No pounding beats, no strobes – just sensual tracks, singalongs and nostalgic vibes. Black-club goers explain how this craze gives them a space to call their own

It’s just past 5pm in West Silvertown, a random-feeling stop on the DLR line in east London’s docklands. It’s not the sexiest time or location, but as my friend and I step inside a nightclub, The Cause, a crowd is singing along to Joe’s outrageously horny 1996 hit All The Things (Your Man Won’t Do). The DJ smoothly transitions into SZA’s Snooze, and the energy in the room shifts – phones shoot up in the air as everyone prepares to belt out the chorus: “I can’t looooose, when I’m with yooooou!”

This is SlowJamsWithA, part of a growing craze where club nights focus not on uptempo pop, house, techno or rap, but instead on slow, sensual R&B that’s usually confined to headphones, or indeed the bedroom. It might seem paradoxical in a club setting, but it’s proving to be a profound and emotional format in Black British nightlife.