During its inaugural TV-style season at Hugs & Kisses, Melbourne's Cool Room series of parties lived up to its promise to deliver a chill, inclusive environment with some of the finest techno and house proponents Melbourne and beyond has to offer. Marking a welcome return with a trailer that assures there won't be a sophomore season slump, Cool Room expands into a bigger venue while retaining, even compounding, the party's core philosophies. We spoke with organiser Sebastian Sibelle to pry some juicy spoiler alerts for what's in store.
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THUMP: Cool Room is about to embark on its second season. Season 1 of The OC is some of the best television I've ever seen and season 2 couldn't measure up. How do you plan on making this second season better than the first?Cool Room:For Season 2, we're moving to a bigger venue, we've got international headliners planned and an all-star local lineup. We've expanded our team of organisers and got more people on board so we can put more effort into the small things like decor, lighting and crafting special moments. We'll be filming the peak hours of the party as always, but the pre-midnight and post-6am experiences are the ones we'll be focusing on improving. We'll have cheaper entry and drinks early and will be cultivating a kick-ons vibe in the lounge in the later hours. We've got big plans and bigger ideas to keep it chill and sexy.What were your highlights from Cool Room Season 1?
An individual moment that really stood out was when Simona Castricum and Brooke Powers closed their set with "Never Grow Old" by Floorplan - it was one the most the hands in the air dancefloor moments you could ever wish to experience. It was also a privilege to have Daze headline our third show in one of his first shows back after a European tour. Seeing the crowd respond so well to Lucy Cliche and Darcy Baylis was also a huge highlight, but overall it's always the longer sets that create the most rewarding highlights like DJ Kiti's set on her birthday or Dan White's in our last episode. Away from the dancefloor it's been amazing to get some really good feedback from the punters - it makes us feel like we're really doing something right.
An individual moment that really stood out was when Simona Castricum and Brooke Powers closed their set with "Never Grow Old" by Floorplan - it was one the most the hands in the air dancefloor moments you could ever wish to experience. It was also a privilege to have Daze headline our third show in one of his first shows back after a European tour. Seeing the crowd respond so well to Lucy Cliche and Darcy Baylis was also a huge highlight, but overall it's always the longer sets that create the most rewarding highlights like DJ Kiti's set on her birthday or Dan White's in our last episode. Away from the dancefloor it's been amazing to get some really good feedback from the punters - it makes us feel like we're really doing something right.
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Lots of clubs are calling themselves 'safe spaces' these days, to the point where it's slowly becoming a buzz word akin to clubbing when it's a very important issue that needs proper thought and preparation. What does Cool Room do that actually makes it a safe space? Who can feel safe here and how?
We believe that when you talk about "safe spaces" that you need to approach it in a holistic manner. It's not just about chucking up a few signs and saying you're safe. It's about changing the way you approach the organisation, communication, and structure of a club night to encourage a different environment where people can comfortably party with abandon. It means being inclusive with your organisers and avoiding a 'boys club' scenario. It means maintaining diverse and balanced lineups, and being overtly inclusive of marginalised groups. It means doing promo that doesn't marginalise anyone and that appeals to a variety of audiences. It means making sure the venue staff including bouncers are well versed in your ideals and process. Making sure that our harassment policy is clearly defined on our event walls and through signage at the venue is paramount. We want to make a clear message that any inappropriate or non-consensual behaviour will not be tolerated, and that any behaviour that is reported to a staff member or security will be taken seriously and dealt with decisively. This also sends a strong message to potential perpetrators: you're not welcome and your behaviour will not be tolerated. Basically, Cool Room aims to create safe and inclusive space for a range of different scenes and groups to meet over a love of dancing to techno.
We believe that when you talk about "safe spaces" that you need to approach it in a holistic manner. It's not just about chucking up a few signs and saying you're safe. It's about changing the way you approach the organisation, communication, and structure of a club night to encourage a different environment where people can comfortably party with abandon. It means being inclusive with your organisers and avoiding a 'boys club' scenario. It means maintaining diverse and balanced lineups, and being overtly inclusive of marginalised groups. It means doing promo that doesn't marginalise anyone and that appeals to a variety of audiences. It means making sure the venue staff including bouncers are well versed in your ideals and process. Making sure that our harassment policy is clearly defined on our event walls and through signage at the venue is paramount. We want to make a clear message that any inappropriate or non-consensual behaviour will not be tolerated, and that any behaviour that is reported to a staff member or security will be taken seriously and dealt with decisively. This also sends a strong message to potential perpetrators: you're not welcome and your behaviour will not be tolerated. Basically, Cool Room aims to create safe and inclusive space for a range of different scenes and groups to meet over a love of dancing to techno.
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You have taken more luxurious photo shoots than the Kardashians have Christmas cards. What was your favorite shoot and why?During our most recent shoot the cast developed a really strong, electric chemistry over the course of the night. They were having such genuine fun in front of the camera that our stylists, director and photographer just looked at each other, laughed and realised that they didn't need to do anything. About two minutes after getting everyone in the frame we had the perfect shot.
The Melbourne club scene has a bro overload problem. I think I have fallen asleep every time I've heard someone say that there just aren't enough female DJs to book and other piss poor excuses of the like. You book female djs for every night. For the sake of proving boring bros right, who are your favorite local female DJs?
ZZZZzzzz at least we'll all be well rested! We've got so much great talent to tap into here locally. For our Season 2 premiere, we've got Chiara Kickdrum and DJ Kiti both previous Cool Room headliners playing back to back. We love everything that they do, and they're both amazing DJs. Other Cool Room alumni include Brooke Powers, Simona Castricum, Kish Lal, Jennifer Loveless, and Lucy Cliche. On a disco tip there's local favourites CC Disco, DJ Jnett and Merve and for more of a techno vibe there's C:1, Elisabeth Dixon and newcomer J MIli. Slightly further afield in Sydney there's Magda Bytnerowicz, Ali Toohey and Kate Doherty. So bro, take your pick!
ZZZZzzzz at least we'll all be well rested! We've got so much great talent to tap into here locally. For our Season 2 premiere, we've got Chiara Kickdrum and DJ Kiti both previous Cool Room headliners playing back to back. We love everything that they do, and they're both amazing DJs. Other Cool Room alumni include Brooke Powers, Simona Castricum, Kish Lal, Jennifer Loveless, and Lucy Cliche. On a disco tip there's local favourites CC Disco, DJ Jnett and Merve and for more of a techno vibe there's C:1, Elisabeth Dixon and newcomer J MIli. Slightly further afield in Sydney there's Magda Bytnerowicz, Ali Toohey and Kate Doherty. So bro, take your pick!
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It's important to book women on every lineup and aim for a 50/50 split across events. This doesn't mean we book artists because they are women, but that we put more effort into finding, nurturing and encouraging great female artists. We think it's really important not only to book these great local acts but also to encourage new female acts to starting djing and to provide them with the opportunities to do so. If anyone reading would like to make the leap from bedroom to club, please get in touch we'd love to help you out!It's undeniable the club scene in Melbourne has a bro problem but you're also a bunch of guys running a club. What really makes you a part of the solution?
We think we have a role to play in creating an example of a regular night that can be both principled and successful - that we don't have to rely on exploitative tropes, that we can provide a platform for marginalised talent to shine and that our audience will appreciate the effort we put in and pay it back. We think there's people out there who haven't had the luxury of travel and clubbing overseas and think that the standard Melbourne bro club experience is 'the norm', and so we're aiming to raise people's expectations with the hope that other clubs will follow suit. We've also expanded our team so that we're not just a bunch of guys anymore.It's 2016 and the Cool Room Season 2 finale is a month away. You've inherited $1m from a long lost very distant uncle who was also into techno. His dying wish was to throw "the sickest, most munted" show of your life - who do you book?
If we were to throw "the sickest, most munted" show it'd have to go for at least 24 hours to fit in all these acts. I'd love to get Laurent Garnier on a lengthy 4+ hour warm up slot, then into Steffi to warm us up for the heavy hitters. Matrixxman, Rrose and Paula Temple would span the peak of the party. ROD would bring everyone back down to earth and the party would be brought to an acidic close by Cool Room favourites Paranoid London.We'd still have a heap of cash left over so we'd shout the club a few aperol spritzers come sunrise.
We think we have a role to play in creating an example of a regular night that can be both principled and successful - that we don't have to rely on exploitative tropes, that we can provide a platform for marginalised talent to shine and that our audience will appreciate the effort we put in and pay it back. We think there's people out there who haven't had the luxury of travel and clubbing overseas and think that the standard Melbourne bro club experience is 'the norm', and so we're aiming to raise people's expectations with the hope that other clubs will follow suit. We've also expanded our team so that we're not just a bunch of guys anymore.It's 2016 and the Cool Room Season 2 finale is a month away. You've inherited $1m from a long lost very distant uncle who was also into techno. His dying wish was to throw "the sickest, most munted" show of your life - who do you book?
If we were to throw "the sickest, most munted" show it'd have to go for at least 24 hours to fit in all these acts. I'd love to get Laurent Garnier on a lengthy 4+ hour warm up slot, then into Steffi to warm us up for the heavy hitters. Matrixxman, Rrose and Paula Temple would span the peak of the party. ROD would bring everyone back down to earth and the party would be brought to an acidic close by Cool Room favourites Paranoid London.We'd still have a heap of cash left over so we'd shout the club a few aperol spritzers come sunrise.
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Ultimately what do you want Cool Room representing in the club scene? What's the end goal?
Ultimately we want other people in the scene to look at how we've done things with Cool Room and start introducing changes into their events. We want them to care more about booking female acts, to encouraging more women to get into the scene and fostering the amazing local queer and trans communities. We want the local touring agencies to scout and bring more female internationals over so there are more role models for the local talent. We want to encourage more mixing of crowds between nights and we want to see more female bouncers at clubs. We want to put an end to sexual harassment in clubs and make sure that all Melbourne parties take some responsibility for any acts of violence that happen on their watch and publicly announce and act on their zero tolerance stance. And it goes without saying: we want to throw the most beautifully sweaty, glorious and exciting club night Melbourne has ever seen!I don't expect any spoilers, but in saying that be a little juicy and spill a secret or two for Season 2. We're dying to know.
We've got a secret international headliner for the next episode that we can't mention yet but we couldn't be more happy with. We'll be going harder and later than ever, we'll be opening up the doors for free from 6am, so make sure to pack a toothbrush and spare pair of undies!You're at a new venue this season. What made you decide on the change? Do you think it's going to change a lot about cool room or is it going to be much of the same with a scene change?
We wanted to keep things fresh and interesting. We were blown away with the new space when we first visited it and even more surprised to find out it was barely being used on Fridays. We're excited to go bigger and better, we're hoping to keep the same crowds and vibes but really be able to spend more time and money on the production, international acts and fostering the local community.Any last words?
Stay tuned, stay chill, stay sexy.-Cool Room Season 2 premieres on Friday December 18 with Dj Kiti, Chiara Kickdrum, Harold, plus a cameo from a secret international guest. 26 Francis Street Melbourne, VIC. Tickets here, RSVP here.
Ultimately we want other people in the scene to look at how we've done things with Cool Room and start introducing changes into their events. We want them to care more about booking female acts, to encouraging more women to get into the scene and fostering the amazing local queer and trans communities. We want the local touring agencies to scout and bring more female internationals over so there are more role models for the local talent. We want to encourage more mixing of crowds between nights and we want to see more female bouncers at clubs. We want to put an end to sexual harassment in clubs and make sure that all Melbourne parties take some responsibility for any acts of violence that happen on their watch and publicly announce and act on their zero tolerance stance. And it goes without saying: we want to throw the most beautifully sweaty, glorious and exciting club night Melbourne has ever seen!I don't expect any spoilers, but in saying that be a little juicy and spill a secret or two for Season 2. We're dying to know.
We've got a secret international headliner for the next episode that we can't mention yet but we couldn't be more happy with. We'll be going harder and later than ever, we'll be opening up the doors for free from 6am, so make sure to pack a toothbrush and spare pair of undies!You're at a new venue this season. What made you decide on the change? Do you think it's going to change a lot about cool room or is it going to be much of the same with a scene change?
We wanted to keep things fresh and interesting. We were blown away with the new space when we first visited it and even more surprised to find out it was barely being used on Fridays. We're excited to go bigger and better, we're hoping to keep the same crowds and vibes but really be able to spend more time and money on the production, international acts and fostering the local community.Any last words?
Stay tuned, stay chill, stay sexy.-Cool Room Season 2 premieres on Friday December 18 with Dj Kiti, Chiara Kickdrum, Harold, plus a cameo from a secret international guest. 26 Francis Street Melbourne, VIC. Tickets here, RSVP here.