Genesys x Equa.ls
What’s your advice for an office reader coming to a Genesys rave for the first time?
Genesys — Leave any preconceived notions at home and come with an open mind and be ready for an awakening.
How would you describe it?
It's London's egregore of dark ecstasy; the youngest and fastest-growing worldbuilding project in the city. We disseminate post-modern mythopoeia and lore through events, clothing, and music.
What’s the wildest scene you’ve witnessed at one of your raves?
Full-contact rugby match in the smoking area.
How would you describe the magic of Genesys?
Thousands of consciousnesses uniting under one shared vision of a lost future. Misfits from all over the globe finding a space in which we are the majority, where we can forge bonds with one another and form the collectives that will one day define London. Words fail, you just have to be there.
Please explain this ‘Phantom Sun’ tale and what !kia and N/um is?
The Phantom Sun world was inspired by Khoisan tradition, in which there exists a vital energy called N/um. This aggregates during trance rituals and culminates in a euphoric state known as !kia. In the Phantom Sun world, Amaterasu Corporation has constructed a Dyson sphere to better use the sun as a renewable source of energy, which resulted in an anthropogenic solar death. Subsequently, all human souls decay in tandem with the extinguishing of the sun. This effect is known as Soul Rot.
A biotech company synthesizes an artificial human soul into a piece of wearable technology: a N/um generator [a central product in the Genesys ecosystem]. In the Phantom Sun world, Genesys begins to manifest as a Mass Euphoria Event, in which soulless humans gather beneath the dead sun to attain the state of !kia with the help of N/um generators, strobe lights, and Hardcore music.
What is your dream booking for Phantom Sun?
Basshunter, Tiesto, Kenji Kawai or a choir of Maasai Morans.
Best moment to date?
Genesys — It's always looking out into the crowd and knowing that we're looking at the future faces of London's great legacy of art and culture.
Equa.ls — Every attendee was given the opportunity to support the next-gen of emerging musicians by collecting their music when they downloaded our app to access tickets. Seeing thousands of pounds going into the pockets of musicians and dozens of artists making more money in one event than they have across their lifetime of streaming was incredible to see ===
What were you looking forward to most at this one?
Genesys — We were so excited to finally properly collaborate with Mowalola, one of London's most prolific creatives, who has believed in us since our first rave in a Brixton underpass. We are also honored to be collaborating with the father of the UK Hardcore sound, DJ Dougal.
Partnering with a tech collective like Equa.ls has opened up so many doors for increasing the immersion of the Genesys experience, such as limited clothing and song releases via QR code. We were so hyped to unveil our special guest, for whom we've been working on a motion-capture performance for the past few months — Hatsune Miku.
Do you consider clubbing good for the soul?
Genesys — When packed tightly into a dark space, not only are sweat and microbiota exchanged, but so is soul data. This is simply morphic resonance; our proximity and shared experiences allow us to communicate in an ancient, pre-linguistic way.
If you could change one thing about the London nightlife scene what would it be?
Genesys — Drugs. The trance state is innate to the human condition; in reality, biochemical augmentation shouldn't be necessary for its attainment. It also creates stigma around underground culture.
What — or who — is the future of cyberpunk?
Genesys — Every day, cyberpunk becomes less future, and more present. Cyberpunk in its truest essence is just high-tech, low-life, the merging of biology and technology, the eldritch tales that are borne of a world that prioritizes capital over human proliferation. Cyberpunk was speculative fiction for the 80s, and now that it has come to pass, Genesys is for the 2020s. Shoutout to William Gibson.
Any other shoutouts you want to give?
Genesys — Shoutout to 020baby, the greatest audiovisual artist of all time. Shoutout to the Amondawa tribe of Rondonia. Shoutout to the generative power, dynamism and fractal symbiosis of nature. Shoutout to Hideaki Anno too.
Equa.ls — Shoutout to =SteveJobs, Shoutout to =IanRogers . Shout out to =Mowalola and =Dougal for being innovators, releasing music on the night. Shoutout to the =™ team for building technological legacy.
