BY SOPHIE BRASSEY

What springs to mind when you think of a networking event? Financial consultants in suits? Countless business cards? Name tags? Voguing at 1pm? That last suggestion may surprise you, but it was this carefree and ecstatic energy that brought together a community of Bristol’s young creatives at FUZE’s CONNECTD event on Saturday 25th of February. In collaboration with the University of Bristol’s Hip Hop society, FUZE welcomed an eclectic mix of young dancers, singers, artists, designers, and entrepreneurs to connect with each other. The day party, hosted in Brewhouse, Bristol, put an emphasis on the company's core values; diversity and inclusivity. The day was about lifting each other up, cheering each other on, and harnessing connections which will help urge the future of the creative industry to be more welcoming and inclusive.

Among the many amazing people attending the event were Eve and Lev. Both DJs and founders of company ‘Streets of Soul’, the powerful mother and daughter duo have promoted a new and fresh approach to clubbing. Their motto: diversity is everything! After meeting them at our CONNECTD event, we were inspired by their exciting initiative; in conversation with the company itself, we discussed further the importance and impact of diversity in nightlife.

Images provided by Streets of Soul. More images can be found on their Instagram @streetsofsoul

Tell us about Streets of Soul

Streets of Soul is a joint venture between us 2 DJ’s (mother and daughter). We came together to promote events with a strong urge to create something new and fresh. Our history around Northern Soul music gave us a lot of inspiration to create a newer Northern Soul Scene which would be offered to younger generations yet in an authentic way. We put a strong emphasis on dance culture and putting dancing at the centre of our events.

“Whatever your background, we just want people to dance… and they do….a lot!”

Why is diversity so important in nightlife?

Diversity is everything! Apart from bringing richness to the events, more fun and more creativity, introducing different people to each other, developing understanding, diversity should be at the heart of everything. It has been the biggest strength of our nights, where many different people come together and feel part of something - all ages, culturally diverse and who can be submerged in the music, without any judgement.

“It's often overlooked in clubbing, but sharing music with different people is the best way!”

A really simple example of what we do is bringing some of the older Northern Soul dancers to show the newer young crowd how to dance, and both sides love that and those dance skills are passed down. With different people coming along the interpretation of the music will change and that is something really interesting. We have never wanted a room with people all from the same background because having a mixed crowd makes people feel more relaxed and enjoy the night.

How can a lack of diversity impacted or hindered the nightlife scene in the past?

Lack of diversity is limiting. With lack of diversity you lose the crossing of cultures, as seen in some of the early clubbing scenes, where there was a melting pot of people which made it so special. Mixing people from different backgrounds will always be way more interesting, vibrant and much more fun. Club Nights in general tend to end up with a homogeneous group, for instance all within the same age group, which can end up with people feeling out of place, if they go there, or even excluded and not wanting to go. A club full of the same people will only be one dimensional, and the club setting should be where people mix with others.

It's also easy to see that music scenes can die off when there is no diversity, because there won't be new blood. Looking outside your usual group, you will find new fans, and the potential to keep building a scene.

We have tried to understand what makes it difficult for people to attend events outside what they know, so we broke down those barriers to entry, and enjoyment, encouraging anyone to come. One area which we feel could be discussed more, are barriers to clubbing, an example would be people with disabilities, people on low income, or anyone who doesn’t feel able to access nightlife. We want to do our bit to ensure nightlife enjoyment is for everyone, and work to improve how things are.

“Music itself is progressive, and the environments in which we enjoy music should also be progressive.”

As a company that works with multiple venues, musicians, and groups, do you feel certain music genres are more impacted than others by a lack of diversity?

Yes, it could be the genres or the other factors which make people feel excluded from events. Historically some genres were exclusive, or elitist, so it was harder to access those scenes. And that would attract the same types of people to their events, and those people might only want to stay with one genre. Some venues attract a certain type of crowd, and that may always be the case, if they are known for that. We just feel it's important to do what we do by being representative of the wider community. As part of the Music scene we will always be striving to work on equality and diversity issues for example giving opportunities to female DJs, younger new DJ’s and giving the platform for people to be seen. All the different music genres are enjoyed by many different types of people nowadays and we want to reflect that.

Is there any advice you could give our readers to encourage or guide them on how to contribute to these open spaces?

Reach out to groups outside of your community to diversify your crowd. Invite them and make them feel welcome. Be sure to create a space which is safe for all groups of people. Thinking about how to reach the groups that you know would enjoy what you do, but you haven't reached them yet.

How did the Connected event FUZE hosted contribute to Streets of Soul’s mission?

The FUZE event was a great opportunity for us to connect with people we may not usually connect with and meet other people and creatives who were very motivated and interesting people to work with. Many people there agreed that diversity and clubbing is something that's just not been talked about yet. Reaching different groups of people, not just to promote what we do, and also valuing and understanding what others are doing…