Genesis Events is a Birmingham based collective of DJs bringing the underground sounds of breakbeats, acid house and techno into the consciousness of the Birmingham community. Beginning as a product of the lockdown, Genesis reflects the necessity of rave spaces to bring about feelings of euphoria and community which have felt especially fleeting due to the effects of the pandemic. Since their first event in July, Genesis have gone on to host three more successful events in the iconic Birmingham venue Tunnel Club featuring headliners such as EFFY (who toured with Mall Grab). They have also mixed alongside Australian DJ Partiboi69 who is set to headline at Printworks. All this acts as testament to the future prospects of the collective, as they foreground genres which have not been overly present in Birmingham nightlife, continuing to uphold the original values of the rave scene and paying tribute to the 90s, whilst simultaneously transcending this into the landscape of 2021.
Photo @samgethingmp4
What was the catalyst for starting your own event?
The idea came from the depths of the Covid-19 lockdown, we were spending every waking hour finding and mixing new music in our bedrooms, from heavy Techno to Acid House and beyond, we began to stumble across genres and sounds we had never heard before - and wanted to give other people the opportunity to experience something different when clubs eventually opened. We began to read and educate ourselves on the culture surrounding the Acid House era of the late 1980’s, which was a major turning point, as we felt huge synergies between the social climate that caused the House explosion, and our generations experiences and suffering during the Covid-19 lockdown. Music and fashion have forever worked within a cyclical time frame, and with 30 years having passed since the last big cultural shift we felt we had come across a unique sound at the right time. My mum, a former acid house raver, gave me a book by Wayne Anthony in the summer of 2020, he documented his experiences of running the first illegal Acid House raves in the UK - and by no coincidence his company was named ‘Genesis.’ With lockdown ending in the summer of 2021, we wanted to open the doors to a new soundscape in Birmingham, pushing underground UK sounds and, like in 1989, bringing people together in their shared love for raving after so long spent apart.
What does Rave embody for you?
In one word, community. I think it’s important to make a distinction between ‘clubbing’ and ‘raving,’ whilst both share some characteristics, a rave should be a space where people of different cultures, races, sexuality, backgrounds, and experiences collide under one roof in the name of their shared passion for music and dancing. A rave has a different atmosphere, you can go with a group of friends, and leave having spent the entire night with randomers you may never see again, but the memories will remain for a lifetime. I feel this has never been more important than now, with the whole world having spent nearly two years confined to their own company, or close circles, we want to use the power of rave culture to bring people back together, and knock down those social and political walls that have been between people for so long. Everyone deserves to feel a part of something fuelled by love, passion and happiness - and we want to use our raves as a space for people to reconnect, regain that feeling of belonging, and create memories and relationships that last forever.
Photo @samgethingmp4
Jungle and DnB seems to be at the forefront of the Birmingham rave scene, what attracted you to Acid house and Breakbeat etc.?
My love for Acid House came from my mum and my childhood listening to her music, but we had always had a thing for 80’s/ 90’s music - the first bands that changed my life were the Stone Roses, Oasis and the Verve of the Britpop era, so my discovery of these House and Breaks sounds was fuelled by my preexisting love and knowledge of 90’s music culture. I think this made me assess certain music scenes in a different light, and whilst I have a lot of respect for any DJ or promoter trying to pursue a musical passion, a percentage of such scenes now seem to be fuelled by a desire to go along with the current ‘thing,’ and be a small cog in a massive wheel of mainstream dance music, most of which you can hear simply by scrolling through TikTok. We wanted to make an impact with our unique music and atmosphere, going against the grain and providing a space where people felt connected to the music, the scene, their fellow ravers, and the DJ’s desire to take people on a journey - not just take a paycheck home. We want to support the industry’s roots, building a scene for people in Birmingham who share passion for the music, the artists and rave culture itself, people who don’t just turn up to an event to plaster their social media with the same songs your hear week in, week out across events in the UK.
Any experiences / moments so far that have stood out?
In all honesty the whole journey so far has been incredible, as a collective we don’t quantify success or failure by ticket sales or profit margins - this is just a bi-product of us going out and playing our music to anyone who wants to hear it. I think the fact that we have managed to create that free-spirited, inclusive environment so far is the thing I am most proud of, and the objective that we will keep striving towards. My deepest satisfaction has come from ravers who have commented on the unique atmosphere we have produced with our events, and their appreciation of our intent to break the mould and take risks in playing music that they may have not been exposed to before. I will always maintain that the music is nothing without the people who turn up to dance to it, and I hope people will continue to feel a part of something wider than just a music event - Genesis is a community that brings people together to celebrate togetherness and shared experiences, and no one is bigger, or more important than the people who continually turn up to support the movement.
Photo @samgethingmp4
Future goals, expectations and moving away from Birmingham?
As I mentioned above, the main goal for us is to continue to build our community and provide a space for people to express themselves, temporarily leave their day to day lives at home and form relationships, without judgement. Birmingham is an amazing city, and we want to contribute positively through our love for music and rave culture. We’ve made the decision to stay in the city and continue our journey for the foreseeable, so I suppose the driver for us is to one day be able to move on knowing we made a difference, and etched our collectives name into the history of the Birmingham rave scene, like people such as Surgeon, Rebekah, Jossy Mitsu and more - I’m confident we won’t stop until we have achieved that goal. Words by: Abigail Tate.
Words by Abigail Tate
Genesis Links
Mixes:
Wuni - Breaks and Bobs 001 (Electronic)
Gensis Reccomended Mixes:
Surgeon - Boiler Room 2014
Interplanetary Criminal - Keep Hush 2021
Bakey - Keep Hush (Turbo Fest) 2021
L U C Y b2b Jossy Mitsu - Keep Hush 2018
Коментарі