The Urban Listening Room: A Sound System Session with Charlie Dark

About the event

Hosted in the UCL Urban Room on London’s creative East Bank, this session this session traces the journeys that brought Charlie Dark MBE and DIVINE KIND (Dana Sousa-Limbu) to the sound system, revealing how together they transform an institutional space into a living archive of sound, memory, and community.

Move through a deep listening journey of soul, dub, jazz, and ambient London rhythms, guided by Charlie’s 'Run Dem Sounds' system. Along the way, you’ll be invited to contribute short spoken reflections that respond to the prompt:

"What sounds or stories keep your system alive?"

Unlike traditional listening sessions, this is not about sitting still — it’s about making space. You’re invited to listen actively, move, and (if you wish) record your voice. These reflections will be woven into a collective soundscape documenting our shared routes to sound, belonging, and connection in London.

Elements of the evening (set-up, sound, and conversation) will be recorded, remixed, and pressed as a one-off vinyl dubplate: a tactile record of presence and participation. The recording will also be digitised and archived for future events in The Urban Listening Room.

Developed with the support of The Bartlett Pan-African Indigenist Collective, the project draws on African diasporic traditions of DIY culture, creative resistance, and collective making, treating the sound system as both infrastructure and story. Altogether, a technology for connection that’s been carried, wired, and remade across generations.

“I like putting things in spaces they’re not traditionally seen.” - Charlie Dark

Ultimately, ‘The Urban Listening Room’ asks what happens when a sound system (as a diasporic architecture of gathering, care, and joy) enters the university, and how its vibrations might help us imagine more inclusive ways of listening, learning, and making space together.

What to expect

• A deep listening journey led by Charlie Dark and DIVINE KIND through the ‘Run Dem Sounds’ sound system.
• A chance to reflect on the prompt: 'What sounds or stories keep your system alive?"
• An optional recording station where your reflection becomes part of a collective soundscape.
• A signature cocktail or tea, conversation and a relaxed atmosphere as the Urban Room is activated by sound, community, and care.
• A collaborative sound archive, later digitised and pressed as a one-off vinyl, connecting this session to future phases of The Urban Listening Room.

This is a free event, however booking is essential.

By signing up, you consent to be audio recorded and for your recording to contribute to the final sound work. If you would like to opt out, please contact Dana Sousa-Limbu (dana.sousa-limbu@ucl.ac.uk) in advance.

Listening session facilitators

Charlie Dark MBE is a DJ, public speaker, community builder, and founder of the influential Run Dem Crew. Charlie Dark’s work bridges music, movement, and wellbeing. His practice centres on bringing communities together through rhythm, running, and sound-system culture; from nightclubs to parks to classrooms. Charlie’s sound system, Run Dem Sounds, is both sculpture and sanctuary: a diasporic technology of care designed to create moments of calm, reflection, and joy in the city.

DIVINE KIND is the creative-research practice of DJ-researcher and cultural producer Dana Sousa-Limbu, whose work explores radical human care through sound and social gathering in urban environments. Dana investigates DJs and sound systems as infrastructures of care, creating spaces where collective listening becomes a tool for wellbeing, connection, and creative resistance in London. As Cultural Programming and Events Lead of The Bartlett Pan-African Indigenist Collective, she supports grassroots-led initiatives that centre Black and African perspectives within architectural and spatial education. Her recent cultural productions include commissions for the London Design Biennale and The Cally Festival, where she explored how sound can build belonging and community care.

About the Memory Workshop

The Memory Workshop is a collecting and digitisation project within the UCL Urban Room. Using the idea of lab-based learning, the workshop records oral histories within London and on campus. Students and users of the workshop can digitise vinyl records, VHS and cassette tapes as well as edit their own digital materials. This work is part of Urban Room’s commitment to supporting impactful student research and developing collaborations with artists, residents and organisations around the Olympic Park where UCL East is located.

Discover more Memory Workshops within the Just Imaginaries Exhibition programming at the UCL Urban Room.