"For people who are marginalized, being in the nightlife is a political act as well. Because you need a space where you can just be yourself - and you can't be yourself in the outside world." So speaks DJ and Room 4 Resistance co-founder Luz, succinctly illustrating the animating spirit behind the Berlin-based, queer forward femme collective, whose members are the subject of the latest episode in the SoundCloud Next Wave documentary series.
Co-curated by The FADER, the docs have taken on global scenes ranging from Brazil's next-level funkeiros to London's diasporic pop takeover. The new episode goes deep into the Berlin after-hours electronic scene, where DJs like Luz, Doc Sleep, rRoxymore, Nazira, and Yuko Asanuma are working together to build oases for openness and visibility in the city's nightlife. Instead of a space to replicate dominant hierarchies or cloak predatory behavior, for the artists of Room 4 Resistance, the dancefloor is, well...their name explains it all.
Luz puts it best: "There's this concept of utopia, right? Where you would just imagine the society that you would want to live in. And for just a few hours, you can maybe try to experience it, and it can give you the energy to go back in the outside world. And just have fun."
Watch the full documentary above, and keep in mind that Room 4 Resistance throws regular parties in Berlin - their next one is coming up on 12/29.
