An underground electronic music crew turns one

In the middle of Void Crew founder Nat Alexander’s set last December, a mêlée broke out on the dance floor, causing a giant tower of speakers to crash down upon the DJ. Shanghai Ultra, fellow Void mastermind, dashed to save his friend from the tumbling boxes of sound. Within a minute the music resumed. Unscathed by the falling equipment incident, the Void Crew persisted and is now known as a crew that sticks. Similarly, over the last year they've persvered in their efforts to build Shanghai's underground techno scene, balancing big name acts with accessible shows.

The Void crew throws their first anniversary party on Oct. 11 with much to celebrate. “Every world-class city has a proper techno scene, except Shanghai really," says Ultra, "until we came along … we filled the void.” Over the past year, the pair have brought in major international electronic acts such as Robert Hood, Underground Resistance and Traxx. Although they acknowledge the foreigner-heavy presence at their shows, Void hopes to motivate new fans and artists in Shanghai by exposing Chinese audiences to the myriad corners of techno that are impossible to find on the radio. Says Ultra, “We want everyone to see how good [techno] can be when it’s done in the right environment.” Though branching out to Chinese clubbers can be difficult, Alexander’s recent experience playing at an upscale, primarily Chinese club near Jiao Tong University provides hope. “I didn’t know what to expect, they’re not our normal audience,” says Alexander, “but they started really dancing and I was playing quite hard stuff.”

In the next year, the Void duo plans to continue their monthly party series, with perhaps their biggest undertaking yet on Oct. 11 when Neil Landstrumm and Pacou, from Edinburgh and Berlin respectively, land in Shanghai to headline Void’s one-year birthday party supported by Nat, Ultra and Ben Huang. “I can’t think of any time in Shanghai where an underground party has brought two really well respected underground DJs to come in and play on the same night,” boasts Ultra, “back to back.”

At the end of the Traxx show at 5:30am, a local patron standing in front of the DJ booth exclaimed, “Shanghai welcomes people like you!” to the Chicago artist. With Shanghai now a node in the global techno circuit, the scene will only continue to multiply as more Void birthdays pass.

Ian Louisell