From installing a bouncy castle and throwing cake at the audience to putting together a confession booth for rave-goers to confess their sins and serenade their crushes, theatricality is at the core of Fetchish. The London-based multidisciplinary collective is behind some of the city’s kookiest and bizarro parties out there, partnering with local club nights such as Planet Fun and Kawaii Agency to bring their zany ideas to light.
Bringing together post-internet and diasporic Eastern European culture, the group formed two years ago, having met each other at art school and underground raves. “We’re a group of architects, performers, art historians and designers, Deleuze-pilled individuals, (s)ex-intellectuals and game developers, but no one knows exactly what we do,” they reveal over email. “We all met through different channels and yet our celestial desire for cringe subversion and academia bimbofication has become the common source of attraction.”
With friends Alina A, Anastasia Kozlova, Kirill Vilshenko, Sonya Bleiph, Dasha Ushko, Zlata Mechetina, Anna Mladentseva, Sofiia Romanishina and Sofiko Chachanidze forming the core group, the average Fetichish-goer consists of “CSM students, dolls and post-Soviet offspring” – but a love of all things early electronic and happy hardcore is a must. On any given night you can expect to hear a pulverising assortment of styles and genres, including but not limited to: techno tango, balkan rhythms, Soundcloud breakcore, trance, and the occasional queer MC rapper.
But how does a group of Deleuze-quoting, party-going eccentrics throw the perfect rave? “The key is an interest in multimedia & interdisciplinary curiosity, healing, alternative modus of knowledge and rhizomatic community-making,” they explain. “Each event boils down to constructing a unique spectacle, reflecting common desire to build up recursive self-lores as well as dancing for queer/hybrid storytelling of Eastern Europe youth and decay of any vertical powers and empires.” See for yourself in the gallery above.
