Burenhinder is a FINTA collective made up of eight audio and visual artists based in Belgium.

They have joined forces to create a platform for FINTA* artists (female, intersex, nonbinary, trans, agender), aiming to address unequal gender relations in the arts and the broader event sector. Founded three years ago, the collective emerged from a need for a strong and safe, diverse network within nightlife and the arts. Through their work, they continue to shape and strengthen that network.

“All music is political”

Can you introduce Burenhinder?

Cam Peeters (Instar, THEY THEM): Burenhinder is a project that started four years ago. Back then, very much driven by the built-up frustrations and energy after the lockdowns that were so characteristic of the Corona crisis, Burenhinder now focuses more on building a strong platform in the underground electronic music scene in Belgium. Burenhinder refers to a legal term that was common at the time: we are loud and disturb the silence. We initially had to do this from home, hence Burenhinder (neighbour nuisance). Although we never met angry neighbors!

Burenhinder is for and by FINTA+ people, with the aim on the one hand to address the problem within the booking system, namely that the vast majority of lineups consist of white cisgendered men, and that we wanted to change that without running the risk of becoming tokenised as a FINTA+ person ourselves. On the other hand, Burenhinder is committed to developing safer spaces, especially safer raving, with more communication on the dance floor. We are strongly committed to the responsibility of our audience itself and use methods that are in line with the philosophy of harm reduction.

We did not know each other before the Burenhinder project, but a love of music and a need to make a social impact brought us together to start organizing things. Initially, we had no professional experience in this. We learned by doing, also from our mistakes. That philosophy is also important to us.

Burenhinder musically focuses on the harder side of dance music.

Burenhinder is not exclusively about hard music, although we are aware that there is this perception online. Burenhinder started with a very strong sentiment; at our first parties we played increasingly loud music, from all genres, completely experimentally mixed together. We were still very young and experimented a lot, searching for the musical styles that suited us best. These days we remain open to new sounds and influences, and we are still evolving as DJs, but our overwhelming focus has been on experimental tekno and techno, baile and bass on the one hand, and hardcore and hard techno on the other. None of these genres are our preference; we like to represent a wide range of musical influences.

Burenhinder is not only a DJ collective. You are also active as visual artists and designers.

The visual component is very important to us. Our visual identity is a big part of who we are today. We also focus on events that are not just about music, such as workshops and film screenings. You can keep your eyes open for that this summer. We are very proud of our website that was designed by FLINTA+ artist Laura Conant; there you can also find many examples of everything that has a less musical focus within Burenhinder.

Burenhinder is not only a DJ collective but also profiles itself as a FINTA+ collective. Why is this important to you?

The two are not mutually exclusive. The artists in the collective are all FINTA+. Everyone who is a member of Burenhinder, as well as everyone we have ever booked, is FINTA+. This was a clear choice. There are already more than enough organizations that offer a platform to cishet men. The vast majority of organisations work like this. We have been doing events with only FINTA+ DJs and artists for four years now, and we still have a long list of talented artists and DJs that we want to book in the future. So, with our existence, we show there are no excuses or evasions possible. Anyone who, as an organiser, only books white men has specifically chosen to do so. Because the events sector is bursting with talented artists of colour and or folks who are LGBTQ+ and or FINTA+.

Is Burenhinder political?

All music is political. Organising public events is a political given. Anyone who ignores this does so again from a conscious choice or from a kind of self-censorship. Right now, it is important to use our available platforms to raise money for families affected by the genocide in Palestine. There are some incredible teams in Brussels that are organising fundraisers and protest marches. Estafette4Palestine, Montage and Sal de Fête are some examples of collectives that we have been working with for a long time and who are doing incredible efforts.

We also organize events to give a young LGBTQ+ and or FINTA+ audience a space that is less masculine, where we encourage people to dress up, where we cheer on colourful dance moves, and where we put phones away. We have a no camera policy, because we believe that we all spend enough time on our phones and that raves should remain those spaces where people can drift away for a while, dreaming outside of normal life. A rave also remains a social place for us, where you can meet people who are different just like you and where that is celebrated.

Our safer spaces at our raves are also physical and especially designed places that are quieter, where you can take a breather, recharge your social battery, or receive less stimuli, to then go all out again. Such spaces can help a lot of different people with different needs. The music can sometimes be loud, but we especially want to keep it soft. We feel very strongly that we have succeeded in this. Our audience is informed, independent, responsible, and open-minded. We are so grateful that they have stuck by our side through the years and that we have been able to grow together.

Joeri Bruyninckx

Burenhinder Website / Facebook / Instagram