In the vibrant world of Belgium’s nightlife, collectives are creating spaces where music, creativity, and community converge. In this conversation, five collectives share their journey, offering an inside look at the challenges they face, from ongoing inequalities and logistical hurdles to the power of intimate events and meaningful connections. This discussion delves into their commitment to fostering safe, inclusive environments for FLINTA+ and queer communities, highlighting how they prioritise self-expression, mutual support, and the growth of a connected, empowering scene.
Are you looking to expand the scale of your collective or strengthen your bond with your existing community?
Ariana & Lola (Burenhinder): When we launched Burenhinder, our rapid growth allowed us to give FINTA+ artists, who remain significantly underrepresented in the scene, a much larger platform. However, that growth also meant we sometimes lost control over maintaining a truly safe space by collaborating with partners who weren’t as committed to protecting it. Recently, we’ve been actively focusing on organising smaller events to better align with our vision of a safer nightlife
Charlie & Maïté (Female Boyfriends): For us, keeping events small is essential to ensure there’s enough time, space, and resources to create a truly safe space. One of our preferred approaches is selling tickets in advance rather than at the door. This helps us feel more confident that attendees are coming specifically for the event and community rather than just stumbling into a random party. While we don’t enforce a strictly exclusionary door policy, we do notice a shift in our audience when tickets are sold at the door rather than online.
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Can you share a memorable moment or interaction with your community that had a deep impact on you?
Manu (Gloom Club): With Gloom Club, we’ve built a trusting relationship with our audience over the years by independently curating our line-ups. Our audience trusts our selections without direct input, knowing they’ll discover something worthwhile. Sometimes, we even book DJs we’ve admired for years, and it makes our day when someone tells us they’ve found a new favourite artist at our event. Sharing our musical passions and receiving amazing feedback is incredibly rewarding.
Ariana (Burenhinder): Last summer at Boomtown, we hosted a ‘kids’ rave’ where children could dance alongside their parents or guardians to electronic music. A few days later, a dad messaged us saying his son, who has a lung condition, absolutely loved the event! He even mentioned that our music got him energetically jumping around, which is great for his health, and asked when our next rave would be. It was by far one of the most touching messages I’ve ever received.
Rodrigo (Gelatina): I always try to include live acts in our events because they allow for an even deeper connection with the audience than a DJ set. Seeing the crowd fully immersed in the performance, sometimes even screaming with joy at an artist I admire, always moves me.
Constanze & Aili (Female Boyfriends): Truthfully, many of us are a bit stressed during an event, so we don’t always get to fully take in the atmosphere we work so hard to create. But afterwards, we often receive the most heartwarming feedback from people who had a great time! We also invite other FLINTA+ collectives from Brussels and beyond, who, in turn, invite us to their events. These gatherings allow us to fully immerse ourselves in a queer-friendly space without the stress of organising, which is something we’re truly grateful for.
Lien (Butternut): One example is when people brought an actual butternut squash to a party and danced with it all night just for fun. It quickly became a small tradition in our community, with everyone writing their name on it, turning it into a weird yet healthy souvenir. Nina even made soup from the most recent one!
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Are there any collectives or organisations that you find particularly inspiring or that you closely follow?
Isaak (Gloom Club): Lately, we’ve been focusing more on French-speaking collectives within the Brussels scene. Two that stand out are Local Slang, which shares similar musical territory with Gloom Club, and BREAXX, whose unique approach in the Francophone community resonates with us. We’re excited about future collaborations, so stay tuned.
Rodrigo (Gelatina): Club Gelatina wasn’t solely a Brussels-based initiative; there are numerous Latinx queer collectives in other major European cities facing similar challenges. A growing demand for more traditional Latin music, like cumbia, is emerging as audiences seek a break from electronic music. While there are several Latinx and queer collectives in Brussels, we’re the only one offering a broad selection of traditional and electronic Latin music.
Lien (Butternut): Ninety-Three Collective shares a similar vibe with us, both in terms of genre and location, and we support each other well. We also admire Burenhinder for staying so true to their values, which is impressive. Additionally, we have a lot of respect for Stimular; despite being larger in terms of organisation, they continue to offer mutual support, which is incredibly inspiring.
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Are there any exciting projects or collaborations you’d love to do soon?
Manu (Gloom Club): One of our small dreams is to release a compilation of various artists. We've discovered so many new DJs through these types of projects, and the idea really excites us. While we haven't yet pinpointed specific collectives, we’d love to bring together a range of artists we admire for one amazing EP or LP.
Rodrigo (Gelatina): I’d love to collaborate with Piolinda Marcela. I saw her at the Whole Festival in Berlin last year, and she’s a total character! I’d also like to organise a small festival featuring a mix of Latinx live acts and DJs here in Brussels.
Maïté (Female Boyfriends): This August, we’re teaming up with not your techno and Traum for Antwerp Pride. It’s going to be the biggest event we’ve done so far, and we’re really looking forward to it!
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How do you actively involve your community in what you do?
Lola (Burenhinder): When I think about engaging our community, our Guardian Angels stand out. From the beginning of our events, we had people acting as monitors to ensure a safe space where everyone could openly express if they felt overwhelmed or unwell. Initially, we took on these roles ourselves, but over time, more volunteers have stepped in. Their ongoing support has become an integral part of our events, leading to many rewarding experiences.
Constanze & Aili (Female Boyfriends): Before organising an event in Brussels, we always ensure that it doesn’t clash with other queer collective gatherings. There aren’t many collectives, so it’s rare to have two events on the same night, but we want to avoid splitting our small community. It’s always heartbreaking when friends have to choose between parties.
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Are there any specific tools, apps, or platforms you rely on to stay connected with your community?
Zoë (Burenhinder): We used to rely on Google Forms and Instagram for feedback, but we’ve recently launched our own website! Initially, it was intended as an archive of all our events, but it also provides us with much more creative freedom than other platforms could offer.
Manu (Gloom Club): Half the people at our events are often people we know personally, so we get direct feedback within a week or month when we bump into them. This is our quickest way to stay connected, although we will start to use Google Forms to gather feedback from new faces who may not be as able to reach out to us.
Nina (Butternut): We stick to the basics. Instagram serves as our digital business card, but we also spread the word offline through word of mouth. Recently, we've also tried some promotional stunts: Lien took a Butternut flag on her motorbike last year, and we created a few small promotional videos.
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How has the relationship with your community evolved?
Nina (Butternut): A few years ago, our audience mostly consisted of our circle of friends. Now, as everyone gets older and finds less time to go out, our original core has shrunk a bit, but new faces always join. We're always delighted to see familiar faces at our events while also welcoming newcomers, resulting in a wonderful mix of queer and non-queer people who share a love for our music
Rodrigo (Gelatina): The first Gelatina party was about 16 years ago, and the vibe was very different from what we do now. We played a variety of genres that aren't as popular nowadays, like disco. Eventually, as most of us became busy with other things, we stopped. After Covid, however, there was a huge demand from the Latinx queer community for a safe space where they could also enjoy familiar tunes like cumbia. Our audience has almost entirely transformed, with most original partygoers no longer present, but the need for a space for Latinx queer people has remained constant.
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What do you think makes a community feel truly connected, rather than just an audience?
Cam (Burenhinder): We believe self-expression is essential within a community. We’ve noticed that young people have less space to freely express themselves in various ways without fear of judgment. That’s why we emphasise no-camera policies to ensure safety, and we also organise themed dress-code nights, for example, to encourage everyone to simply be themselves.
Charlie (Female Boyfriends): As FLINTA+ individuals still struggle to fully express themselves in most spaces, providing one that enables them to do so is incredibly important to us. We sometimes look back at photos from our parties and see queer people enjoying themselves, which is both incredibly moving and beautiful. It’s all about creating that space.
Manu (Gloom Club): A vital part of our community is our connection with the audience and the artists we invite. Sometimes, these are people we've admired for a long time, and we get the chance to know them personally. At the same time, we also invite emerging DJs to our platform, helping them grow and reach a whole new audience and community. The mutual community-building aspect with other artists is really important to us as well.
Rodrigo (Gelatina): As Gelatina started with a focus on Latinx people, we’ve created a cultural space that many have missed, especially those who moved to or stayed in Brussels long-term. Being able to provide an environment and a community where people can feel at home musically really moves me.
<div class="editorial-banner"> <div class=“editorial-credits”> @burenhinder<br>@butternut.ghent<br>@female.boyfriends<br>@gelatina_bxl<br>@gloom.club<br/></div></div>
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