Beyond berlin: how Whole Festival sparked a global queer culture moment

As WHOLE Festival prepares for its seventh edition this weekend (July 18-21), the event has evolved far beyond its Berlin origins to become a truly global platform for queer electronic music culture. The addition of collectives like Bangkok's NON NON NON represents one of the festival's most geographically distant additions, and demonstrates how local authenticity can resonate across vast cultural and geographic distances.

This year's international debuts: from Barcelona to Bangkok, Los Angeles, San Francisco to Santiago: embody a fundamental shift in how queer electronic music culture approaches community building and global exchange. Rather than simply booking international acts, WHOLE has become a platform where local scenes maintain distinct identities while engaging broader networks of solidarity and support.

Bangkok's NON NON NON brings perhaps the most distinctive community philosophy to WHOLE 2025, centered on reaching people who "aren't even in the room." Founded in 2018 by Mae Happyair and Wanton Witch with the belief that "good music brings all together," the collective has evolved far beyond this initial vision to address fundamental questions about community building and cultural representation.

Their approach addresses a fundamental question often overlooked by other collectives: how to reach community members who aren't ready to be visible or public about their identities.

"We focus on techno, industrial, and experimental sounds, but it's never just about the music," they explain. "It's about creating a space that feels intentional from the moment you walk in. We ask: Can a party be more than fun? Can it reach people who aren't even in the room?"

This philosophy stems from NON NON NON's understanding of community diversity and the varying levels of visibility that safety allows. "We also think about people in our community who aren't outgoing, who don't feel safe to be seen, or who haven't come out yet. Not everyone is ready to be on the dancefloor or take up space in public," they state.

Their response involves creating what they describe as "a kind of vibration that lets people feel seen, even if they've never been to one of our events." This approach manifests in tangible ways: "We've had people reach out to say they love what we do, even though we've never met and they've never been to our events. Some of them live far away or aren't out yet. But they feel connected to the energy. That's what we care about."

Rather than direct confrontation with conservative social forces, NON NON NON employs a different strategy: "We don't try to directly fight against conservative ideas. Instead, we show what being queer looks like in our own way, modern, calm, grounded. Chosen family is a choice we make, and knowing something like NON NON NON exists can already mean a lot to someone who's still figuring things out."

The collective's approach has deepened significantly since their founding. "Music was always the starting point. But over time, we've gone deeper, asking why we do this and what it really means. It's not just about what happens on the dancefloor. The conversations, the energy between people, and the sense of care, those moments matter just as much," they reflect.

Their work extends beyond individual events to encompass broader movement building: "The party is one part of what we do. We continue to support the movement in Thailand, however, we can, using music as a way to build connection and keep things moving forward."

NON NON NON's participation at WHOLE coincides with a historic moment for Southeast Asian LGBTQ+ rights, as Thailand became the first country in the region to legalize same-sex marriage in January 2025. This context adds weight to their international debut.

"We're glad to be part of WHOLE this year. It's something we've been working toward for years, pushing the quality of Bangkok's underground scene and building a space that goes beyond just partying and entertainment," they state. "NON NON NON works across many angles: sound, visual, mentorship, and community support. We believe in giving space for new artists to tell their stories through music and selection."

At WHOLE 2025, they're bringing "the energy of three artists who have been growing and shaping this scene together. What you'll hear is personal, intentional, and made for dancing, but also about being proud, being queer, and taking up space. This moment means a lot to us and to Southeast Asia. We've been dreaming about a future like this for a long time, and now we can feel it starting to arrive."

NON NON NON's approach to building sustainable support systems extends beyond traditional party promotion to encompass comprehensive artist development. "We focus on how to live and grow as artists, and how to create real systems that support that. We include DJs, visual artists, coders, writers, and anyone contributing to the scene. The goal is to build with care and structure, so everyone involved feels like they truly belong."

This holistic vision reflects their understanding that sustainable community requires addressing multiple aspects of creative life, not just booking gigs or providing platforms.

As representatives of Southeast Asian queer culture, they navigate the challenge of global visibility while resisting orientalist expectations. "We don't try to explain or correct stereotypes directly. We just keep doing things our way," they state. "We don't try to package queerness into what people expect from Asia. We show it as it really is, modern, complex, and changing."

This approach to authentic cultural representation resonates with collectives working to challenge misconceptions about their communities globally. As Berlin-based collective ADIRA's founders Hassandra and Zuher Jazmati observe about their own work challenging orientalist stereotypes within Berlin's queer Arabic-pop scene: "Cater to your people. Know your community. The more you embody your references, aesthetics, and histories with care and confidence, the more you build something that lasts and resonates beyond trends."

NON NON NON's participation at WHOLE carries significance beyond individual recognition: "We already have strong connections with queer collectives across Southeast Asia, each building something in their voice, in their way. When we started NON NON NON, we didn't expect attention; we just believed in what we were doing and hoped our voice would be seen."

They view their WHOLE debut as potentially opening doors for broader regional representation: "If our presence at WHOLE helps open a gate to shine a light on our region, that's something we welcome. We may not always have the numbers or visibility, but the quality of what we do is no less than anywhere else in the world. What matters is that it's real, and it comes from the roots."

From left to right: OLLE @officiallyolle, Mae Happyair @maehappyair, WinkieB @winkieb_

What emerges from these collectives' approaches across all three articles isn't just geographic diversity, but shared recognition that sustainable queer community requires active, ongoing work beyond booking DJs and opening doors. Whether through MÜLL’s challenging of West Coast conventions, Me Siento Extraña's Safe Amorx initiative, NON NON NON's invisible community philosophy, Signal's community mentorship ethos, or Fiesta Dame's cultural resistance framework, each demonstrates that meaningful space-making involves addressing community members' varying needs and access levels.

They also share understanding that production (whether technical, social, or political) can itself become a form of resistance and innovation. Signal's warehouse expertise, developed in response to legal constraints, parallels Me Siento Extraña's transnational network building, NON NON NON's intentional space design, and Fiesta Dame's multidisciplinary programming. Each collective has transformed limitations into distinctive strengths that now contribute to global conversations about queer electronic music culture.

Their participation at WHOLE represents more than new additions to the festival lineup. These collectives embody the evolution from Berlin-centered celebration to truly global platform, demonstrating how local scenes maintain distinct identities while engaging international networks. As Jacob Meehan of Buttons Berlin and WHOLE co-organizer reflects on this expansion: "Now more than ever, it's vital to foster real exchange not just putting artists on the same lineup, but creating moments where they can learn from each other, form bonds, and co-author the future of queer dance music."

Photo Credit: Papi Pistola - @papipistola44

This vision of collaborative exchange reflects broader changes in how queer electronic music culture approaches community building and sustainability. Meehan's perspective on WHOLE's role emphasizes intentionality over scale: "This isn't about growing for the sake of scale; it's about weaving a wider net of connection and care. In the end, WHOLE isn't just a festival, it's a dress rehearsal for a freer, queerer world."

The individual stories and shared values of these collectives suggest that the most sustainable movements grow not from single scenes, but from networks of communities committed to building better systems of support, care, and artistic expression. As these five debut collectives bring their distinct approaches to Ferropolis this July, they represent not just new voices, but new possibilities for what queer electronic music culture can become when local authenticity meets global solidarity.

WHOLE Festival is taking place across 18-21 July at Ferropolis, Gräfenhainichen, Germany.