Whether or not you've had the chance to experience the sweat-soaked dancefloors and intimate skin-on-skin rhythm of Boiler Room firsthand, you've likely at least heard the name in passing.
Born in 2010, Boiler Room is highly regarded as a cultural institution of electronic music, delivering unforgettable nights helmed by some of the most exciting upcoming and world-renowned DJs. Whether it's Fred Again in London, Skrillex in Shanghai, Kaytranada in Montreal, or Yung Singh in Melbourne, Boiler Room has been at the center of some of the scene's most exciting moments, with its biggest relivable through its iconic Youtube videos.
While its Youtube sets and physical sweatboxes are what have pushed it to the peak of the industry over the last 13 years, Boiler Room has evolved to become more than an event, aligning all of the pieces needed to become an internationally recognized multi-channel brand. What started as event merchandising has evolved into collections and collaborations, seeing Boiler Room spread its wings beyond its home in music to sit alongside some of fashion's leading names in fashion retail, like END. and the LN-CC snatch up stock.
In tracking its rise and peaks in its journey from event space to cultural powerhouse, Creative Director Amar Ediriwira offers an inside look at Boiler Room.
For those that might know Boiler Room only by name, what’s the brand all about?
Boiler Room has been hosting events and broadcasting club culture since 2010. Our project began with a webcam taped to a warehouse wall, opening a new vantage on London's underground at the time. It grew into a global phenomenon, championing grassroots sounds, emerging artists,and local scenes worldwide.
How has it evolved as both a concept and brand since its inception?
Over a decade in action, Boiler Room's unique archive now spans over 8,000 performances by more than 5,000 artists across 200 cities, reaching millions of people a month. It’s one of the few brands that connects with people in real life so regularly – I think we average something like two to three events a week all over the world.
On top of our core editorial mission of showcasing emerging scenes and artists globally, our remit now spans ticketed tours, festivals, film programming and productions, cultural partnerships, plus an elevated apparel line.
What have been some of the biggest Boiler Room moments?
I’d say that doing our first-ever show in Palestine – which was accompanied by a film and charity T-shirt drop – was a truly groundbreaking moment. As a project, it sat somewhere between documentary, A&R, activism, apparel, and IRL in a way that felt uniquely Boiler Room.
In some ways, I think that project set the blueprint for how we approach editorial nowadays, or at least how I think about them. In general, I always find it really exciting when we go to new places. Last year we were in Pakistan, and this year we went to Uzbekistan.
When did it expand into apparel?
We’ve been making merch for years, but in 2018 we stepped it up with our first ready-to-wear collection designed in collaboration with artists like Mowalola, Crystallmess, Leilah Weinraub, and Asian Dope Boys, and stocked the product in premium retailers around the world.
Since then, we’ve been producing collections in seasons and continuing to foreground artists – from Charli XCX to Shayne Oliver – in our product. Earlier this year, we teamed up with PAM on a capsule collection with a launch party in our London studio.
How have you been able to translate the Boiler Room vibe into apparel?
Club culture is at the heart of everything Boiler Room does, so quite simply, we try to do the same with our apparel. Whether that’s collaborating with artists, making our photo shoots look sweaty, producing city-specific artwork, or lifting copy from YouTube comments, we’re always designing garments with the club and Boiler Room in mind.
One of our most iconic pieces is the sweat towel, which is just a utilitarian thing because our shows are always a sweatbox.
Not many music-led brands can boast of having their apparel on retailers like END. and LNCC. How did that come about, and how does it feel to be alongside such big names in fashion?
It’s an honor to sit next to some of those names, but fashion and club culture go hand in hand, so it also makes sense to me.
What’s up next for Boiler Room? This year we’re embarking on a world tour with large-scale events popping up in all of our major cities – including London last weekend and a stage at Primavera this weekend. On the apparel side, we’re launching a football-inspired line with Umbro and we're back at Paris Fashion Week with a showroom for SS24. Beyond that let’s just say we’ve got some exciting stuff coming up.
