𖥔 ݁ ˖ִ ࣪⚝₊ ⊹˚ .𖥔 ݁ ˖ִ ࣪⚝₊ ⊹˚ .𖥔 ݁ ˖ִ ࣪⚝₊ ⊹˚ .𖥔 ݁ ˖ִ ࣪⚝₊ ⊹˚ JUNE 12 @standardtime.to 11-late .𖥔 ݁ ˖ִ ࣪⚝₊ ⊹˚

Over the many months we’ve been building IRL, and the many years we’ve been collaborating as Refraction, it’s always been clear to us that the venues and physical spaces are the connective tissue of club culture, but they’re not often in conversation with each other. We’re launching the IRL Venue Network as a way for independent venues to harness the network effects often only accessible to conglomerates and corporations. Inspired by networks like @shapeplatform , ICAS, and @reset.networks , we aim to promote, support, and map activity between like-minded independent venues. The IRL Venue Open Call extends the efforts of the IRL Tour, asking clubs, listening bars, galleries and artist-run spaces to join this constellation of venues worldwide. Whenever we plan to show up in your city, we’ll hit you up to talk all things local: City Guides, opening DJs, bar buy-outs. If you run a space, of any shape or size, we hope you’ll join us. Comment “IRL” to get the Venue Network form in your DMs

Day dot IRL members may notice things looking a little different over here. We’re adopting a new visual language to better communicate our mission of supporting the places, people and artists who create culture. You’ll see the new IRL design on our web app, where you can find curated, local recommendations for listening bars, clubs, coffee shops, and more. Better yet, you can support your favourite spots by adding them to the map at IRL.energy at the link in bio.

BODY OS Playground - moments from within ✦ Still landing after BODY OS Playground at @bunkerwestberlin , hosted in collaboration with @refraction_irl . This gathering brought together somatics, dance, and technology as a shared research space where people arrived in many different emotional states yet connected through a desire to let go, build trust, and return to the body. Practices rooted in somatics and dance therapy suggest that movement can help process and transmute emotional states by increasing bodily awareness, supporting nervous system regulation, and allowing feelings to move rather than remain fixed. Thank you to all facilitators and dancers for showing up with presence and openness, and to everyone who helped shape this experience. Facilitators: @sophiemars_ @aerodynamika @seksperience @michael.ognianer Producers: @healingfrequenciez @holydayzzz Photography: @antontalphoto Thanks to @refraction_irl & @wearesomethingandnothing ✨

Miami through the eyes of someone Little Havana raised. @ngpdata is an interdisciplinary artist, DJ, founder of @miamicommunityradio and @touring.tools , RBMA alumni and knows the city’s underground like a system he helped build. A long-time IRL member, these are his spots worth knowing. @fruitflyrecords Globetrotting crate diggers, go here. Ask for Romulo or Gio. Apparently there’s Persian food downstairs. @soundluxaudio Best hi-fi store in town. Industry-leading systems and historic gear in the same room. @dear_eleanor305 Home to MCR. A third space and venue for the people actually building Miami’s creative scene. @the.veganmarie One of the best vegan spots in the city, right in the heart of Little Haiti. Look for the Dr. Sebi mural. @flaglerstbakery Julian Pan, every Sunday at Over Under. Artisanal baked goods, don’t sleep on it. Comment “IRL” and we’ll send you the full guide.

Beyond @baselmiami , @ultra , and next week's Consensus, there are rooms in Miami that don't make the tourist map but make the city worth coming back to. We asked three people to show us around in 2022 — @ngpdata , founder of @miamicommunityradio , and musical @invt305 and the now Paris-based @bitterbabe_ Their picks shaped how we think about local knowledge ever since. Today, with some fresh 2026 updates: the IRL Guide to Miami. @elpubrestaurant @lunapastaedolci @dale_zine @maryscafemiami @thecornermiami @techniquerecords @floydmiami Comment "IRL" and we'll send it to you.

The IRL Tour started with a simple idea: connect with global scenes, and celebrate the people and artists who know that things are better when you do them together. In 2025 we put out an open call for producers to tell us about what’s happening locally and how we could help. After receiving 63 applications from 34 cities, we learned that people everywhere are trying to build the same thing: sustainable ecosystems around the music, spaces and communities they care about. 15 of these proposals received support to become IRL Tour events, with stops in Berlin, Tokyo, New York, Mexico City and more. São Paulo, Copenhagen, and Toronto are still to come. Become a member at IRL.energy to be first on tickets, City Guides and future Open Call announcements. @dianedrubay @fermi.ams @sunshinevendetta @maachewbentley @sohmhos.art @breakglassstudios @genkinshida @joyspace_berlin @l444u_ @999heard @999_adj #irl #nightlife #clubculture

We’re hiring a Marketing & Partnerships Director to turn creative direction into campaigns, programmes, and partnerships that drive real-world growth, token adoption, and revenue. This is a full-time, high-ownership role for someone who can think in systems, operate independently, and fund what they build. Remote but NYC preferred. Start immediate. Apply via link in bio.

The rooms where it starts. Thoughts on why independent venues keep disappearing, why everything is starting to feel the same, and what we’re building in response. What’s the last great room you were in? Comment “IRL” to read the full essay. Words by @malcolmdaniel #IRL #clubculture #nightlife

Berlin through the eyes of a designer who lives and makes here. Craig Barrow aka @craigbarrow spatial designer, sculptor, and the person behind the IRL Touchpoint and installations, knows what makes a great experience. We asked him to take us to his Berlin before the IRL Tour stops there this weekend. Seven spots worth knowing. @acid.cafe Sourdough, coffee, kardamom knots. A city staple since 2017. @schneidersladen The most famous synthesizer shop in the world. Workshops every Thursday. @ikii.berlin HiFi audio, wine, sake. Open Wed to Sat. The kind of place where you slow down. @waxonberlin Best bar in Germany 2024. Cocktails from the basement lab. Walk-ins only. @cafetiergarten A modernist listed house in Hansaviertel, open since 1957. Coffee and cake. @grotto.berlin Independent space for contemporary art. Exhibitions, concerts, an annual art book fair. And while you're there — Craig has new work showing as part of SITZEN MACHEN! at @deutschesdesignmuseum this weekend. A collaboration with @mathgari of @garibaldistudio , Opens Saturday 18.00h. Runs through 30 May. Save this for your next trip. p1 w/ @opium_hum already up. Comment "IRL" and we'll send you the full guide.

Berlin through the eyes of someone who's been pushing the edges of it for 15 years. Michail Stangl aka @opium_hum — former lead programmer of @boilerroomtv , long-time curator of @ctmfestival — knows which rooms matter and why. We asked him to take us to his Berlin spaces before we the IRL Tour stops there this weekend. Three fiercely independent spots worth knowing. @pankeculture Sound system tuned for extra low-end. Curation that stays ahead. @90mil___ Performance art, contemporary music, the occasional rave. One of those spaces that never quite fits a single description. @atpitw2.0 Pen-and-paper RPG rule books, dungeon synth cassette tapes, outsider graphic novels. A specialty shop that shouldn't work and completely does. Save this for your next trip. p2 w/designer @craigbarrow coming soon Comment "IRL" and we'll send you the full guide.