Words and images by Henry Walsh
When you think of the Sydney nightlife scene you think of Oxford St, Kings Cross and Darling Harbour, but what if you’re not into packed nightclubs, staunch security and $15 beers.
Just 10 minutes away, hidden in Sydney’s Inner West, are a vast number of locations that play host to countless events each weekend by a wide variety of promoters. However, none are more significant and respected than the DUNJ crew.
I recently caught up with DUNJ head honcho Alex, aka Alec Sander, for a chat about Sydney’s music scene, 12 years of hosting parties, and some of the crew’s favourite memories.
I first met Alex as an avid 19-year-old raver at a DUNJ party in Marrickville. I was still relatively new to the scene and it was my first ever warehouse party.
I was completely in awe of what I saw. Having only experiencing club nights this was a whole new experience for me.
A bunch of punters in a dimly lit, smoky warehouse with breaks, dubstep and jungle music blasting completely captivated me. I was welcomed with open arms by the DUNJ crew and the underground punters of Sydney.
This begun a whole new chapter for me, I started to hit each DUNJ party and soon found myself well acquainted with many punters and artists within the underground music scene of Sydney.
DUNJ (originally Dungeon Events) was created by three friends in 2012, starting as a Tuesday night pop-up party series around the Darling Harbour area.
Having been promoters for Chinese Laundry and The Wall, the trio was keen to start running their own parties. At the time DIY parties seemed like the best option.
After a few years of DIY events the crew commenced hosting club and warehouse parties. This was around the time Sydney’s lockout laws were introduced after a number of “king hit” deaths had occurred within the Sydney CBD.
The trio has grown into a crew of nine artists and music enthusiasts who regularly host events in a variety of venues and locations around the Sydney area.
From countless warehouse, bunker, park and day parties, reclaim the street rallies, collaborations with other Sydney based crews and hosting some of the world’s best electronic artists, there really isn’t much DUNJ hasn’t accomplished.
“DIY parties provide promoters and punters with a level of freedom that is unmatched in the club spaces,” said Alex.
“If we’re talking pop-up/ DIY parties it’s the best way to get started without the scene politics and financial obligations (mainly around bar minimums) that come with running club nights.
“For the punters, these types of events are generally a much more affordable way to party.”
With the Sydney music scene the strongest it’s ever been promoters are going to greater lengths to host parties, with increased competition from new and upcoming collectives a major challenge.
“The current club scene really feels like it’s about to have a big moment,” he said. “For the first time in a very long time, we’ve seen more clubs and venues open than closed.
“Club 77 has been holding it down for a while, Chinese Laundry has opened back up and we have two new additions; Carousel and 231.
“It’s very exciting to see the club scene returning and it’s honestly much needed! The club scene is super important to the cultural make-up of the city.
“Without the relatively vibrant club scene of the early 2010s the DUNJ crew would not be where it is now.”
There are a wide variety of venues playing host to electronic events each week, with venues such as The Abercrombie, Chinese Laundry, Club 77, Civic, Mary’s Underground, Carousel, Agincourt, Home Bar, Bridge Hotel and The Ivy all notable mentions.
Although these venues are great, a night out at one of these spots can cost an arm and a leg and punters are looking elsewhere to get their fix. That’s where underground collectives like DUNJ stand out from the rest.
This year marked an incredible feat for DUNJ with the crew celebrating its 12th birthday in typical fashion with a massive warehouse party; their 150th event.
“It’s certainly a crazy milestone and hard to believe that we’ve been doing this for that long,” said Alex. “We’re very proud of the achievement and so grateful to the community and the scene for being part of the journey.
“We’re also super grateful for all the artists, creatives and punters for their involvement. Over the years many people have participated and added their energy to the project.
“Whether it be through contributing to event production, lighting, taking photos, playing music, collaborating on events, promoting and also helping run the events, especially with bump in and bump out.”
After 12 years of hosting parties DUNJ have created many amazing memories, with the crew continuing to push the boundaries of DIY party culture.
When asked about some of the crews’ favourite memories Alex said: “Some events that come to mind are when we hosted DJ Nobu & Haruka, Forest Drive West, Special Request, Djrum, Azu Tiwaline, Alex Coulton, Sherelle, Etch, Konduku and Versa.
“These events stand out because we got to collab with some great crews, did a very innovative/unique set-up, and overcame various environmental and police-led challenges.
“We’d be silly not to mention the multiple reclaim the streets moments as well, the Sydenham Station rave and blasting our sound system at Harmony Park after rolling our system from Town Hall throughout the streets of Sydney’s CBD.
“Apart from this we will always fondly look back on the lockout era in the creative spaces. There was a feeling of civil defiance in what we were doing.
“We weren’t doing anything wrong but it was clear that the government at the time had it out for dance music, dance music events and disco balls for some reason.
“There was a beautiful culture around these spaces; promoters worked together and share[d] advice, experiences and leads on spaces and equipment.
“There was a very healthy and constructive level of competition and one-upmanship where promoters would see what others were doing and think about how they could take the space or the event to the next level.
“This of course ebbed and flowed as there were periods of max freedom, expression and creativity, and moments where the police would step in to settle everything down.
“Apart from these eras our first doof that we threw with Wierd, our NYE party with Big Ting, our first car-park party with Colours & Big Ting, getting involved with our favourite festivals; Subsonic, Psyfari & Dragon Dreaming; and our Dayshift events with Big Ting, Bouki & Extra Spicy are all huge highlights!”
DUNJ continue to cook up new ideas and have a number of exciting things in the work, with summer on the way the next round of Dayshift parties is something the crew is focused heavily on.
The group also plans to return to Dragon Dreaming and Subsonic music festival this year, as well as across the ditch for another stage takeover at Twisted Frequency festival in New Zealand over New Years.
“We will keep doing what we’re doing while evolving and learning in the process,” said Alex. “There’s many more artists we’d like to bring out to Australia and host at our events, we’re constantly chipping away at our list of artists while continuously adding more.
“We have big dreams for the city and definitely want to keep pushing for greater acceptance of what we do and what our community loves.
“We’d love to be able to activate some historical sites that are almost entirely out of reach for events at the moment and we’d certainly like to do another bush doof.”
Featured image: 12:ONEFIFTY 2024. Photo: Henry Walsh
