Some things do not survive being described, and the particular ease of an AZAZ afternoon is one of them. That is why the collective has named its eighth pop-up after a proverb about giving up on hearsay and going to see for yourself.
On Saturday 12 September 2026, AZAZ Collective takes over Katsute100’s Broadway Market tea room in Hackney from 3pm to 9pm, with a quiet afternoon of makers and records that turns into an evening of dancing and drinks. Two of the four DJs founded the collective, the tea room is launching new alcoholic drinks for the occasion, and entry is free with a ticket.
A Hackney tea room where makers and records turn into an evening of dancing.
Why Vol.8 is called 百聞一見 (Hyakubun Ikken)
The full proverb is 百聞は一見に如かず, hyakubun wa ikken ni shikazu: hearing something a hundred times does not match seeing it once. It comes from the Book of Han, where the general Zhao Chongguo, asked from a distance how to handle a frontier campaign, answered that he would rather go and look for himself. AZAZ has shortened it to Hyakubun Ikken and given it the English gloss “Experience It Yourself”.
Kazuki, who co-founded AZAZ, tells us the name came from trying to describe what the events are actually like and giving up:
The true appeal of events by AZAZ Collective, and what sets them apart from other events, is something that can only be experienced by being there in person. The same goes for the incredible atmosphere inside Katsute100. It’s something you simply have to experience for yourself.
Whether it is your first time or you have stopped by an AZAZ event before, the collective is clear that you are part of the community on the day.
Three colleagues from Osaka, Edinburgh and Kildare who started AZAZ in 2025
AZAZ takes its name from azasu, the clipped street version of arigatō gozaimasu, so the collective is, in effect, named after saying thank you. It was founded in 2025 by three friends who work together at the record distributor Juno Distribution: Kazuki from Japan, Joe from Scotland and John from Ireland.
Kazuki was born in Osaka, spent ten years in Tokyo and then moved to London, where the first impression was uncomfortably familiar. In the collective’s own introduction he writes:
London felt just like Tokyo. Too much information. Too little space to breathe. Everyone fighting their own battles alone. I learned that loneliness in a big city looks the same everywhere.
He told his colleague Joe about the loneliness and the frustration with cliquey events, and Joe’s reply was “I know exactly what you mean.” Joe was a DJ and Kazuki collected clothes, and the plan formed from there: music and fashion give people a reason to show up, and once they are there, you give them a place to belong. John, another colleague, heard what the two were building and joined without hesitating.
John grew up in Newbridge, County Kildare, and his account of how he ended up in music is the most Irish sentence you will read this week:
There wasn’t a lot to do growing up there, so most young people fell into sports or arts, and I couldn’t kick a point from 5 yards, so I fell into the latter.
Joe was born in Edinburgh, spent nine years in Glasgow and now shares a London studio with his childhood friend Kombo. Both of them play at Vol.8: Joe DJs as Lowree and John as CLRY. Between the three of them the collective has built seven gatherings so far, including a first birthday party at MKII Hackney in May, and the house rules have stayed the same throughout: everyone is welcome, respect comes first, no ego, no judgement.
Two sessions: a quiet afternoon from 3pm, then dancing from 6pm
The day is split in two, and it is worth planning around that. From 3pm to 6pm the room is calm and intimate, with the music kept understated so that guests and the makers on the stalls can actually talk. From 6pm to 9pm the focus shifts to the records, the dancing and the drinks.
Lowree, CLRY, Kenji and tano:c are the four DJs, and the collective will not publish set times in advance. Kazuki tells us that is deliberate: they would rather people experience all four than turn up for one name and miss the others. Lowree is a resident for Hijack at Glasgow’s La Cheetah Club and also held a monthly slot at Cabaret Voltaire with Hometown Edinburgh. CLRY and Kenji both played the first birthday in May, and Kenji was part of the eight-DJ bill at AZAZ’s biggest night to date at Oslo Hackney last November. tano:c first came to AZAZ as a guest and returns to Vol.8 behind the decks, and he is a friend of Kenji’s, which is the kind of connection the collective was set up to make.
The pop-up market: new AZAZ apparel, a sample sale, and four independent makers
Fashion is the second half of the AZAZ idea, and the pop-up for Vol.8 has been curated by the collective itself. AZAZ’s own stall carries its original apparel, with new pieces added especially for this collaboration, and the collective is holding a sample sale on the day, so early arrivals get the best of it.
Alongside it, Akira Sasaki Clothing brings graphic tees, hoodies and art prints designed by the artist himself, on the principle that good art belongs in everyday life and should be affordable to own. MZ Leather Objects brings small handmade leather pieces, MEROMEROxoxo returns after a stint at the anniversary market, and Kogobo rounds out the makers. At AZAZ events the stalls are where the conversations tend to start, and the afternoon session is built to give them room.
Bakes from Gu Choki Pan and bagels from Bagel9 Zaksan
Food comes from two small Japanese producers, which suits a tea room afternoon.
Gu Choki Pan is a West London micro bakery run by Yumiko, and the name is a play on gu, choki, pa, the Japanese call for rock, paper, scissors, with pan, the word for bread. Its melon pan (a matcha and anko version is a signature), curry pan and sourdough shokupan usually sell through a weekly changing online menu for collection or delivery, so buying them across a table is a rare chance. Bagel9 Zaksan handles the bagels.
Katsute100 Broadway Market and its new drinks
Katsute100 is one of our favourite places for matcha in London, a small group of boutique tea rooms whose name, katsute, means “once” and carries a deliberate sense of nostalgia. The Broadway Market branch at 4 Broadway Market Mews is its newest, and in the company’s own words it is spacious and pared back, on a more industrial scale than its intricately dressed Angel and Brick Lane rooms.
The collaboration was AZAZ’s idea. Katsute100 has recently extended this branch beyond its daytime café into evening drinks, alcohol included, and Kazuki tells us the point of Vol.8 is to bring people through the door for that and help both sides grow together. The new drinks being introduced for the day are alcoholic, and beyond that Katsute100 is keeping the menu under wraps until you are standing at the counter.
Erika Kita’s flyer: the number 100 and nothing else in the brief
The Vol.8 flyer is the work of Erika Kita, a professional designer with Japanese roots who has recently joined the AZAZ creative team. Kazuki tells us the brief was two lines long: because the title turns on the number 100, work the proverb into the design, and because both Katsute100 and AZAZ are rooted in Japanese culture, make it feel distinctly Japanese. No visual references, no further direction. Everything else in the finished flyer is hers.
Plan your Saturday: Broadway Market at lunch, Katsute100 from 3pm
Katsute100 opens for food from 11am as usual, so you can settle in for tea and a bake before the pop-up begins at 3pm. Broadway Market’s Saturday street market runs from 9am to 5pm on the same road, with over 150 stalls, so the simplest plan is to come for lunch, walk the market, and be at the tea room when the first record goes on. London Fields station is the nearest, and Regent’s Canal sits at the northern end of the street if you want a walk between sessions.
Tickets are free but you need one, and AZAZ events have filled up before. Book on Resident Advisor, come early for the sample sale and the calm half of the day, and stay for the half where the volume goes up. If you are coming alone, that is rather the point.
Event information
- What: AZAZ POP-UP Vol.8 百聞一見 (Hyakubun Ikken), a collaboration between AZAZ Collective and Katsute100
- When: Saturday 12 September 2026, 3pm to 9pm (afternoon session 3pm to 6pm, evening session 6pm to 9pm; Katsute100 open for food from 11am)
- Where: Katsute100 Broadway Market, 4 Broadway Market Mews, London E8 4TS
- Tickets: Free, booked in advance via Resident Advisor
- DJs: Lowree, CLRY, Kenji, tano:c (set times not announced)
- Pop-up: AZAZ Collective (new apparel and sample sale), Akira Sasaki Clothing, MZ Leather Objects, MEROMEROxoxo, Kogobo
- Food: Gu Choki Pan, Bagel9 Zaksan
- Flyer design: Erika Kita
Katsute100 Broadway Market
Free tickets for AZAZ Pop-Up Vol.8 are available now on Resident Advisor, and the collective posts line-up and stall updates on the AZAZ Collective Instagram.
