Interview: Eerie Rose | Photographs by El Nine & Rae Tait

A chat with Mother of donk, Alterum and a catch up after the success that was the first Mums Against Donk night at Venue MOT.

It’s clear to see that the first M.A.D was a real success. What was it that inspired you to begin this night?

MAD is easily the weirdest thing I’ve done because it started as a joke…originally, when I started wearing t-shirts that stated I was a ‘mum against [most things]’ I was going to make a T-shirt claiming I was a mum against donk. I designed the t-shirt and I just didn’t think it was that funny so I binned off the idea. Eventually, a few weeks, maybe months later I started to consider that I wanted to start promoting again, and I wanted to curate a queer club night based around joy and expression, but these club nights exist already! Until one night I was doom scrolling mumsnet (try it, it's hilarious) and found a post complaining about queer clubbing being obnoxiously loud (remind you of anything) with a lot of complaints about the way attendees dress. I got thinking, wow, these mums hate queer clubbing. I remembered my ‘mums against donk’ tee idea, stole the smiley face I was going to put on the t-shirt, created a logo and here we are! Thanks mumsnet!

Why do you think it has been received so well?

I think people need a break sometimes. I feel as though the world is far too serious right now and we are living in one of the most terrifying times as queer people and we need to be distracted from all the doom and gloom. I think mums against donk provides a space to just be silly in, something completely post-cringe and provides a nostalgia of easier times through the ridiculous bootlegs of camp classics, eclectic beats and genuinely funny music at times, like when music parodies on YouTube were the funniest shit going. Music has a power to bring out emotions in us; donk, hyperpop and nightcore is music that music snobs hate, because it makes us feel a little silly, a little goofy and a bit like when we were 13 laughing up Minecraft song parodies or pretending to cringe at Axel F by The Crazy Frog when realistically we know it bangs. TLDR: We all miss stupid music deep down.

Photo by Rae Tait

Personal highlight of the night?

My personal highlight of MAD came at around 2am. I had just finished my set, I was partially exhausted, I needed a breather and I stepped out into the smoking area, sat down for a moment and simply observed for a moment. I couldn’t see a single person without a smile on their face, or wasn’t in deep conversation with someone I had never seen them speak to before. Everyone just seemed happy to me, crowds of different alternative communities coming together over what is essentially a really escalated joke. I am so thankful to everyone who made the night a positive and glowing environment. Big shout out to the team at Safe Only who provided welfare for the night which definitely helped into bringing that happy vibe! Alby and Zara, you’re stars!

What can we expect from you going forward? You really have solidified your place in the scene as Mother of donk. Will you be putting on more nights for your adoring children?

Going ahead we want to grow into a community that continues to celebrate queer expression, joy and making you laugh, we want the night to grow so we can provide more love and support for our community and our attendees, we want to continue to introduce you to new DJ’s and giving established DJ’s a chance to get silly for an hour and try something new. Going ahead we want to create a safe and joyous environment that people want to go to.

My lovely children will continue to be shielded from this disgusting music that is taking its grip over the club scene, donk is wrong and should never have been invented!

If you agree with these values, our next protest is at Corsica Studios on the 24th of June for a bigger, better party with some secret surprises that I won't delve into just yet hehehe…The lineup includes LEGENDARY DJs from the queer and donk scenes alike. Lobsta B, PewTwo, djlaundrybasket, Maze and Teaglitch will be tearing up the main room until 6am… I’ve also got a set in there, but I think we all expected that…

I want to take a moment to thank a few people because despite being the sole promoter of Mums Against Donk, I physically cannot do this night without the support and love I have received from the attendees at MAD but especially the team of DJ’s, friends, family and venues who believed in a silly little joke. In no particular order I’d like to thank Peggy Viennetta, 3DMA, Holly Warcup, DJ Coke Nail, Slayphex Twins, Dissociate, El (@999999999boyscrysendpics), Rae (@dead.deeds), Tem, Safe Only, Pissxie, Lobsta B, DJ Fingerblast, Damien Smiler, Miss Moppe, The team at Spectrum, The team at Planet Fun, The team at RUAGOFF?, The team at Venue MOT and Corsica and of course Eerie for taking the time to feature us in your fantastic curation. The advice, care and positivity you’ve all shown me has helped beyond what words can express and I am genuinely mind blown at how much the community of these nights and people have helped with creating MAD.

I want to give an honorable mention to my household, who are more than just friends to me, but my family. Thank you, Tab, Lars, Moth, Quinn and my wonderful partner Amy for everything during the build up.

There are so many people I could thank and I’m sat here thinking ‘wow I might’ve missed someone’ despite having maybe listed about a thousand people there so overall I want to thank those mums on mumsnet for hating us, your hate will forever be recycled into joy, it means a lot babes, book a holibobs xxx

The biggest thank you has to be to Jennifer Coolidge, the MILFs MILF.

Follow Mums Against Donk and Alterum to stay up to date on future events.

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