
The People of the Boiler Room


Boiler Room is a music Broadcaster based in London, UK. It commission’s and live stream's music sessions around the world. It has hosted shows in around 100 cities worldwide including London, Amsterdam, New York, Berlin, Lisbon, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Krakow, Tokyo, Sydney, Lima and Los Angeles. The company focuses on electronic music but also plays garage, techno and dub extended (grime, hip hop, classical and jazz) sets.
“The artists are, after all, the sole attraction at Boiler Room: attendees are positioned behind the decks in a bedroom DJ style set up so that the selector is always the main figure in view.”
I completely disagree with this statement. The online videos seem to attract an enormous amount of comments giving opinions on people in the crowds reacting to the music and dancing comically. The audience’s reaction is just as important as the DJ. It is why people want to watch. The dancing is a response and is something of enjoyment and freedom. The carefree attitude people find when they are in the moment.
I made a fold out a3 risograph poster as a result of my findings. I also gained a lot of my information and illustrations by watching the livestreams and the ‘People of the Boiler Room’ YouTube videos. It was only a matter of narrowing down who deserved to be in the book. The front cover I wanted to be a big crowd, everyone together to state the fact that these shows are about that very thing, and that inside, you would have selective individuals and the oddly satisfying and funny things they do at the events.


