Clubbing is so 2016; in today’s climate of constant socio-economic, mental and spiritual uncertainty, we simply need more. Remember 2016, that year when life was good, and we didn’t spend hours pondering the complexities of our own self-destructive nature? In that calmness of the mind, clubbing for the purpose of clubbing was a welcomed experience. Now, we have grown and transitioned into seeking meaningful yet cathartic experiences in everything we do. We want to relate and connect but also allow ourselves a bit of disassociation accompanied by a curated sound and programme that we carefully selected to spend our money and time on.

‘Boy Ex Machina’ is arriving to the screens of RAGuide apps around London at a time when purpose and fun reach collision. An event presented by Fetchish and ecolagbohrsac2021, taking place on the 26th of April, offers a night of theatre, Counter-Strike and metal merch, all accompanied by DJ sets from various talented performers. This event plays on the nostalgic strings of boyhood by packaging e-sports and live performances into an experience that answers the chaotically mechanical questions of each of the senses, separately and together. As one of the organisers, Atay Ilgun, eloquently put it, the event gifts its attendees with “catharsis based on boyhood nostalgia.”

“I think boyhood is a state of mind rather than a biological condition,” says organiser Zlata Mechentina.

A theme always adds a certain purpose to an event. It focuses your attention and takes away the anxiety of the unexpected. As partygoers and lovers of a weekend away from the binding reality, we have grown fond of themed parties. Whether it’s an opportunity to create a physical costume or a costume of the mind, the theme gives us permission to step away from ourselves and reconnect with parts of us we might have never let loose otherwise. In the case of ‘Boy Ex Machina’, the attendees are not only allowed but encouraged to reconnect with the parts of themselves buried by adult life’s burdens and enjoy some fun music while watching e-sports play out in real time. Everyone, regardless of gender or identity, often wants to connect to that careless and fearless part of themselves. And what better way to do it than in a room full of people who want the exact same thing, under the watchful eye of ‘Boy Ex Machina’.

“Each time I do an event, there’s a conceptual framework I want to explore,” Atay comments on his intention behind the event. ‘Boy Ex Machina’ might carry aspects of the ‘everyone is a boy’ variety, but it offers so much more than that. Bringing the performative qualities of a theatre into a club night also provides an opportunity for appreciation and self-reflection amongst the strobe lights of a club. “We’ve been into theatre lately, and doing theatre during the club night is a cool way to showcase our friends and collaborators,” Zlata shares.

“I like the idea of bringing the theatre and club aspects and making them work. Other than that, I think counter-strike is my favourite part,” Atay adds. “I will be playing live music on top of the counter-strike matches, which is a very interesting aspect of the event.”

The multifaceted nature of the event not only allows for full sensory stimulation but also offers mental stimulation. Joined by the simple idea of re-connection, attendees are encouraged to question their own reality. ‘Boy Ex Machina’ combines mediums of expression to hypnotise the crowd into pondering the questions of existence, its nature mutating under the current social structures, and ways that individuals choose to define themselves in the automated structure of the world.

Atay expands on the ideas behind the event: “This is really a coming together of different ideas, inspirations, and overlapping themes, a kind of memetic lens rather than something strictly about boyness.”

“One thing that really made it click for me was that right after we announced the event, I started reading Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia, and the first page literally features the painting Boy with Machine. That immediate connection became part of the event’s self-referential nature. It’s even on the poster. There are also thematic overlaps with Hamletmachine, especially around ideas like the mechanisation of human existence, cycles of destruction, ‘anti-hero’, and alienation, and to me, at least, that made it extra special.”