Music is the great divider; where the opinions of music aficionados battle it out against the homogenizing voice of the mainstream press, where perceptions of coolness are constantly being redefined, and where the imperative to make a profit constantly threatens to undermine the utopian pursuit of seeking to create solely for the sake of making the world a better place.
The VOID crew – for seven years – have managed to navigate the challenges that come with attempting to maintain a musical venture – a resistance even – that flies against the neoliberal tendencies of Shanghai’s hyper-economy. The members of the crew are dedicated to a truly “underground” philosophy, one that values the importance of keeping prices to a minimum, that ensures the music speaks louder than the DJs, and that ensures that those who show up do so of their own will, without being subjected to the misleading hype and exhibitionism that have become crutches for so many of the events that take place in Shanghai – especially beer festivals with watered down Tsingdao.
Unless you are friends with one of the current crew – which now includes Shanghai Ultra (UK), Wensen (FR), Ginzburg (RUS), Chris Jobs (DE) and MHP (CN) – you wouldn’t be blamed for knowing little about the backstory. VOID are notoriously low-key. In the coming weeks we hope to get a real deep insight into the crew’s history, but for now we were able to prize some highlights from the mind of VOID’s co-founder Shanghai Ultra, ahead of the crew’s 7th anniversary party tomorrow.
VOID began the way it was meant to: Nat Alexander saw Shanghai Ultra wearing an Underground Resistance T-shirt at a night at the old 4-live venue on Jianguo Lu back in 2006, and used it to break the ice. The two DJs found they had a lot in common; both grew up dancing to the same music in the UK, and both felt Shanghai had nothing like it, so they decided to start VOID.
Their first party took place at the old Logo bar in 2007, and they had little trouble building a dedicated following given that at that time there were less venues, promoters, DJs and parties around. VOID’s biggest step came about in December 2007 when the crew played their first ever night at The Shelter (which also happened to be the venue’s opening night), bringing Nomadico of Underground Resistance to town. There was a massive turnout, and the show’s success established VOID as a resident crew, which to this day has continued to host monthly parties.
Other notable highlights include:
- Godfather of techno Juan Aktins in 2008
- Surgeon in 2009
- DJ Bone 2008, 2009 and 2014
- Neil Landstrumm 2009, 2011 and 2014,
Also we mustn’t forget the VOID Warehouse Party in 2009 – a truly legendary event that is still spoken about today. Nowadays VOID is generally recognized as the best house and techno night in Shanghai, and perhaps even China.
VOID birthday parties are always one of the best nights of the year on the Shanghai electronic music calendar – this year’s edition takes place tomorrow (9th August) and features Le Funk Master Wensen (FR), Ginzburg (RUS) and Shanghai Ultra (UK).
Shanghai Ultra shared an exclusive mix with us – it’s like a sonic time capsule featuring all the best tunes that have been played over the years:
Look out for more on VOID in the coming weeks. If you’ve got a story about a VOID show, please share in the comments!