Synchronicity 2024 is coming up next weekend, and you know what that means - festival season is finally upon us! We decided to interview the legendary main organiser of Sync herself, Grace Jones, to get the scoop on what’s in store for this year's epic party. We talked about the history of Sync, the hardest and most rewarding parts of running events, and what the magic is that makes underground festivals in Aotearoa so special… 

Synchronicity is essentially the opening festival for the summer circuit here in Aotearoa It's the best parts from different events across the south island all rolled into one epic multi-day, multi-stage event. 

The first Synchronicity in 2017 was set in an isolated spot of native bush in North Canterbury at the base of Mt. Grey. It was very small, with only about 150 people attending, and the line up was just a bunch of my friends playing. The festival didn't really come to fruition until a few years into my adventure with event management when I realised how important putting on these events was, how you can carve spaces that facilitate beautiful and sometimes life changing moments for people. It is such an honour to create the sound tracks to core memories for other humans. 

Since then, Synchronicity has naturally grown into a full scale event with a lot to offer. There's a bit of bass, there's a bit of psy, there's live bands, circus, flow arts, visual effects, market stalls, food vendors, interactive zones, chill zones... and the setting is absolutely unreal! We are perched up alongside a gorgeous flowing river at the base of the southern alps. It’s something straight off a postcard - breathtaking picturesque scenery!

The line up is strictly Aotearoa-based artists ranging from grass roots DJs and live bands right through to catalyst producers who have been spearheading the industry for decades. Sync is also a semi-private event where crew and guests get to create the extended guest list. This style of invitation inevitably creates this family tree effect where everyone knows each other through someone else. This sets a very safe and wholesome community overtone to the whole event.

Most of the crew that work in various roles at Sync also run their own events. The crew changes every year but there are a few heads that have stuck around since day one. Sync is a classic example of how symbiotic the relationship between underground gigs across Aotearoa is. We all help each other build and grow our events.

Each year has been so vastly different and full of so much raw, authentic growth that I'm left feeling very humbled after every event. My proudest moments would be implementing more te ao Māori across the board and really embracing my own culture more through these events. I also always feel proud seeing my friends play their original music for the first time on the big rigs and watching it be received by the crowd. That is truly such an intimate moment to witness. I think just being a platform in general for up-and-coming Aotearoa based artists is such a huge honour. What we are doing here in the underground is potentially changing the course and future of an entire country's music and the way people gather socially. 

One of the hardest parts of running events is spending 6-8 months of my year hyper-fixating on Sync, which can become a touch overwhelming, especially with the amount of screen time that it takes to organise a large event. I’m a nature girl at heart and if I dont remind myself to stay balanced between my personal life and working in events, inspiration and motivation can wear thin. Also, the majority of my social life also revolves around music-oriented events so I have to be staunch in those scenarios and remind myself that I can take the working hat off and just spectate and have fun!

That being said, it’s always worth the effort - it’s so rewarding seeing everyone falling in love on the dance floor each year. The tears, the hugs, the revelations, the connections made between strangers and old friends. I tend to bawl my eyes out at closing ceremonies at the end of Sync. The energy present is absolutely unreal in those moments and it's beautiful to see everyone in attendance drop their walls and embrace one another.

We have such a unique festival scene here in Aotearoa, and I think that what makes it so special are the settings themselves. The whenua here is so breathtaking and alive - to be able to gather in some of these locations is an absolute blessing in itself. Also, I think there is a distinct NZ sound being made from our music producers here. Aotearoa produces a notable sound and vibe across multiple genres and I think that is largely inspired by the whenua and the life we are able to live over here. Our dubstep has a very distinct sound, as does our hip hop, reggae, drum and bass - the list goes on, but there is something deeply embedded in the essence of our music culture here. I'm yet to pinpoint what gives us that quality but I largely believe it is the land itself and the type of life it enables us to live here.

Shout out to the Twisted whanau of course, you guys are still such a huge source of inspiration for me and Sync!

Shout out to the Rolling Hertz lads coming up. I love watching the next generation stepping up!

Shout out to the Ambient Headquarters crew who will be running the second stage at Sync this year! You guys have done such a phenomenal job.

I’d love to shout out every individual separately for the Sync crew this year but the list would be just about endless, shout out to everyone helping out this year! It’s been a huge labour of love.

Huge shoutout from us back to Grace and the Sync team for holding it down! Grace and many more of her amazing team have also been a core part of the inner workings of Twisted over the years and we are deeply thankful for their incredible mahi. We are constantly impressed with the production and execution of this truly special event and have so much love and respect for this crew. We couldn't be more excited to witness the upcoming edition. 

Show these legends some love and see what it’s all about, grab yourself a ticket and get down there - Synchronicity 2024 is happening Friday 25th-Sunday 27th October!

https://www.cosmicticketing.co.nz/event/6970

Synchronicity

We’re hopping across the ditch to join our friends DUNJ to put on the Sydney edition of the Twisted Decennium Sessions. This series of indoor parties has been carefully crafted to jump start the hype train for our decade celebration! 

The DUNJ crew put on a spectacular takeover at last year's Twisted, we loved having them in the mix and and we’re stoked this team of absolute legends are taking the reins on our Decennium session over in Sydney. Featuring a stacked lineup of NZ 

bass weapons/Twisted regulars it’s no surprise that earlybirds sold out overnight! Sydney whānau, don’t sleep on this one, be sure to nab yourself a ticket before they’re gone.



https://www.facebook.com/events/1556713128611384/permalink/1556833238599373/?notif_id=1726512190864653&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic&ref=notif

Twisted Decennium Sessions: DUNJ x Twisted Frequency in Sydney!

Ahead of the first intercontinental Decennium session in Sydney this Friday we decided to do a write-up about the history of our collaborators, DUNJ. Known for their epic warehouse parties and holding it down since the early 2010’s, DUNJ is one of the forefront crews making shit happen across the ditch. We spoke to them about what makes their scene special, the differences in the doof scene in Aus, and what they’re most looking forward to about their stage takeover at Twisted’s 10th anniversary…



DUNJ (originally Dungeon Events) was started by three friends as a pop-up party in war bunker locations around Sydney harbor, strictly on Tuesday nights. At the time we were club rats and promoters at Sydney clubs, Chinese Laundry and The Wall, who were looking to run our own gigs. At the time a DIY event seemed like the best option. After a few years of bunker parties we put on our first club and warehouse events just before Sydney’s lockout laws of 2014 were introduced. 

Due to the lockouts, which led to the closure of 176+ entertainment venues across the city, we shifted our focus almost exclusively to warehouse parties with the occasional mid-week bunker parties for international guests. Over the years our crew grew with the addition of some close friends and music enthusiasts who were all brought on board after helping set-up and pack-down events. DUNJ has since evolved into a crew of 9 that runs regular events in a variety of spaces around Sydney and is heavily involved in the NSW doof scene. 


The main type of events we run in Sydney are in warehouses, because they provide us with a blank canvas to build and create unique experiences for every event. We host a fairly wide variety of artists and music so it's great to be able to adapt a space to suit the vibe of the night, the artists that are playing and the style of the music. There’s always a focus on quality sound and production, whether through a unique custom sound system, a hefty lighting rig and expert operator or an amazing concept for stage design. We put a lot of love and care into our events, and with the help of friendships and collaborations with some amazing locals in the scene we’ve hosted some incredible shows. 

The scene that DUNJ is a part of is unique because of the relative freedom that warehouse spaces provide to curate unique experiences, especially regarding production. It's easy for club nights at the same place to blend into one and specific performances to not feel special when your memory is storing it alongside countless others. With warehouses there is always an element of surprise and anticipation for the punters because, even though we all use the same spaces, the production, layout, stage build and decoration will be different every time. This warehouse centered outlook of the scene was motivated by the lockout laws, but times are changing and Sydney is having a revival at the moment, with 4+ clubs and multiple small bars and venues opening up in the last few years. 

We will always look back fondly on the lockout era in Sydney’s creative spaces. There was a feeling of civil defiance in what we were doing, not that we were doing anything wrong but it was clear that the government at the time had it out for dance music, events and disco balls for some reason. There was a beautiful culture around these spaces; promoters worked together and shared advice, experiences and leads on spaces and equipment. There was a very healthy and constructive level of competition and one up-manship where promoters would see what others were doing and think about how they could take the space or the event to the next level. This of course ebbed and flowed, and there were periods of max freedom, expression and creativity, and moments where the police would step in to settle everything down. 

One of the major differences between doofs/festivals in NSW and NZ is to do with policing. We live in a police state in NSW where police will extort festival operators with a "user pays" policing policy, where organisers will have to pay in excess of $100,000 for police to attend their event. Most festivals will have a very heavy police search at the front gate, with sniffer dogs going through cars and the festival grounds during the event. The police in NSW are in such heavy attendance under the guise of safety so it's always reassuring to see festivals in NZ with a much less extreme police presence go off without a hitch while still operating safely and working with local emergency services in a way that doesn't impact the viability or the beautiful friendly environment outdoor events can offer.


Other than that, doofing has a beautiful ability to stay relatively consistent country to country and we couldn't help but feel how similar our first experience at Twisted last year was from our favourite regular NSW doofs. Our doof scene definitely has more of a psy focus with bass music taking the back seat - we love to get amongst both but it was great to see bass music doing lots of the driving at Twisted. It’s also awesome to be part of a festival where the music goes 24/7, a lot of the larger-scale doofs in Aus will stop the music at night which can be good for rest, but it’s fun to see a party that lets adults make their own decisions about bedtime. 

This year we're all counting down the minutes and seconds until Twisted! We're in close comms with the crew and we're helping bring some acts over to NZ - after attending the festival last year there were two acts in particular that we reached out to immediately after getting home to get them locked in for this year's edition. We're definitely keen to swap out the esky for a chilly bin and go chase some of those pointy ducks on the festival site as well. And the river is definitely the best doof site river we’ve experienced too, so we’re all super keen to jump back in there!


These legends are co-hosting one of the first Decennium sessions - launch parties for the tenth anniversary of Twisted - in Eora/Sydney this Friday. If you’re in the area, be sure to get down and catch NZ bass heavyweights Ebb, Headland and Akcept share the stage with breakbeat assassin Jungist and the DUNJ crew themselves. And if you’re not, don’t worry, DUNJ are scheduled for stage takeovers at the Chillery AND the Beat Bach this year. Come get amongst it!

Aotearoa’s annual home of Underground music & culture.

5 days of diversity and community in the heart of golden bay

LATEST NEWS

Synchronicity

Twisted Decennium Sessions: DUNJ x Twisted Frequency in Sydney!

Aotearoa’s annual home of Underground music & culture.

5 days of diversity and community in the heart of golden bayBuy Tickets

LATEST NEWS

Synchronicity

Twisted Decennium Sessions: DUNJ x Twisted Frequency in Sydney!

5 days of diversity and community in the heart of golden bay