Thirteen cities, nineteen days, not a single flight. Starting tonight, Oct 15, at Shelter in Antwerp, London DJ and producer Ben Gomori swaps the airport lounge for the dining car with Trax On Da Tracks, a European tour travelled entirely by rail.
The route leaves from London St. Pancras and runs through Belgium, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Hungary and the Czech Republic until 2 November. That’s 5,872 km over 24 train journeys, saving an estimated tonne of carbon compared to flying the same loop.
Why Ben Gomori is touring by train
Trax On Da Tracks starts from a feeling many touring DJs know but rarely say out loud. “I’ve felt guilt around flying for a long time,” Gomori says. “It seems so ridiculous to fly somewhere to DJ for a couple of hours.”
The carbon is only half the story. Gomori ties slow touring directly to the burnout that keeps surfacing in our scene:
Slower, more enjoyable touring is also better for our mental health. There have been way too many cases of burnout and worse in our industry.
He’s also attempting the whole tour on a plant-based diet. Alongside it, he’s running a fundraiser for music-industry climate charity Earth.Percent, with 100% of donations going to them.
Mixes recorded on the move
The stops go beyond club nights, taking in hi-fi listening bars, radio stations and record shops. Selected sets stream live via Mixcloud Live.
Between cities, AlphaTheta’s portable OMNIS-DUO and 64 Audio in-ear monitors let him record mixes on the trains themselves for his YouTube channel. At Tanzgemeinschaft, we’re curious how much of the passing landscape ends up in the selection.
Who is Ben Gomori
Gomori co-runs the Balearic London party and label with Ariane V and Gaucho, alongside his own Monologues Records imprint. This year he made his Berghain-family debut at nd_baumecker’s Revolting party in Lab.oratory. He also played São Paulo Pride and SundaySunday in Mexico City, and released the Inner Luv EP, featuring a collaboration with Lauer.
He hosts the weekly Turned On Podcast and runs Pitchblack Playback, a series of deep listening sessions held in complete darkness. Gomori hopes the tour becomes a template: “I hope this Trax On Da Tracks can become a blueprint for my future touring habits, and inspire others to look into slower and more eco-conscious ways of touring.”
Trax On Da Tracks: all dates
Thursday 15 October – Shelter, Antwerp
Friday 16 October – Spin, Munich
Friday 16 October – Goldener Reiter, Munich
Saturday 17 October – Funkhaus, Vienna
Tuesday 20 October – Birdcage Radio, Utrecht
Saturday 24 October – Koda, Rotterdam
Saturday 24 October – PAAK, Nijmegen
Tuesday 27 October – Lahmacun Radio, Budapest
Tuesday 27 October – GOZO, Budapest
Thursday 29 October – Twist, Prague
Friday 30 October – Private Event, Berlin
Saturday 31 October – Refuge Worldwide, Berlin
Saturday 31 October – Kitkatclub, Berlin
Catch him on his tour, follow the streams on Mixcloud Live, and support Earth.Percent through the fundraiser.
