Episode 42: SIULI KO
In this special collaborative episode with Dance or Die, Holly Dee sits down with Siuli Ko in the Netherlands. Siuli has been integral to the Dutch free party rave scene since its late '80s acid punk beginnings. From fronting the noisy DIY group MINIGOD to organising some of The Hague’s first basement raves, Siuli was a rebel youth with a diehard love for music and bringing people together beneath the blinding flash of a strobe. Whilst living in one of Holland’s most famous squats and self-managed social centres, Blauwe Aanslag, she organised the infamous Acid Planet parties in the basement where Unit Moebius and the Bunker label forged their cantankerous acid techno punk sound. Linking up with the newly exiled Spiral Tribe in the early ‘90s, she helped establish the Network 23 distribution network, selling records out of her home and on the European teknival circuit, and launching her own labels Grijs and Nocturnal State a.o. to support local talents. Four decades in, Siuli is still playing vinyl and raving, bringing years of free party praxis into her current practice producing multimedia exhibitions and festivals in The Hague. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka DJ Star Eyes). For more info and extras, visit Ravetothegrave.org or Instagram @ravetothe.grave.
Visit Siuli on Instagram.
See Siuli’s K.O. Productions portfolio of creative & new media events.
Visit Holly Dicker on Instagram.
Order Dance or Die now.
Visit Velocity Press.
Things discussed in this episode & extras:
- Future Intel. Siuli live set from the Future Intel HQ in the Hague.
- Blauwe Aanslag. The history of the former tax office turned squat.
- MINIGOD. “Back in 1987, at a local youth centre in the ever-dull Zoetermeer, a group of seven non-musical friends started what could be considered a freeform band performing “electronic ‘beuk’ music with noise guitar and lyrical texts”.
- A Brief History of Gabber. A really cool curation of photos, music and YouTubes of Dutch gabber history, curated by Holly.
- Bunker Records. Enter the center.
- More Bunker. XLR8R reports from the West Coast of Holland.
- More About the Spiral Tribe. The most punk of the hardcore.
- 30 Years of Gabber. Holly on hardcore history for DJ Mag.
Tracks in this episode include:
Blawan - NOS
Unit Moebius - ZIPPER
Unit Moebius Live at Acid Planet 5
Curley & Jan - Axe Breaker
MINIGOD - Her Darkness
Subliminal Criminal & Spool - Grijs 03
