Enter The Space: Celebrating 20 Years Of Queer Techno Utopia Kaos
The music is enveloping and suffocating, smoke and chatter swirling around your body. There is energy and movement here, frantic and calm. Headphones smeared with white paint, a kaleidoscope of effervescent bodies, Kaos-ordinary bodies: Mune, decorated with lampshades and floor-length fringe (in the process of living sculpture), Artem runs in a minidress even bolder than ever, Alix stomps and walks wild from everyone ends of clouds and thunder - the body becomes itself through the flow, Our Lady of the Flower, our dear Roof of Dermour, the source of intelligence and wisdom, born of endurance and kindness. Alejandro and Alexandra took on unimaginable forms. And many others, a group of strangers, my beauties, moving forward, running away. Lee plays his last set. It's catharsis.
I discovered Kaos shortly after moving to London in 2014. I come from an industrial and gothic background, raised on the wealth of musical offerings that can be found from the North. Grateful for my Steel City and Cabaret Voltaire, DVA Hours, Artery, deep musical dives and obsessions fueled by sparks flying at night from the tall windows of Forgemasters. However, it was isolation. It wasn't until I moved to the capital that I found a nightlife and community where the art that excited me was truly represented. I quickly realized that Kaos was an event that encompassed the full scope and complexity of my cultural dreams.
Esplendor Geométrico, Group A, Drew McDowell, Orfx, Polar Inertia, Ancient Methods, In Eternam Vale, an underground cinema casting shadows on the club walls, a procession of night flowers and sent kisses, a family of strangers, the warmth and reflections of a place to call home. I felt recognized, honored for my differences, and inspired. In 2016, I played my first tournament [Judith DJ under the name Proteus] and discovered a whole new world. It's a rich and glorious event, and for many it's more than a club: it's a late-night, utopian meeting place where creative relationships are forged and lasting friendships are built.
For Kaos, it was a 20-year journey of constant movement and evolution. Founder Lee Adams has remained at the helm throughout, from Madame Jojo to Speaker's Palace, glory days and nights at Stunners, an underground trance club that suits Kaos' rebellious nature perfectly, to Elektrowerkz and now Stack. He was looking for places to call home among those clubs that truly care about their communities. Kaos was fueled by Mayuan Mak's reign at the helm of Electrowerkz and the safe haven it provided for anti-establishment perpetual goth types, and now by the amazing friendliness and warmth of Fold founder Lasha Giorgoliani. Kaos remains at the forefront of London's underground, weird and dark culture. It has become a world-renowned institution, characterized by original, uncompromising songwriting and creative integrity.
His work draws on a legacy of body music, industrial, experimental electronica and techno, but I think one of the aspects that sets him apart is the community and artistic intent that defines the party. Nothing is true, everything is permitted. Dark humor and distortion amid very serious industrial music is a thread of inimitable self-satisfaction and cheeky wit, no pretentiousness, only the most brutal and sincere artistic honesty, despite all the joy and all the desperate, inescapable darkness. Kaos is sincere, and I am truly grateful to him for that.
Kaos turned 20 years old. Clubs rarely get to this stage and I was wondering how the party has developed over time?
Lee Adams: The Party evolved in response to the spaces around it and the ecosystems that already existed in those spaces. It has also changed in size and budget, allowing us to work with some of the best artists in the world: but throughout this time we have remained very consistent in our aesthetic, both in terms of sound and visuals.
Worlds come and go, but Kaos remains a unique epicenter of underground dance. Is there a rhythm to the years, to the cycles that move through the musical landscape that you see?
LA: There was a time in the early years when our sound was very marginal, the years of electroclash and minimal techno in the early 2000s, when even vinyl was hard to find. I spent entire days in record shops and came up almost empty handed, buying collections from retired DJs was often a better deal and I found little known gems from the late 90s when London had a real techno scene.
By the time we moved to Electrowerkz in 2014, the scene had embraced the rugged industrial sound we had created, and thanks to digital production and distribution it had spread like wildfire to every corner of the world. Since Covid there has been a movement towards death techno, super fast BPM, the sound of emptiness. Of course, we reacted to this phenomenon, but we did not give up. I believe this is another passing trend that will quickly burn out.
Kaos always felt like family and I saw so many musical and creative connections formed through conversations on the dance floor. What's it like to create such an instant creative incubator?
LA: I think this ripple effect is our legacy. The large queer techno scene in London and beyond, and the many connections and creative collaborations that have formed over the last 20 years, are like a seed that has taken root and is now bearing fruit.
Can you tell us about some collaborations you were excited to see that came out of that sense of connection?
LA: From a very young age, I invited Katsura Kan, a Japanese butoh dancer, to perform at the first Kaos at Madame Jojo, and we later became friends. I studied with him, and we performed together in the basements under London Bridge station (now the foundations of the Shard). Moving on, I introduced Oton to Ernesto Tomasini, which led to a long international collaboration involving many performances and several releases. I have collaborated with Chad Curry (Dahc Dermur VIII) for the past 10 years on performances, photo shoots and club nights, and have appeared together at events such as Exist Festival, Howl and Body Movements. Hofsaal, a series of events and festivals founded by Sandeep Aujla, was inspired and born from his experiences in Chaos and the doors of perception that opened for him. Barcosina and Jerome from Years Of Denial met in Kaos and then started the project, which now returns to Kaos on Friday, November 3rd for our 20th anniversary. Most recently at Kaos, Sob Story was born, a collaboration between Wilhelm and Oliver, which has now led to a release on our Khemia label, appearances on FOLD and To Hell and Back and of course my SUTURE collaboration with Pedro Mercan. When he first came to Kaos he was studying at the Royal College of Music and has now become fully focused on electronic music, DJing, organizing his own events, writing for television and producing techno both on his own and with me.
You are hosting a series of international events to celebrate Kaos' 20th anniversary. Can you tell us some details?
LA: Some details are being kept secret for now, but we will start with KAOS, Parma Ham and I, will be in Tbilisi on November 24th and will continue our 21st anniversary celebration next year with a concert in Berlin on May Day.
What are your creative ideas and goals for the future? What drives you forward?
Los Angeles: We continue to resist in the face of a brave new world. We bring people together, create stories, create magic, open portals.
It's all in the name, it sounds so laconic, but what does Kaos mean to you?
L.A.: When I worked as an artist and curator, I was always interested in creating magical spaces: transformative experience, authenticity, centrifugal forces, disequilibrium, vertigo, playfulness, contemplation, catharsis and ritual. Now I have found a way to channel this energy into Kaos.
Get listings and tickets for Kaos events on their RA page.
