Lagoon Laundry Is Throwing A Rave At The Back Of A… Laundromat

Cafes and bookshops are now cultural hubs — can a laundrette join the club? We spin into a space where laundry meets music and community.

Wash, rinse, rave: Lagoon Laundry spins more than just clothes. Credit: Courtesy of Zhi Hui Peh

By Keng Yang Shuen, 16 Apr 2025

To many in the East Coast neighbourhood, Lagoon Laundry is a cosy and compact launderette located on the second floor of the nondescript Katong V mall. To many Gen Zers and those in the electronic music scene here, it’s an independent online radio show, named after and based out of said shop, started by the 28‑year‑old Zhi Hui Peh just over a year ago.

On most days, the 28‑year‑old Zhi Hui Peh – a former DJ at siam dius (Thai nightclubs or discos) – is a dry‑cleaner at his family’s launderette Lagoon Laundry at Katong V. On Thursdays – when the business is closed for its weekly break – he transforms the place into the headquarters of Lagoon Laundry the online radio show, recording himself or fellow DJs performing hard‑hitting sets on the premises as the washing machines in the background spin along.
Courtesy of Zhi Hui Peh

Peh’s family runs the professional laundry business and he works there Fridays to Wednesdays as a dry‑cleaner. The idea to give Lagoon Laundry a pulsating second life on Thursdays – when it doesn’t operate – was born out of his love of DJing (he reveals that he has spun at Thai discos and several defunct clubs) and his playful, experimental nature: Why not set up a controller on site and record one playing?

“It started with me, but I soon realised there’s so much talent out there in the scene here,” Peh says. “That was when I decided to start inviting other selectors and producers whom I feel deserve a platform to showcase their sound to come by and spin too.”

Since then, Peh has recorded 35 sets – all using his iPhone – and uploaded them to the namesake YouTube channel, and Instagram and TikTok accounts he started for Lagoon Laundry the online radio show (Lagoon Laundry the launderette is only on Facebook). The music is a mixed bag: house, trance, techno, electro‑punk, bass, dubstep, rap, you name it.

Music promoter Ayano Ueno (in foreground with blonde hair), 31, who spins under the DJ moniker Aya, brought on the party with her friends who had accompanied her for support
Courtesy of Zhi Hui Peh

And unlike the music video‑esque productions of more famous channels such as HOR Berlin, which helped to popularise the trend of streaming live DJ sets during the Covid‑19 pandemic, Peh keeps Lagoon Laundry real: seemingly random visitors walk in and out of frame, and some of them – Peh included – get their laundry done at the same time and in full view of the camera. Says Peh: “What makes us different from other online radio shows is the authenticity of our videos … You might notice bloopers here and there, but to me, that’s okay.”

This laid‑back, do‑as‑you‑please approach extends to the DJs spotlighted. One doesn’t need experience to get a spot on Lagoon Laundry – Peh’s only criterion is that one’s music “has got to have soul”.

Ahead, snapshots of some of the DJs who have popped by Lagoon Laundry for not the washing machines but a spin on the decks, helping to create what some might call the freshest (geddit?) music community in town now.