Welcome back to our second edition of Elevated Intentions. This month Dom invites Charlotte & ambedo from Deuce events to share more about themselves, their future and what community responsibility looks like for them.
Deuce Events fosters beautiful spaces, immaculate precision taken from their line ups, to the art installations & ensuring there is something for everyone to enjoy. Expect only the warmest welcoming environment, and take peace in knowing that Deuce has got you covered for your afternoon/night time/sun down activities.
Curated by Charlotte Rooney and ambedo, Deuce is a Naarm based electronic music platform who showcase diverse talent via local radio and events. This mix is a snippet from our opening set at the recent Deuce ft. Kia event at The Gaso back in March. The set was a slow paced warm up before a day full of hypnotic sounds provided by priya, Rakhi, Tangela, Kia and Hannah D.
Follow them over at:
- instagram.com/deucevents/
- instagram.com/a.mbedo_/
- instagram.com/char.rooney/
- soundcloud.com/deuce-events
Interview Transcript
While I'm familiar with your work, can you introduce your team & who Deuce events is?
Charlotte and Jimmy - two best friends with a passion for electronic music. Both DJ’s based in Naarm who are interested in alternative genres of dance music.
Starting from the beginning, what influenced you to create Deuce Events?
We made the decision to start Deuce as we feel that there is not enough being done in Naarm to have larger scale events that foster and create truly diverse lineups. Shifting the spotlight onto femme, queer, GNC and BIPOC artists is something we are truly driven to achieve, whilst still curating space for everyone.
Deuce events provides equal opportunities for all DJs, no matter who you are - gender, age, background etc. How do you curate your events to ensure you have an equal balance of DJs from all backgrounds?
We’re always researching and being present in the local scene to discover developing talent. We build our lineups based on the energy and music progression we want on the day, while striving to give space to those who don’t always have space held for them. Each party has a different vibe to ensure we can cater to all styles/genres/backgrounds.
With the current cost of living crisis, producing events becomes more expensive, especially when you are new and trying to grow an audience. Have you faced any challenges while organising your events?
We’re still relatively new to running events and have learnt some valuable lessons from running our first four parties, with our recent event at the Gaso being the biggest challenge so far. The cost of running parties is something that adds up quite quickly so we faced many obstacles running an event of this scale. We’ve decided to focus our attention on more intimate events while we grow our community.
The market is over saturated with low quality events/spaces where the main goal is to make money instead of producing quality events & thinking of their patrons first. How do you ensure that community safety is maintained for your events? Have you ever been turned away from a space due to your commitments to community?
All of the spaces we have worked with so far have shared the same/similar community values that we do. We always discuss safety, accessibility and culture with the venue and make sure to advertise this in the lead up to our parties. For large scale events in the future, we hope to implement a dance floor wellbeing crew and work closely with venue security to ensure they are educated on patron safety. This includes not only physical safety, but also monitoring anti-social behaviour e.g. homophobia, racism etc.
How do you think people in the community and even yourself, can have an influence and address the above issue?
It’s super important to us to work only with venues and artists that align with our community values. As promoters it’s our responsibility to ensure our parties are safe and accessible for all. Dance floors are also a crucial part of inclusive events and we think there is a shared responsibility between party brands/venues/punters to be educated and impactful in their choices.
What does the future look like for Deuce events? What would you like to achieve in the next year?
We’re currently focusing on our mix series, taking submissions from up and coming DJ’s, posting recordings from our events and doing live shows on Area 3000. We have a few exciting events coming up in June and July, with our eyes set on hosting our first international DJ in summer. We’re super happy with the growth of our brand and hope to reach more of the dance music community in Naarm.
What advice would you like to give future you and those looking to create their own events themselves?
Make sure it is something you are passionate about. We pour a lot of energy and hours into running these events and it can be all-consuming. Our biggest piece of advice would be to start small and slow, and make sure you surround yourself with supportive friends and artists. Be intentional with who/what/where/how you run your events and you will always feel fulfilled and rewarded. There’s no better feeling than watching special moments unfold on a dancefloor you helped foster and create.
Thank you to Deuce for being a part of our second instalment! Until next time, be sure to follow them on socials and keep up to date with their movements.
Words by Dominique Pukallus
