London’s first Neuroinclusive party is happening: here’s what you can expect

London’s first neuro-inclusive party is set to take place this weekend, inspired by its founder’s experience of navigating the capital’s nightlife as a neuro-divergent person.

Will Soer, a DJ and member of musical collective Loose Lips, promises a low capacity, open space and natural light when Out Of Body Pop takes place at EartH Kitchen in Hackney this Sunday (September 29).

Soer tells Rolling Stone UK that his experiences of clubbing as someone with dyspraxia had directly informed the event, which runs across the afternoon from 12:30-8:30pm.

“When I came up for the event, I didn’t know I counted as neurodivergent. For me, I experience things on a low level of intensity. Sometimes people with ADHD can snap into a space relatively quickly, but for me that takes a minute,” he said.

“That came with Post- Covid anxiety, alongside this feeling in the wider scene that music was faster, harder and more intense and in places that were dark and overcrowded. It really felt like I particularly couldn’t get so much out of it. I had other friends who felt uncomfortable too and I think this fed into it. It’s easier for me, sometimes against my own will, to analyse situations like that and be like, ‘Oh God, why is it like this?’”

Soer was also able to experiment with an earlier version of the format too after he developed a sit-down socially distanced event during the dark and often isolating days of the pandemic.

This latest event will offer an inclusive, welcoming club event, but attendees will also be able to try their hand at painting sessions. “I found the format was the rule, really, and it’s amazing how many painters there are in London who just want an opportunity to kind of collaborate and how excited the DJ s are to do it.”

Music-wise, fans can expect a headline DJ set from Kindness – the British alt-pop star who has worked with the likes of Dev Hynes, Robyn and Solange in the past. “They gave a really sudden response to my email and if I didn’t have that I probably wouldn’t have had an headliner. But they’re engaged in this issues and meaningful to me in so many different ways, ranging from their vocal support of Palestine and their stance of the importance of kindness. Inclusivity is so crucial to their music and everything they’ve stood for since the very start of their career.”

Describing how the day will pan out, Soer explained: “We’ve had people arriving just after half 12 before, so we’ll make sure there’s loads of natural light and it will never get overcrowded. We never sell to capacity. You’ll arrive and ahead of you is a dance space with a DJ and maybe some dancers who are there to gently, but not actively, demonstrate a response to the music so that people don’t have just to look at the DJ. That will garner a response too and get them into the music.”

Soer added that ginger shots will also be handed out, though alcohol is also on offer, and a number of sofas to provide a suitable relaxation zone. “I really felt like I’ve been pushed, in a sense, by circumstance,” he added. “I felt like I had to make an event that I would want to go to myself , because I’d feel annoyed if I didn’t. I would always wonder what could have been.”