🎀 Fairytopia rave - on bedroom pop, the hxcore scene, reclaiming femininity & intersectionality in nightlife 🎀
🎀 How did fairytopia blossom? 🌸
Last Christmas I was talking to my sister about how I wanted 2 reach the point as a musician where I could do a dj set - just me & a playlist with vibes. & she was like ‘wellllllll . . . that’s a club night’.
I really just wanted to create a space for myself & figure out who I am. Coming from a place with little diversity, like lack of every kind of diversity in the new forest, meant that in Brighton I could really express myself & find my people.
Doing the club night has actually impacted my music. I can envision my music in an actual space which is cool. It’s not just bedroom pop crying in my room anymore you know! I just wanna get more whimsical & have my music & event reflect that.
🎀 What were the intentions with the club?
Brighton claims to be open minded & have a lot of safe alternative spaces - but when you really get into it, its like ‘oh we don’t know any black people, we dont know any gay people though’. You kind of start to question how inclusive these spaces really are.
Fairytopia is about reclaiming femininity & being free to express that however you truly want, & to show that there isn’t just one way of expressing yourself. It’s a space of freedom, the same kind of freedom that festivals give you. That feeling of community & that feeling of having friendships wherever you go.
That space is a gap in the rest of the world. The hardcore scene is a clique & I feel like I’m overstepping in queer spaces. I wanted that middle ground & for everyone no matter who you are, to be able to feel safe & included.
🎀 The club finishes quite early whats with that?
Initially we were given a random wednesday in a weeks notice, like an experiment to test the concept. Because I wanted a recurring slot 4 basically forever. They turned around to me like “who are you!”.
Closing early & starting early really showed me that there are lots of people who cant go to a club that finishes late because of work, or because they aren’t alcoholics or that spaces can be kind of dodgy.
Fairytopia became that separate third space by accident for people to find community or just wear cutsey wings & roleplay for the night.
🎀 Whats the aesthetic?
Whimsy & the natural, reality & fantasy ✨
Decor is a massive thing 4 us. I wanna create a giant tree along with the mushrooms I’ve already made. I made them out of cardboard, spending money I dont have, & thinking - I may not make rent this week. But at least I will be on the streets surrounded by my diy mushrooms. 🍄
The mushrooms mixed with the backdrops we have really create this immersive experience. You’re stepping into rossi bar but it’s a portal to a folklore dimension. I wanted that otherworldly aesthetic with a touch of bratz fashion pixie - which I was obsessed with. I needed it to be an evil pixie rave.
🎀 Were you always into this aesthetic growing up in a folklore town?
I moved there from Reading, so I went somewhere that was visually super ugly compared to new forest. There was stuff to do & people, but so grey. New forest was the total opposite, there was literally nothing to do but scenery.
I found that love for the spiritual & nature - it was pretty much forced upon me. Like what am I meant to do, a lap of the garden? So I’ve always been into electronic music, techno stuff, fairies, magic, & I was making electronic bedroom pop.
Fairytopia was kind of a synthesis of my love of electronic music & nature which turned it into a cyberfairy aesthetic. 🧚
🎀 How does spirituality tie in with your event?
I have a complicated relationship with spirituality because I was raised catholic, in a religious belief system & ideas of spirituality that were very tied to a religion that I didn’t resonate with.
There was a lot of contradictions that didn’t make sense so I gave up for a long time & didn’t believe in anything. I had a religious ego death but recently I’ve begun to think more about the universe & the universe guiding me. As I started to do fairytopia I was walking to work & saw a car with the number plate 444 now & I thought what does that mean. It meant you are on the right path, & I just thought this was my sign.
It’s why I made the prices angel numbers because I just wanted to be someone elses sign & make that happen for them.
This year is a transformation era! 444
🎀 How do you create an inclusive safe space?
For the first fairycore I just dm’d people & posted about it to spread awareness. Because all my friends are queer or people of colour it happened naturally. With the artists I wanted to give them visibility & people who align with these values. I want to create that space for performers & audiences alike.
This is the time where we need radical queer joy, black joy, female joy, an unashamed celebration of everything that we are. There’s no performatism, its “oh you think fairies & glitter is stupid, well I literally couldn’t care less.” Fairytopia is an adult playground.
🎀 Do psychedelics influence the vibes?
I mean I am not endorsing drugs guys, you can have fun sober. That being said - if you were on drugs at fairycore, the lights, the huge mushrooms, the pyschedelic tapestry, the vibes were immaculate. It’s a safe space for people who are tripping, it feels like this otherworldly second home.
& because everyone is so friendly & in wings it’s like guardian fairies helping you through your trip.
When I started doing more drugs I feel like I unlocked more of myself - especially with neurodivergence. I was mirroring other people so much involuntarily, but once I was forcefully freed I felt so much less scared of talking & complimenting people in my day to day. It was so much easier to be my authentic self.
🎀 Must haves for a fairy party?
Wings fairy costumes, witch fae, whatever mythical creature you want to be. As spooky & as whimsical as you want!
🎀 Whats with the divorce attorney card reader?
Basically, funny story. So theres this guy called alex & he’s from this band called divorce attorney. Shout out to them. I was telling him that I have this idea for a fairycore event & immediately he was like “I will do doors”. He’s helped to connect me with so many people in the event, & we used his card reader. But let’s just say that the idea was that you’re free, you’re divorced from the pains of your 9 to 5 & fairytopia is your attorney!
🎀 Your top 3 tracks being spun on the decks?
Charlie xcx party 4 u - I’ve been a fan of her for a decade
Halcyon Orbital - soundtrack to mean girls & so pretty
Notsarah to the weekend - basically about being a baddie on a budget (shameless self promo)
🎀 Whats next for fairytopia?
Soon we will be collabing with another emo club based in bristol - ghouls club. It’s an unconfirmed date but it will literally be an emo fairy crossover. As for fairytopia I see it expanding with new music, new artists & new djs. I want more small artists to do stalls for fairycore with different jewellery & wands, tarot readings & different nights for different little experiences!
💞 Yapper: xviolet.202
Join KNM & Fairytopia 4 the infamous underground club experience that is - Fairytopia 🧚🧚🧚🧚 come 4 the glitter, stay 4 the gurn 💞💞💞💞💞
This 18th June @ Rossi bar from 9pm xoxo
