Froth Entertainment: The young people trying to revive Wellington's night life

A collective of young people fuelled with the desire to "get goofy" are trying to revive Wellington's night life.

Froth Entertainment - named to reflect their fizzing dance parties - first sprang up in a student flat in 2019.

Founder Theodoor Kraayvanger, aka DJ Kraayjoy, and his mates were hosting house parties in Newtown; the kitchen turned dance floor, lounge turned reverberating club.

"I got inspired visiting Dunedin when I was 18, seeing the chaos that was going on down there and I wanted to bring that energy back to Wellington," the 25-year-old says.

The aim was to create safe dance spaces where people could let go for a night, be themselves and live for the moment - something a typical night out on "the town" was not providing.

Many venues in Wellington had shut down in the early 2020s due to earthquake-prone buildings and increasing rents. The Froth crew wanted freedom to throw their own style of parties, so used everything from industrial areas to war bunkers as makeshift clubs.

Five years later, the Froth crew has graduated to staple Wellington venues like San Fran, Valhalla and 121.

A few months ago, they threw a sold-out festival-style night for their fifth birthday blowout at The Grand.

The Froth crew all love different styles of music, which is reflected in the nights they put on. There are 'donk' nights (a hard, fast and silly beat), thumping drum and bass and feisty techno rhythms.

"High energy is the key. Anything that's gonna get people's heart rate going, just moving your feet faster to some good music," Kraayvanger says.

Visual jockey Graham Dickie, aka Uncle Graham, helps set the scene with his team.

Dickie works in collaboration with the DJ, projecting their art live behind the musician. The music drives the visuals, blending into one experience.

In October, Froth hosted Hamadi Hassani, aka DJ TRAVELLA, who travelled here from Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. He controlled his music (and those twirling on the dance floor) with an old PlayStation controller.

Dickie says Froth's music keeps people guessing. No niche is too weird. That means a Froth night feels vastly different from a night "out on the town".

"More than anything, it's just the love we put into it," Kraayvanger says.

Looking out over Cuba Street, on San Fran's veranda, hazy cigarette smoke coiling around conversations, Froth resident DJs Gracie Stirling and Kaleb Anderson say the community keeps them coming back to every Froth night.

"It's about connectivity right - meeting like-minded people and getting the f*** off your phone on the weekend," Stirling says.

"We're all just here to enjoy the music," Anderson says. "Whether that's being inside on the dance floor or outside talking to people."

"Wellington's got a super groovy scene, all different walks of life live here and we want to give everyone an opportunity to come out and have some fun because that's what makes the night more fun in itself," Dickie says.

Froth's next gig is 29 November at Valhalla. It is a collab with New Year's festival Twisted Frequencies, teasing the good vibes of summer.

Safety is a top priority, with the Froth crew adamant that they want to show young people that a good time does not need to include binge drinking.

There is always a set crew staffed to work the door and roam the floor. Social media posts set out the rules of the night. A kaitiaki crew often attend the events, run by the Psy-Care team who also work at Twisted Frequencies.

"That's where I was first exposed to this idea where you have people that aren't security guards at your gigs, rather they're people there to make sure you have a good time and make you feel safe, and if anything happens you can go talk to them," Dickie says.

"We try to create that at our gigs, where you can dance, have fun, be silly and be yourself without feeling scared."

"We're teaching the new gig-goers how to have fun, how to respect everybody, treat the venues right, treat the sound systems right, keep your phone away as much as possible, enjoy the moment, live in the moment," Kraayvanger says.

Dickie says it has been harder financially to run gigs and break even, but that has only inspired them to pivot and stay flexible.

"You can be booking international artists and have more expensive tickets, or you can stick with the locals and bring the ticket prices down," Kraayvanger says.

One of their gigs, starting at $5 for early bird tickets, sold out in three days.

"That's a formula we've seen work out well this year as people are keen to see their homies play for a cheaper rate."

The music scene has changed since they started throwing parties, Kraayvanger admits.

He reckons it is because so many young people have since left the country, with a backlog of overseas experiences starting up again after Covid lockdowns.

"But there's still a very vibrant scene and there's still a huge amount of awesome people making an effort to bring great music and great art to the city."

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