Sksksks- The New York hyperpop night ready to make its mark on London

This Friday, July 21st will see one of New York's most unique club nights touch down in London for its first edition in the UK. Sksksks has been making a name for itself over the past couple of years by being a safe space for LQBTQ+ ravers and for playing tunes from some of hyperpop and alt-pop's most innovative creators.

Sksksks came to life in the mind of David Chan, who found himself frustrated at the fact that New York clubs weren't playing songs from some of the most unique producers such as SOPHIE, whose album 'Oil Of Every Pearl's Un-Insides' is one of, if not the essential hyperpop album that has gone on to influence a slew of artists such as Charli XCX. 

At their London show, they will be celebrating some of the UK's top hyperpop producers, with appearances from Hannah Diamond, Doss, Kane West and more. Expect a night of maximalist sounds that are making waves in the UK's underground pop music scene. 

The club night has offered much-needed catharsis for the LQBTQ+ community since the pandemic and it has brought those who were involved in online communities together in person. It has grown immensely since its beginnings and has even thrown events which featured the likes of Dorian Electra and HorsgiirL. Now, the party is coming to London where it will find a home in Shoreditch's Village Underground. We had a chance to speak to David Chan about Sksksks and what the club night stands for.

You're bringing Sksksks over to the UK for the first time, when did you realise you'd be able to bring it over to London?

"We've been doing parties for two years now and we always wanted to do a London party. A lot of the artists that we love and PC Music, in general, is a UK thing. We partnered with Partizan and had an idea to do a summer party together, it felt like a good opportunity to make it happen."

You've got names on the lineup such as Hannah Diamond, what were you looking for when it came to booking names for the London edition?

"We wanted to put a lineup together that was really solid and full of OG names. Ken West, Hannah Diamond, these artists and producers have been around for years. It's kind of a mix of old and new, we just wanted a really solid lineup of people who helped to create the sound."

How would you best describe the atmosphere of the club night?

"Our club night is primarily a queer space, we have a lot of trans and queer folk in New York. We don't have a door policy or anything like that but I just think the music and the following of the artists naturally lends itself to that. People usually describe it as a pretty joyful rave space, it's different from a typical dark, dungeon-like thing. I think the music brings it to a more euphoric and loving kind of place."

How important is it for you to give opportunities to underground pop stars and platform them at your events?

"It's huge, for me, from my perspective, it almost feels like the reverse, it feels like they're giving me an opportunity by playing on our lineup. A lot of these artists have been super influential in my life, it has been cool to work with these artists that I love and have looked up to for years. To build a space that is showcasing underground music is very special to me, there's not many people doing the kind of shows that we do, especially within this sound."

Where do you think queerness and hyperpop intersect?

"If you think about a lot of the pioneers in this space like SOPHIE or Arca, they tend to be trans women. What I've been told by trans and non-binary and to some extent queer people, these really crazy sounds sort of represent the trans experience or the queer experience. I think being a queer person, in general, is trying to make the inside and the outside match, so I like that the music takes these crazy kinds of turns because it's like an account of an expression of what's going on inside."

You've said before that you want the club night to be community focussed, what does that look like to you?

"In New York, and we're going to enforce this in London too, we have a set of community guidelines which is really basic. There's no racism, xenophobia, transphobia, no unwanted touching, things that can be really basic. It's important to us in the community part to make sure every guest feels safe and cared for."

Do you feel as though you're moulding the club night in the image of the events that you want to see?

"Yeah definitely, the general vibe of the club nights here, but the whole genesis of the rave was, I would go and and I was like 'why isn't anyone playing SOPHIE'? From my perspective, it just felt like there was this massive gap that needed to be filled. I think a lot of our audience, the people who are showing up, they were responding to us because maybe they felt the same way."

Your nights have really grown, and you've worked with Dorian Electra and HorsegiirL as well, how are you looking to grow the event in the future?

"The London party is definitely our first step. I really love to bring the city to different cities where I think it makes sense for the market and obviously, London made a lot of sense. We could do LA or maybe Paris or Barcelona, for every city there will be a right lineup. As far as New York, I think we just keep moving forward and there's always a bucket list that we'd like to check off at some point. It'd be cool to keep growing the scale and the size of the audience".

Sksksks takes place at Village Underground on Friday 21st of July and you can find tickets here:

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Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.