One thing everyone knows about me is how passionate I am about collecting music. In an increasingly digital era, our musical consumption has moved behind screens, algorithms and streaming services. And so, it is genuinely delightful to take a break from that and dig through records in a locally run, magical venue. We caught up with Chrix Dexta, owner and creative director of Planet Wax, to find out a bit more about how this space developed into one of London’s most beloved underground music venues.
Tucked away on New Cross Road in South London, Planet Wax is more than just an independent record shop. It doubles as a bar, a dubplate cutting house and even a broadcasting space where DJs, vinyl collectors, promoters and music enthusiasts from all over the UK come together. But what makes Planet Wax particularly interesting is that neither its growing reputation nor the space it has become today was ever really part of the plan.
Planet Wax’s story begins back in 2019, when Chris was working for a well-known independent record label. He was juggling an intense workload, from his work in A&R and design to podcast production and label management, and looking for a way to make some extra cash.
“After my appraisal I was told there would be no raises that year,” Chris recalls. Suddenly he had to think about how he could “rustle and hustle a few quid to compensate.”
His solution was to start cutting dubplates for DJs, artists and record labels during evenings after work and at weekends. Bringing on his friend Lewis, known as Sicknote, what began as a small side project quickly gathered momentum. Operating from Chris’s home studio, the pair soon found themselves looking for a larger, more permanent space to accommodate their growing business.
However, finding somewhere suitable proved much more difficult than expected and, to complicate matters further, Chris unexpectedly found himself facing redundancy.
But what could have been the end of the road for Chris and Lewis turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Armed with redundancy money and a new path forming, Chris found himself awake one night with a very spontaneous idea. “One night I couldn’t sleep and designed the ‘DSC WLRD’ logo”. He sent this logo over to Lewis with a fairly straightforward suggestion: “Shall we open a record shop?” And the rest is history.
For Chris, the ambition had quietly been developing for years. He’d always dreamed of working in a record shop, and the closure of London’s Black Market Records in Soho strengthened his desire to open one of his own. With support from a crowdfunding campaign and an investment from a loyal customer, the pair finally opened their doors. Unfortunately, their timing couldn’t have been worse, as the pair opened their doors just before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the country to a standstill. Following lockdowns, a name change and rising rents, the business faced an uncertain future.
But when Chris discovered a vacant property at 318 New Cross Road, a new chapter began. “The bar has helped keep the shop afloat,” Chris explains, while the DJ culture grew from “a small crew of vinyl fanatics” playing once or twice a week into its own “mini eco-system.” None of this had been planned or deliberately organised; Chris believes “it must have been written in the stars.” And much like a planet, everything seemed to fall naturally into orbit around it.
That natural, grassroots development is still reflected in the atmosphere of the shop today. Chris hopes visitors recognise the love and passion that have gone into the space. Having both promoted events and DJed at Planet Wax myself, I can certainly attest to that. For Chris, building somewhere people could come together has always been important on a personal level. “The community aspect is something I’ve always been keen to grow,” he explains. “Being an only child I need to have people around me, so we can all share ideas and grow as a family.”
What began as a business venture has developed into something far more personal, with friendships and relationships that extend well beyond simply buying records. The team has mostly recruited from within its own circle and many of the people who supported Planet Wax in its earliest days still regularly return for a pint or to spin a few records. That community-led atmosphere is something Chris believes visitors pick up on and lean into almost immediately. “The feeling I strongly believe is just infectious and organic,” he tells us. “If you hang around or sit at the bar for 5 mins you will be chatting about vinyl, and all sorts of other mumbo jumbo. It’s just human and real, you know?”
And perhaps, that is the simplest way to describe the appeal of Planet Wax. You might initially visit for a particular record, event or DJ set, but you’ll find yourself staying considerably longer than planned just to enjoy the space as it is.
Planet Wax’s reach also extends far beyond South London. Regular broadcasts and the Planet Wax YouTube channel have attracted listeners from around the world. Some of those visitors now make annual or twice-yearly trips to visit the shop and Chris in person. What started as Chris’s home studio has grown into a unique space where people travel internationally to experience it.
Planet Wax also doesn’t restrict itself to one particular genre or corner of dance music, largely because the people behind the counter are themselves vinyl DJs and collectors whose musical interests span decades. As Chris explains, “We generally buy in stuff that we like, and sometimes stuff we know that is ‘relevant’ and we know will sell, which brings other people to us, so they can dig deeper into the underground!”
With access to many of the electronic music industry’s key distributors, the team spends time each week listening through new releases and forthcoming records, carefully selecting what deserves a place on the shelves. Rather than leaving discovery entirely to an algorithm, customers can explore music curated by people with years of experience immersed in the scene. Although digital technology has transformed DJing, vinyl remains an important part of keeping underground music innovative and exciting.
This relationship between physical music and digital consumption also came up when we asked Chris about the renewed enthusiasm for vinyl, particularly among younger listeners. “I think what it is, is a rebellion against the black mirror,” he suggests. “Like getting offline and spending your money on real things that we can keep.” For Chris, having millions of tracks instantly available through streaming services risks creating a disconnect between listeners and the music itself, making individual releases feel increasingly disposable. Buying a record offers something tangible to keep, revisit and appreciate. Chris believes this appreciation extends beyond vinyl to other physical formats, including CDs and cassettes. Describing music as something almost mystical, he suggests that having millions of songs available on our phones can create a disconnect between listeners and the art itself.
Quite why younger audiences are increasingly attracted to vinyl remains something of a mystery to him, particularly given how expensive records have become. He jokingly speculates that perhaps younger generations are spending less money on “substances” than people did during the 1990s and 2000s, leaving a little more to invest in their collections. No comment!
This commitment to physical music also extends to dubplate culture, which played an essential role in the development of underground dance music by allowing DJs to play exclusive and unreleased tracks on radio and in clubs. For Chris, preserving that tradition is vital. “Without dubplate culture you will very soon be stuck,” he explains, arguing that without access to exclusive music, “everyone would be playing the same tunes and it would get very boring.”
He offers a rather brilliant analogy to illustrate his point: “Say you’re into swimming, you could remove the pools and use a high tech swimming simulator to experience, but you’d not be swimming.”
However, preserving these traditions doesn’t come without significant challenges. Despite Planet Wax’s popularity, operating an independent record shop in 2026 comes with significant financial pressures. “The biggest challenges for us at the moment would be firstly the rising cost of record manufacturing, record labels and artists selling exclusively direct to customers,” Chris explains. While direct-to-consumer sales can benefit artists and labels, they also make it difficult for independent retailers to compete. Chris points out that customers have become increasingly accustomed to shopping online, making it harder to encourage people through the doors when there isn’t an event taking place. Striking that balance between booking established events that attract larger audiences and providing opportunities for newer, emerging brands presents another challenge. But, Chris is very keen to give everyone a chance to shine.
With Planet Wax approaching seven years since its beginnings, Chris isn’t particularly interested in an ambitious expansion strategy. “I think I am so so happy just preserving and improving what we do right now,” he explains, adding that his priority is to “nurture the community as best we as a team can.” Rather than attempting to become something entirely different, Chris seems more interested in strengthening what Planet Wax already does. And that’s what we love about this venue.
There is, however, one area receiving renewed attention. The Planet Wax record label is being revitalised, providing a platform for artists within the community to release their music. As Chris enthusiastically puts it, “the mission is back on”!
Planet Wax started with someone trying to make a little extra money cutting dubplates, a friend willing to join the adventure and the courage to pursue a dream. Looking back at the business’s original crowdfunding campaign, Chris remembers one particular line: “Let’s write some history.”
Now, nearly seven years later, it’s difficult to argue that Planet Wax hasn’t done exactly that. Through thousands of records, countless conversations, new musical discoveries and a space that continues to evolve, an unexpected business venture has become an established and cherished part of London’s underground music scene.
And while the future remains unpredictable for independent music spaces… Chris seems quite content on keeping those records turning!
You can find Planet Wax on their website here: https://planetwax.net
And on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/planet.wax
