CULTURE
DISCOVER PARISIAN NIGHTLIFE’S 4 MOST INCLUSIVE COLLECTIVES
BY ANNA PRUDHOMME
Paris may be known around the world as a city of high society, glitz and glamour, but it’s also a melting pot where people come from all over the globe, making its nightlife more cosmopolitan than many would guess. Among the various overseas musical influences, Hispanic reggaeton and Afrobeat are some of the most played genres in the French capital. The popularity of these styles as well as a true willingness to push for inclusivity and representation of ethnic, sexual and gender minorities, have created a Parisian nightlife that is both welcoming and diverse.
Today Xpulent will look at four of the most inclusive Afro-descendant collectives in Paris and why they have taken the city by storm, having a noticeable impact on the French capital’s party scene.
At the root of most of these collective adventures, comes the observation that at one time Parisian nightlife deeply lacked musical eclecticism. As a result, several entities had to be created in order to respond to the needs of underground communities that could not find the parties that matched their tastes and desires…. Let’s have a look!
1° 99Ginger
Founded by Kirou, a French DJ of Ethiopian origin, the collective 99Ginger describes itself as a “creative community of music lovers producing content, music, events that celebrate the culture beneath the surface, in Paris and beyond”. Since its rise in 2018, the Parisian collective has established itself as one of the best ambassadors of Afro-diasporic sound. Their parties skilfully mix hip hop, electronic music and everything that is at the crossroads of Afro-music, all while reuniting under the same roof a diverse audience in a spirit of communion.
Neither too hype, nor too underground, the multifunctional team that is 99Ginger includes DJs, videographers, photographers, graphic designers and even journalists. But 99Ginger works also as a record label and a curation agency, producing events in Paris and now in London, Amsterdam and Los Angeles. They organised several Boiler Rooms— London’s most epic music streaming sessions—, have a section on NTS radio and collaborate with a lot of brands such as the streetwear brand Places+Faces or Havana Club rum.
2° La Créole
La Créole collective has also been enriching the nights of the capital, hosting events dedicated to the influence of Creole culture, inviting artists such as Crystalmess or Bamao Yendé. The collective has found its own way to contribute to the renewal of the Parisian clubbing scene.
In 2014, the collective emerged as an artistic collaboration between photographer Fanny Viguier and stylist Vincent Frederic-Colombo who had met on Facebook and shared lots of similar interests. Today La Créole has the aspiration to go beyond any form of cliché by celebrating diversity, eclecticism and the mixing of genres and cultures. With its continued celebration of Creole culture, the collective has made a stamp on French nightlife, creating a safe space for dancers, misfits and basically anyone who likes a good party!
Originally from Marseille, La Famille Maraboutage collective overtook the capital with its inclusive parties celebrating the music and sounds of Afro and Latino cultures. From Jamaican dancehall to Brazilian baile funk, to the most secret scenes of South African tarraxo (a type of Angolan dance), the collective Maraboutage knows the magic recipe for bewitching dancefloors. Featuring guest artists from the four corners of the world and a crew of motivated professional dancers and performers, their parties soon came to ignite the Parisian nights.
The initial idea of the artistic director was to "open the spectrum" of what was being listened to on dancefloors, drawing from the seeds of SoundCloud’s niche music and claiming a space in the Afrofuturism genre. The sounds were already making urban youth dance around the world and are now finding their place in French nightlife.
The Jah Jah Soundsystem is more low-key than the previous collectives presented, but is very well known in Paris as it has one of the best stages at the annual (very celebrated) Fête de la Musique (a.k.a. the June 21st World Music Day). Jah Jah is a collective that owns a huge sound system and celebrates Jamaican culture, mixing music with influences going from 70s reggae roots to electrifying 90s dancehall. They have a weekly two-hour radio show on Rinse France and also a restaurant called Jah Jah by Le Tricycle serving delicious plant-based Afro-Caribbean-inspired dishes, including vegan bowls and burgers! .
