These Local Hard Techno Promoters Are Throwing Their Own ‘Boiler Room’-Style Gigs

This isn’t the ‘Boiler Room’ you think it is (Credit: Courtesy of Degenerave)

There’s been an avid fascination with harder club sounds that pound like a sledgehammer. The local scene has long caught on to this worldwide infatuation; an inclination towards intensity, favouring soul-ejecting kick drums and speedy tempos that trip you up. Genres like hard techno, hard trance and hardcore (and other on-the-nose hard variants) reign not just artistically but commercially, and you’ll find more and more promoters capitalising on this tsunami of hype.

Riding this swelling wave, some promoters are now attracting audiences with a head-turning marketing spin. These event organisers are openly calling their gigs ‘Boiler Room’ events, and before you interject, we can affirm that they’re not affiliated with the international sensation. Instead they’ve adopted the globally-recognised term to highlight the format of their gigs – the idea of a 360° crowd experience that keeps the DJ huddled within a bubble of unadulterated dancefloor energy. It underlines a local, fervent raver community drawn to the appeal of social media virality and the intimacy of getting closer to their favourite DJs who’ve yet to blow up in the scene. And while these might lack the professional bells and whistles and a costly branded watermark, it doesn’t make the intention of these gigs any less legitimate.

Degenerave is one such collective that’s orchestrating what they call a Boiler Room-styled event. Dubbed “Breaking The Brain Vol.2”, the gig’s a sequel to their debut event that they unleashed last year. Comprising a roster of Degenerave residents – including Omnissiah, Asmodeus, Warlock, Aashiq, Zaicliff and Jakub – holding down the fort in their ‘Boiler Room’ circle, the event promises a furious cranium-busting vortex of hard techno, hard trance, acid techno and industrial sounds.

And as if one ‘Boiler Room’ event wasn’t enough, there’s another being assembled by not one, but four party collectives. In the same week, the motley units of AltBPM, Absurd, Ministry Of Hard Techno and OMEN are launching “SANDBOX”, which is what they also call a ‘Hard Techno Boiler Room’. Plugging other niche genres like Schranz and hard psy, “SANDBOX” offers a boisterous playground that encourages free expression, with a strict no-photo rule and encouraged attire. This collaborative event features the lineup of 44AUXX b2b YUNGDAGGER, CHRYSI, D-LINEZ, Läbraatz b2b AYNE, and Øbsidian; proving that there’s no dearth of hard-hitting fiends in the DJ community.

It’s curious to see this Boiler Room fad taking off within the hard techno community (Credit: Courtesy of Degenerave)

This isn’t the first time local promoters have utilised the ‘Boiler Room’ fad as a marketing schtick. But it does shed light on the behaviour of partygoers who no longer want to be distanced away from the DJ. They’re not just hungry for an average party anymore. They want to feel part of a collective experience. And if these ‘Boiler Room’ gigs can make them feel more connected with the culture, one that’s often under scrutiny and unacknowledged, then who’s to argue with that?

Degenerave: Breaking The Brain Vol. 2, 21 February 2025, secret location, tickets here. Follow their socials for more information.

SANDBOX by OMEN x Absurd. x AltBPM x Ministry Of Hard Techno, 22 February 2025, secret location, tickets here. Follow OMEN, Absurd, AltBPM and MOHT on socials for more information.