CL!CK: Vaj Power & Miss Cabbage on their new night

Having previously collaborated on Miss Cabbage & Stereo present, what’s the idea behind formally creating CL!CK?

Sof: I collaborate with promoters lots, but with Shawna, there was a really good back-and-forth. I felt a creative process, rather than Stereo just providing the space, logistics and budget.

Shawna: I’d never envisioned being a promoter, so it was really helpful to be welcomed by Sof. We share a similar interest in wanting to bring artists [that] other promoters maybe wouldn't go for.

As DJs, you seem to play different styles of music. What is the common thread attracting you to these artists?

Sof: I haven't done FUSE in a while… I pigeonholed myself a little bit. Artists were emerging but weren’t quite FUSE, so when Shawna approached me with the Goth Jafar booking, we decided to merge the two styles to bring something fresh.

Shawna: I guess a regular collaboration would be two artists or nights with similar sounds coming together, but I was interested in the opposite end of the spectrum, and how collaborating could expose me to artists or music I wasn't super familiar with. With me, there's more of a focus on being glam, and there's a melting point with that too because there are some that don't necessarily feel they need to pull off a big look, but also people that can come and serve kunt. It's kind of a mishmash of both our experiences coming together.

Sof: I’d like to have a CL!CK festival stage… I'd love to do Kelburn. Last year, we both curated the excuse my beauty stage.

Shawna: It was feral vibes. There was such varied style throughout that whole night, which was something Kelburn needed – they needed the queerness injected into them, and we definitely did that. 

Sof: I’d love to shed light across Scotland, there’s such a strong Queer scene. Whilst the North of England is kind of getting its spotlight, I feel Scotland is still not. So maybe we could do a club swap in different cities.

Given the recent unfortunate closure of Bonjour, what are your thoughts on Queer nightlife scenes and safe-space policy prevalence across the country?

Shawna: Where do we start? It's really sad Bonjour closed, they acted not only as a club but as a community space – that’s where I started my own work and solo progression.

Sof: They single-handedly had the new generation of Queer and Trans DJs coming out of the venue. It was the space people could hone their skills. With CL!CK, we’re conscious about giving space to newer people.

Shawna: When looking at Queer nightlife in general, there's a lot of work still to be done. There are great things like Ponyboy – who’ve only been in the scene just over a year, yet created so much for it. But there’ve been instances where I’ve gone out and not felt safe – and that’s quite a harrowing experience. Now, that sounds dramatic, but when you're going to nights branded as Queer and the crowd clearly isn't, it can be an uncomfortable experience. Toilets are a really big factor in Queer nightlife, and you'll be in the toilet, and you've got people questioning you, saying inappropriate things. Whereas if you go to a night that's not necessarily branded as Queer you can expect and prepare for it, at least from my experience anyway. TikTok hugely influenced nightlife in Glasgow. If a song goes viral, the artist gets recognised, and everyone flocks to venues for headliners, whilst not necessarily knowing what the night’s about. It's not a bad thing, people should be blowing up… it's just where they're getting booked has an effect. But this is Queer nightlife in general, there's lots of false branding across the UK, which I just don't think is fair. You can still have a safe space without branding yourself as something that you're not just to make ticket sales happen.

Sof: Big promoters are jumping on trends without realising they have a responsibility to provide safety for artists and their following as well. I feel when safe space policies were initially being implemented, there was maybe an expectation that clubs are going to be this absolutely comfortable place, and they should strive to be, but it's just not realistic because drink and drugs are involved, it’s loud, there are strobes – it’s a very stimulating space. Hopefully promoters try to educate their crowd because it is about educating rather than policing.

Do you draw upon your shared experience of fine art academia in informing your nights?

Sof: I think being visual artists made the collaboration feel natural, as we think about the club as a whole experience rather than just the music played there.

Shawna: For me, I view DJing as an act of performance in itself. In art school, I did performance-based work in my final years and had a brief stint in drag. This does inform my DJ practice because I like to express myself not only through sonic means but also outward style choices. I think the fine art background did influence this; I did lots of sculptural work that now manifests as choices about building a narrative and story through visualising and seeing things in my head because that’s my experience of the world as itself.

Sof, in 2018, you told us FUSE sought to create a space for VJs that didn’t exist in Glasgow before. How do you think things have changed over the past 5 years?

Sof: It’s amazing to see production is not only a thing for big clubs… you can actually achieve a multi-sensory experience without huge budgets when people are creative. Stereo can transform so much. There are definitely promoters that now pay attention to that, like Ponyboy, and how they went even further, creating experience with hair, makeup and looks. I should give credit to Hawkchild DIY… when the lockdown was just lifted, Hashim was one of the first who came and started doing crazy lights. It's amazing to see VJs I know personally in Glasgow, like Veronica (vnc.ptk) and Niki (Moventia), I love how different but recognisable their work is. There’s also this collective, Phlox. It’s cool to see the visual aspect becoming almost as valuable as the music; the two exist in tandem when creating a rounded club experience. However, if any new promoters are looking to do this, the venue’s power is important. On New Year’s Eve, we had it cut off.

Shawna: During my set! It was so funny but honestly about ten minutes long.

Sof: It was five.

Shawna: Was it? It felt way longer.

Sof: I was in the green room with one of the hosts… we heard everyone cheer, and we were like 'oh it must be a drop', but they kept cheering. We came out and it was so dark.

Shawna: But see as soon as those lights went back on, that was it. Like everybody just went insane – it was great.

What should we expect this Valentine’s?

For Valentine's Day, we’ve got Yazzus. There’ll also be decorations by Angel (Pure Bliss) and Dorica. The whole vibe will be like Animal Crossing video games. We're also working with ADA (net.gf and Subcity Manager) on lights… she's good at making the space intense and anonymous.

Shawna: Yeah, it’ll feel like a trip inside a game. It’ll be nice to do something on Valentine’s that’s not focused around love as such – because it can be isolating for certain people, so we’ll create a space, like a game, that you can just go into and have fun.

Sof: We’re both really into video games. They are this fantasy land that I know a lot of Queer people enjoy because you can create your character, and roleplay as someone else, if not themselves when it’s not safe to be so in the real world.

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CL!CK x Stereo ft. Yazzus, Halal Kitty, Dorica and more, Stereo, Glasgow, 16 Feb, 7pm til late

Follow CL!CK on Instagram @clickgla_