GROOVE
MATTERS

How did you come together as Groove Matters? What made you want to turn a shared taste in music into your own events?

It all started about six or seven years ago. We DJed at parties together at home and were constantly showing each other the latest tracks. At some point, that shared enthusiasm for electronic music made us want to organise our own events as well as play together.

Our first party took place on 5 March 2022 at what was then the KAIF Business Center in Leoben. Back then, we called ourselves BLACK AUT. It was a free party, right around the time of the widespread reopening after the coronavirus restrictions.

For that first event, we taught ourselves a lot — controlling the lights via MIDI, for example — and hired a suitable sound system. Of course, there were a few teething problems. Even so, the night was a success for us and, above all, a valuable experience. Groove Matters as it exists today developed later in Graz.

In August you played Parkhouse and Postgarage’s second floor; in November you’re taking over three floors. When did you realise you wanted to take that bigger step?

At our events at Parkhouse and on Postgarage’s second floor, we realised that our concept worked and that the audience was coming along with our musical development. At the same time, our own ambitions grew with every event.

From the start, it mattered to us to give other DJs a platform rather than just play ourselves. Inviting local artists has become a tradition — including our good friend and supporter URBANIST from Graz. Since we still want to present our own latest tracks too, the possibilities on a single floor eventually became limited.

With three floors, we can now involve considerably more artists and give different musical directions room to develop fully. For the upcoming night, we’re also bringing in two DJs from Berlin for the first time. The event is an important practical test for us: we want to find out whether we can sustain events on this scale in the long term. If the night is well received, we’d like to continue the format and possibly expand it further. That also opens up new opportunities to bring established Austrian and international artists to Graz.

An event of this size does come with considerable costs. Our aim is to keep ticket prices as fair as possible for our guests, pay all artists properly and reinvest in future events. That makes us all the more grateful for the support of our partners LuTattoo, Akademie Media, Frida Tattoo Kollektiv and PhiilgoodTattoo. They ease some of the financial pressure and help us develop every aspect of our events.

So the move to three floors doesn’t feel sudden to us. It feels like the natural development of the past few years — and, at the same time, a major milestone for Groove Matters.

You’re working with OBSCURV on 27 November. How did you connect, and what does each crew bring to the night?

The connection started on Instagram between HYPERTENSION and micropepp. After a while, HYPERTENSION asked micropepp whether he would like to produce a track for a charitable cause. Through that exchange, the connection grew closer.

Since HYPERTENSION is behind the independent event series OBSCURV, we asked the crew whether they would like to host the third floor on 27 November. OBSCURV handles the musical programming and organisation there, while Groove Matters is responsible for the overall concept and the other two floors.

This division of responsibilities adds a great deal for us. Both crews can bring their own strengths and musical identities. OBSCURV also takes an important part of the organisational work off our hands, for which we’re very grateful.

From house and UK garage to drum & bass and hard techno: with such different sounds, how do you create a night that still feels like Groove Matters?

Each of the three floors will have a clearly recognisable musical identity:

On the main floor, URBANIST, AMØN, DJ GUESTLIST, micropepp and CI RED move between techno, hard bounce and hard techno.

The second floor takes you from minimal through tech house to techno with CiprianoRo, Belin, Belin R and Osaro.

On the third floor, hosted by OBSCURV, HYPERTENSION, HANNIBAL, KURA MC, MANIC ONE, SINIS, MALPHAZ, J.K.W and CHRONICLES focus on drum & bass, UK garage and dubstep.

What connects these different styles is the groove and a carefully planned musical arc. The sets are coordinated so that the energy on each floor develops throughout the night. You should be able to move between rooms, discover new sounds and still feel part of the same event.

For us, Groove Matters doesn’t mean committing to a single genre. What matters is the quality of the music, the shared flow and the energy on the dance floor.

If someone comes to one of your parties for the first time, what small detail would you be especially pleased for them to notice — something you put a lot of work into even though it isn’t on the flyer?

We’d be especially happy if someone felt welcome as soon as they arrived. Friendliness, mutual respect and openness are very important to us. We put on these nights because we love music and partying together ourselves — and that’s exactly the feeling we want to pass on.

We also work very well together within the crew. If something isn’t right, we talk about it openly and look for a solution together. That attitude should be reflected in the atmosphere of our events too: everyone should be able to have fun without crossing anyone else’s boundaries.

AVA Graz supports us with this. The team will be easy to identify on site and available to help with a range of concerns. Since we’ll be DJing ourselves for part of the event and can’t be everywhere at once, that support is particularly valuable to us.

If people remember not only individual sets but also the respectful way everyone treated each other and the good atmosphere, we’ll have got a lot right.