Focus: Pulp Agency & Pride

PRIDE: LOUD, SOFT, ALWAYS ON.

• What's the state of Pride in 2025?
  Pride in 2025 is deeply necessary, especially with the state of the world right now. It’s a celebration as much as it is a protest, especially for those who remain unsafe or unseen. Its existence in response to years of marginalization and discrimination resonates in the continued struggle for equality, despite the progress. Pride continues to be an important platform for advocating for social and political change. Besides that, the tension between commercialization and community is real, and we feel it all too well. The importance of grassroots queer initiatives outside the traditional clubbing circuit during pride is not to be overstated. It’s so important to keep showing up for each other even when the rainbow flags are gone. Marsha P Johnson said it best: “No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us".
  

• In what ways has queerness influenced Pulp?
  It informs how we select bookings for our artists, how we challenge bookers to build lineups, how we take space in nightlife. It’s in everything we do. We value the importance of sisterhood: It’s about chosen bonds, shared struggle, and collective care in the face of systems that often try to erase, isolate, or commodify FLINTA folks.

• Why does the dancefloor matter in this context?
  The dancefloor is one of the few places where queer joy can be expressed freely and collectively. It defines a space where traditional gender norms and heteronormative expectations are suspended. Music has always been a way for marginalized communities to communicate, heal, and connect. A lot of electronic music was born out of LGBTQ+ club scenes. They carry messages of empowerment, unity, and resistance, making clubbing spaces a platform for both personal and collective expression.

BEYOND THE RAINBOW

• Does visibility still come at a cost?
  Yes. Visibility is powerful, but it can also be exposing. Especially for those outside the ‘acceptable’ versions of queerness: trans, non-binary, people of color, disabled folks. To be seen is also to be at risk.

• Where do you feel queerness is still misunderstood in nightlife?
  When it’s used as a look, but not as a practice. Queerness isn't just aesthetics. It’s about who gets booked, who gets heard, and who gets to lead. It requires structural choices from bookers and promoters. The scene made a leap in the last few years when it comes to more diverse programming, but change has to be systemic before it shows, and there is definitely still room for improvement. We desperately need more FLINTA artists, bookers, promoters, organisers, sound and light technicians, stage managers, production managers, communication teams, … if we truly want things to change for the better.

• How do we keep the soul of Pride alive all year?
  By booking FLINTA artists year-round. By creating space where difference is not just tolerated but celebrated.

“WHAT'S PULP?”

• What’s at the heart of Pulp?
  Pulp is very much rooted in community, inclusivity, and a deep love for electronic music that goes beyond genre. We represent unique artists who all have their own clear vision and edge.
• Pulp has a sound, how would you describe it?
  It’s more of a feeling than a genre. From deep psytrance to glitchy hyperpop breaks - our artists tend to play stuff that’s raw and emotional. Sometimes rough, sometimes playful, but always with intent.
• If Pulp were a mood, what would it feel like?
  Warm, free, and a little mischievous.
• Where does the name Pulp come from, and how do you try to stand out?
  We wanted something juicy, playful, and a bit messy. We try to empower our artists to express themselves the way we like our juice: unfiltered.

SWIPE 5 – A FINAL TRACK & A WINK.

• A track that feels like coming home?
  SOPHIE - Nothing More To Say (Dub Mix)