Crafting a Radical Blueprint for the Underground

There’s an unruliness to Sarra Wild that feels both deliberate and instinctive—an unrelenting spirit that doesn’t just move through sound but also space, politics, and community. Raised between Algeria and Scotland, the artist came of age between worlds that rarely intersected, but shaped their fearless sensibility. “I needed to create a more inclusive, truly forward-thinking club culture,” they tell Dazed MENA. “When I started over a decade ago, I was one of the few femme or BPoC organisers in the UK.” 

Out of that urgency came OH141, a cult music and arts platform that would grow into one of the UK’s most important underground movements dedicated to women, BPoC, and marginal artists. Wild’s sonic story begins at home, in the haze of Algerian Raï and Lebanese pop, before the pulse of radical French rap (which they discovered thanks to the La Haine soundtrack) and Detroit techno took hold. It’s a collision of rhythms that still drives their sets today. 

“It’s always been about energy and intention,” they explain. “I want people to feel connected—not just to sound, but to where it comes from.” That balance of heritage and experimentation fuels Wild’s magnetic approach to DJing and curating. Whether closing Dweller NY or performing at Nyege Nyege festival in Uganda, their sound seamlessly moves between continents and communities, a reminder that underground culture has always been a global phenomenon.

With OH141, Wild has built a burgeoning ecosystem. Their line-ups have championed voices from across the diaspora, booking boundary-breaking acts like Pan Daijing, Gaika, DJ Storm, and Mica Levi, uplifting local talent wherever they go. “It’s about creating celebratory spaces that are truly inclusive,” they say. “Not just performatively, but in practice.” That means sharing the stage with emerging artists, mentoring new DJs, and building bridges between scenes. 

Wild’s influence now extends far beyond Glasgow as they programme festival stages, lead community workshops, and curate residencies that connect the UK with Morocco, Tunisia, and beyond. In fact, their fortitude lies in a refusal to compromise. “I refused to do Boiler Room or work with problematic brands,” they assert. “That’s why more commercial platforms haven’t heard of me.” It’s a matter of principle. Wild has always chosen integrity over exposure, grounding their career in anti-imperialism and community care. “We need more working-class organisers running our own sh*t,” they add. “Forward-thinking models of creating that are reliant on community, not corporations.”

This cultural curator’s defiance hasn’t gone unnoticed. Wild has been celebrated by Dazed, The List, and She Said So, praised for reshaping Scotland’s cultural landscape, and amplifying voices long ignored by the mainstream. Yet they remain grounded and aware of the collective that fuels their success: “Coming literally from ends in Algeria to connecting marginalised communities across the world – from New York to Uganda to Almaty – that’s what I’m proud of. That’s the work.”

Now based between London and Glasgow, Wild continues to expand the reach of OH141 and their own sound design practice, collaborating with experimental artists, scoring for visual media, and performing at venues worldwide. But they’re not chasing fame. “I could retire tomorrow and know that I achieved more than I intended,” they share. “Everything else is extra.”

If the mainstream never caught up with Wild, it’s because they were never meant to. Their world moves faster, louder, freer—and it’s already left a mark that has uplifted so many who, for so long, have remained unseen.