A decade is a long time in club-land and VOLAR, Hong Kong’s legendary nightspot has hosted DJs that would make any venue jealous.
For many years, Volar was THE place in Hong Kong to catch emerging talents right before they went on to become major forces in contemporary music.
Under the direction of co-founder Ben Ku, Volar was the first in the city to showcase cutting-edge names such as JUSTICE, Busy P, Major Lazer, Switch, Feadz, Boys Noize, Sinden, Tittsworth, Boy 8-Bit, Digitalism, Kitsune’s Gildas and Masaya, The Bloody Beetroots, A-Trak, Brodinski, and many more.
Pioneers such as DJ Shadow, 2manydjs, Stretch Armstrong, Mos Def, and DJ Krush were also given the stage to show Hong Kong how they earned their reps.
DJ Krush performed at Volar in 2006
One of our all-time favorite photos from Volar comes from Major Lazer’s performance in 2010, when Skerrit Bwoy climbed along the ceiling and then dangled upside down from the pipes during a song!
A Glimpse Back
Over the course of ten years, Volar has been remodeled multiple times. Older club-goers might still remember the initial design that featured a circular room and DJ booth.
A hotspot for young, cosmopolitan locals, when it first opened, Volar was packed with people from 11:30pm to 5:30 am on weekends. It literally got crowded to the point where you could barely move.
Subsequent layouts have added more tables, which fits Hong Kong’s style of party-within-a-party culture.
Here’s what the “line” outside looked like when Kendrick Lamar recently performed!
A few of our older posts capture the look of Volar’s earlier days.
Check out Halloween 2006 at VOLAR with a prom theme!
Additional photos of the old design can be found in this post from 2007, “Model Walk-Offs At Club Volar: Hong Kong’s Newest Sport?“.
On their third anniversary, Volar was again remodeled, adding the Circus Room.
More details were added on the fourth anniversary as well, particularly in the lounge side of the club.
In 2013, Volar underwent major renovations that briefly closed down the club. Partygoers were allowed to write their farewell messages on the walls… which got messy! 😉
The current look of the club is more contemporary with additional lighting and a completely new table structure.
Over the years, foreign celebrities have also been frequent guests. Josh Hartnett practically lived at Volar when he was in town. On other nights, Hollywood’s Edward Norton was seen standing at the bar, and there have been dozens of other sightings. You never really know who might turn up.
Volar 10th anniversary celebration!
On Thursday, January 15th, Volar will celebrate its tenth anniversary with DJ Mixmaster Mike, the former DJ for The Beastie Boys.
Mixmaster Mike was extremely influential in the West Coast DJ scene, and a pioneer D.M.C. DJ champion. He’s also the guy who introduced future legend Q-Bert to scratching.
On Thursday night you can expect a major party filled with familiar faces.
Congrats Ben, Jaime, Ray, and the many DJs, staff, and friends who have made Volar a special place over the last decade! Happy 10th anniversary Volar!
Volar X Anniversary Party
Thursday, January 15th, 2015
Volar
Basement 38-44 D’Aguilar Steet
Lan Kwai Fong
Central, Hong Kong
Brodinski & Gesaffelstein played a memorable set at Volar in 2012
Yo! Thanks for the love and support bro. 10 yrs is a long time, but it went by so fast! Good times bro, good times!
Love the new look of HKHustle!!
Thanks Ben! 10 years is a lot of cranberry juice! 😉 Looking forward to celebrating with you! 🙂