Professional Documents
Culture Documents
nightlife dating back to its roots in New the rich and exciting state of nightlife
York City in the Eighties, when clubs like in the U.S.A right now - when
Studio 54 and Area attracted an eclectic technological change offers the
crowd - uptown/downtown, black/white, chance to take experience to new
straight/gay... everyone could be equal heights, when there are more diverse
on the dancefloor. voices in the mix than ever before.
Today our mission is the same to We hope it will inspire you as much
make nightlife more inclusive and more as it has inspired us.
innovative. Thats why we launched
Absolut Labs, an idea incubator and Afdhel Aziz
think tank to develop cutting-edge
products, experiences and technology Brand Director,
that help people create and deepen Absolut Labs
social connections. www.theabsolutlabs.com
audience on their toes - crossing genres
and hosting parties in pop-up and non-
traditional venues. They are building
parties designed to get you out of your
phone and into the party; on the dance
floor, feeling the music, and making face-
ABOUT THIS REPORT to-face connections.
MU SIC
The [Almost] Post EDM Landscape
The Rise of the Open-Format Party
Visuals: No Longer an Afterthought
VENUE
Nostalgia and The House Party
The Demise of The Club and The
Birth of The Alternative Venue
The Not Just Music Festival
E X PE RIE N CE
Unplugging and Mindfulness
Hyper-Local Goes Global
Diversity of Voices
RES E A RC H T R I B ES & I N S I G HT
STRU C T U R E GAT H E R I N G
How is the research structured? The research questions are structured Nightlife Fuelers Nightlife Makers
to explore:
The form of the research was Mental models: personal ideas Beat makers Emerging music Party Fixers Party fixers are the
foundational, which provides a deep of how things work in the world producers and DJs that are up and concept creators and promoters who
understanding of the target group Motivations: why people behave coming but not yet recognized producers both make the experience with their
through one-to-one interviews and open the way they do and performers with a passion for music. own personal touch and get the crowd
format questions. Goals: objectives driven by to come have a good time. You can find
motivations Visual Stage Acts Acts within various them in most cities around the world.
fields, from immersive environments,
The target group was identified interaction design, live branding Nightclub Owners Owners of
according to four Tribes - beatmakers, and live audio-visual performances. nightclubs and global hot spots. Very
party fixers, visual stage acts and Consists of multimedia designers, artists, well connected individuals within the
nightclub owners - in order to get a programmers and performers. music and nightlife scene. They enable
holistic understanding of the landscape social connections through their club
and discover new products, services nights and events.
and/or experience opportunities.
VISUAL NIGHTCLUB
STAGE ACTS OWNERS
Today, music is trending towards
a post-genre environment, meaning
that the strict categories of the past are
quickly blurring. The pervasiveness of
readily available streaming services
like Spotify, Rdio and Soundcloud, music
discovery platforms like Shazam, digital
retailers like iTunes and Beatport, and
the subsequent portability of music is
creating opportunities for sounds and
styles to be fused, borrowed and played
with, by anyone, more easily than
ever before.
MUSIC
Those who grew up on hip-hop, rock,
pop, and electronic can borrow at will
from the diverse array of sounds at their
disposal. Musicians who effortlessly
blend influences from Electronic to Rock
to Hip Hop, like FKA Twigs or Jamie XX,
or groups like Bob Moses that combine
live vocals and instrumentation with
electronic-leaning production methods
are coming to the fore.
A new generation of artists are acting Elsewhere, more traditional visual artists
more as curators than traditional are becoming prominent figures in
musicians, considering each aspect of nightlife. In Miami, the world of fine art is
their live set. Artists like Porter Robinson beginning to shape nightlife, particularly
and Eric Prydz are building their tour in the Wynwood district:
concepts around the work of visual
artists, creating an alternate reality for There are restaurants opening on
fans; as much a cinematic experience every corner, art galleries, events
as a concert. every weekend. A lot of artists are up
and coming, there are murals coming
Weve seen a huge growth in the VJ, or up like every week, and a lot of great
visual performer, being more a part of the Miami based artists are starting to get
actual touring act, which is really cool recognition. A lot of events are revolving
because I remember when there were around these artists now.
only a few DJs touring with their own Christina Hernandez/DJ VakDevi on Klangbox.fm
visuals and collaborating together.
Vello Virkhaus, Founder V Squared As people clamber for more holistic
(Source: Interview from The Music Ninja) cultural experiences over simple concerts
or clubs, the importance of visual artists
Some artists are taking this integration and technologists will continue to grow.
beyond on-stage visuals to the
audiences personal devices. When
Childish Gambino toured his latest album
Visuals from Porter Robinsons Worlds Tour
Because The Internet, there was an app
created by Invisible Light Network
to accompany the show. Titled The
Deep Web Tour people could tweet,
take pictures, and see their thoughts pop
up behind the the artist. The app made
A new generation of promoters, DJs,
and concept creators are bringing
people party concepts that aim to think
outside the box of the megaclub. They
aim to keep the audience on their toes
- crossing genres and hosting parties in
pop-up and non-traditional venues.
CE
EXPERIENCE spending time with friends in a nice
coffee shop, these are the new signs of a
life well-lived.
A major trend identified in our research is For nightlife makers, this desire for human
the desire to feel human connection and connection has influenced three aspects
be part of a community when going out. in nightlife dramatically (as pictured
As technology like smartphones brings in the diagram): intimacy: a rise in
us closer to networks in our pocket, it has smaller, curated parties, participation:
also introduced a level of disconnection, incorporating a participatory aspect for
preventing us from having an in the attendees, and analog: finding creative
moment experience. ways to encourage people to leave
technology behind for the night.
UNPLUGGING AND I went to an album release party in
New York, in Bushwick, where the only
way to get into the venue was to buy the
What if we werent always feeling
FOMO, werent always taking selfies,
werent always distracted by some other
2015 is the year nightlife events have Nightlife events and tech applications
started requiring partygoers to detach are being developed to simulate Burning
from their digital devices and always-on Mans ability to encourage breaking
information streams, and focus on the out of our traditional routines and
social experience at hand. established social habits to forge bonds
with the people around us.
New York is leading this trend toward
unplugging. From album launches that Whats the value proposition? Is a
lock your phone away to invites which great nightlife really sitting in a booth
explicitly encourage you to put your with your friends? Or is it being in the
device down, the always-on New York middle of the dance floor and kind of like
nightlife is making it hip to turn in your doing your thing? Theres a difference
phone at the door. between being an observer and being a
participant in the environment. And I think
At Off the Grid a party organized now it is more cooler to be a participant
by a Burning Man collective, the invite than it is to be an observer.
encourages people to consider: Craig Bowers, Agency Director, Incluence
HYPER-LOCAL GOES a concept. They are then translating
this essence on a city by city basis
expanding organically and connecting
When asked what makes it possible for a
new city to grow from a local hotbed to a
city that can shape nightlife nationwide,
I was going to all these parties music in particular have a long history
and I wasnt hearing what I wanted with the LGBT community. Parties like A
to hear so I took it upon myself. Club Called Rhonda, or Deryck Todds
I learned to DJ and peoples first STRUT NYC party, in addition to nightlife
reaction was What, a girl DJ. Woah creators and personalities like Ladyfag,
thats awesome. Its grown a lot and Im are beginning to celebrate this link,
so proud that so many women are DJing returning to the era of nights where one
and doing their thing. can be themselves.
Christina Hernandez/ DJ VakDevi on Klangbox.fm
For many promoters, performers and
Mainstream nightlife is a traditionally party creators, this is happening out
straight white male driven space, from of necessity. Sick of seeing parties
the DJs to the promoters. Underneath that dont appeal to them, they have
this all though, there have always been taken it upon themselves to create
thriving sub-cultures, small niches where club nights that reflect their unique
people can go be themselves and hear attitude and style.
what they want to hear, whether that is
Hip-Hop, Salsa, a club night hosted by Sandra Hong, a member of the LGBT
a drag queen, or a party that celebrates community and organizer of Brooklyn
the transgender lifestyle. We are now event Girl Party, is a perfect example.
witnessing these formerly niche cultures When asked why she founded Girl Party
break out and help shape mainstream she has said:
nightlife.
Ever since I moved to New York City
This diverse set of voices are throwing I was wondering where the parties for
parties that play more inclusive music. women are. There seemed to be a lot
They are creating parties that make that catered to the gay men but not many
everyone feel welcome - from the events that were lesbian-focused.
playlist to the venue - and they are
gaining clout. Nightlife and electronic
MAJOR MARKETS 1. New York
The capital of nightlife
Something here for everyone
3. Las Vegas
Haven for mega-clubs
EDM