Getting to know Concrete Jungyals | LOUD Bristol Issue Three
Posted on: 29 Dec 2021This article was first published in the third issue of LOUD Bristol, 365Bristol's dedicated music magazine. Read LOUD Issue Three and browse our first two editions here.
Concrete Jungyals
The female-led collective are slowly but surely reintegrating themselves into Bristol’s club scene, bringing with them good vibes, a tight-knit support network and an uncompromising commitment to diversity.
Energy. Positivity. Mutual support. Those are the pillars of the Concrete Jungyals ethos, an approach that has seen the collective secure an array of opportunities for minority artists across Bristol and beyond since their inception in 2017. Formed initially as a Facebook group for women, LGBTQ+ people and people of colour to share music, skills and ideas, Concrete Jungyals has developed into a bustling community of creatives and tastemakers, led by a three-person core team and a further four resident artists.
Over the past four years the collective has become a firm fixture on Bristol’s nightlife scene, hosting their own parties, taking over stages at some of the city’s best-loved venues and festivals, and collaborating with a number of established brands and promoters. Today, Concrete Jungyals’ residents span drum & bass, jungle, dubstep/140, breakbeat and more, with fast-rising, multi-disciplinary live performer and DJ Grove adding yet another dimension to the group’s growing repertoire.
The secret to Concrete Jungyals’ success, according to co-founder Tiffany SK, is allowing each core member to operate within their own space, maintaining their own unique style and approach to their craft while being supported behind the scenes (and from the dancefloor) by the rest of the team. “We all have a really broad musical taste, and we’ve always wanted to incorporate all of our favourite music rather than sticking to one thing,” Tiffany explains. “So it’s really a reflection of everyone’s taste. We know all the music kind of crosses over and that keeps things fresh.”
“Inclusion and diversity are incredibly beneficial to creativity as well as facilitating unique experiences at events. There’s more to the world than the same cisgendered white men we keep seeing on event lineups”
“We try to support each other as much as we can, when we can,” adds Emmy, another of the group’s core members. “It’s nice to go show our faces and be the little cheerleaders on the side.” Following a lengthy hiatus owing largely to the pandemic, the team are ready to dive back into Bristol’s nightlife scene in 2022 with the launch of a brand-new monthly residency at The Crofters Rights.
“I’ve been emailing Crofters for about a year on and off, trying to secure a date for a night. After a while they actually got in touch with me and asked if we wanted a residency, so it’s actually worked out quite well,” Tiffany says. From January, on every third Wednesday of the month, residents and special guests will be spinning the full spectrum of bass-led electronic music, bringing the group’s one-of-a-kind party atmosphere back to Stokes Croft for the first time in almost two years. Of course, Concrete Jungyals’ remit extends far beyond their role as party starters, as I find out during an extensive interview with Tiffany, Emmy, and fellow co-founder Sasha SK on Zoom.
Alongside building a platform to showcase their own musical taste and develop their talent, the collective are dedicated to carving out a viable space for artists from marginalised and minority communities to thrive in Bristol. “Inclusion and diversity is incredibly beneficial to creativity as well as facilitating and delivering unique experiences at events,” Tiffany tells me. “There’s more to the world than the same cisgendered white men we keep seeing on event lineups.”
Clockwise from left: Tiffany SK & Emmy at the helm at Love Saves The Day 2021 (Credit: Sasha SK); Tiffany SK & Sasha SK at Concrete Jungyals’ International Women’s Day 2018 event (Credit: @motchgotwodz); Emmy & Sasha SK (Credit: Tiffany SK); Part of the Concrete Jungyals team at Lakota Gardens (Credit: Wide Eyes)
Moving forwards, alongside their revamped events schedule, the team are eager to set up a series of workshops and panel discussions to stoke conversations around diversity and inclusivity on the nightlife scene. Having overseen a number of discussions online during the pandemic, they’re looking to move into real-life scenarios to increase accountability and give people a nudge to follow through on statements of support. “There are people doing things for the scene, really pushing the right message, and doing their part,” Tiffany says. “We’re appreciative of them because if more people get involved and show their support it can encourage others who may have fallen by the wayside.”
“There was a lot of talk of inclusion riders and similar initiatives during the pandemic, and we commend people that walk the walk, but there was a lot of performative action where people talked about things but didn’t actually follow through,” Sasha adds. “We want people to really do the work. It’s a matter of actually getting people to make those moves in real life, and not just on social media.” Whatever happens in the weeks and months to come, Concrete Jungyals are wholeheartedly committed to balancing the nightlife landscape and providing opportunities for artists and other projects that have, historically, been overlooked.
Not content with sitting back and reflecting on past success, Sasha explains she and the team are constantly looking at new ways to grow their brand and spread their message. “It’s not like we’ll do something then be like ‘cool, OK we can dust our hands off, that’s it’,” she says. “It’s about what else we can do, what else are we doing, what are we not doing.” For now, the outlook remains the same as it was when Concrete Jungyals was born, just over four years ago. “Creativity, diversity, community and support,” Sasha says, markedly. “We’re trying to bring people together, build a community, educate and learn from one another whilst also showing people a good time, in a safe environment, both online and offline.”
Head to Issuu to read the full third issue of LOUD Bristol, featuring an array of interviews with renowned artists, venues, labels and more.
Article by:
Editor - 365Bristol.com & LOUD Magazine
Matt is a Journalism graduate and writer, passionate about supporting Bristol music, art and independent business. Get in touch via email at matt@365bristol.com.
