“I think of it almost like mixing chemicals. I’m looking for tension, but not necessarily conflict. If everything fits perfectly, there isn’t much to discover. I like when there is some distance between things, but enough of a connection that you can feel there is a reason they’re together.”
Something I’ve noticed across a lot of London nightlife is how easily the identity of an event can become as important as what is actually happening there. Particularly within nights that occupy that strange space between underground and already well-known, a recognisable image, crowd and reputation can become part of the attraction. At a certain point, the cultural identity surrounding the event begins to compete with the artists and programme themselves.
It was partly because of this that my experience at Not Crowded felt interesting. A relatively new London event series, started in January 2025, Not Crowded had been on my radar for a while through the artists appearing on its line-ups. I finally went in June, to see Rooster (Gud), who was playing alongside Felix Lee and The Mass Transit Incident, Kamixlo’s side project, as well as a series of DJ sets.
What I encountered felt different from the dynamic I had become used to, although what made it feel different should probably be completely unremarkable: people seemed genuinely interested in what they had come to see. Paying to see artists you actually care about should be the most obvious part of going to a live event, yet across parts of London nightlife I’ve increasingly felt that the reputation of the night itself can be enough to draw a crowd, regardless of who is actually playing. At Not Crowded, the line-up still felt like the reason people were in the room.
That relationship between the audience and the line-up seems closely tied to the way Not Crowded is curated. Rather than operating as a conventional live music night, music sits at the centre of a programme that also moves through performance, visual art and fashion. Multidisciplinary events can sometimes feel like different practices have been brought together simply for the sake of it; here, there seemed to be a reason for these things to exist alongside each other. The artists work through different mediums and sounds without necessarily belonging to one defined scene, yet there is a familiarity between their references, audiences and the internet-born communities surrounding them.
Part of what I experienced, however, might come from the fact that Not Crowded is still relatively underground. There is a contradiction in wanting a project like this to receive more recognition while knowing that recognition can alter the conditions that make it interesting in the first place. When an event grows beyond the scene that initially formed around it, the event itself can become part of the attraction. So what happens to that sense of connection as the project grows?
Curious about the thinking behind Not Crowded, I ended up chatting with its founder, Beka Ungiadze, about his approach to curation, the community forming around the project and what he imagines for its future.
What makes someone feel right for Not Crowded, and what are you looking for when you bring different artists together?
Beka: Usually there is something about the person that makes me curious. It might be the work itself, the way they think, the world around what they’re doing, or the particular moment they’re in. I’m interested in people who feel like they have something they need to say, rather than people who are simply good at occupying a certain position within a scene.
Sometimes two artists can sound completely different and still make sense to me next to each other. There might be something in their attitude, their references, their way of working, or just the energy they bring into a room.
I think of it almost like mixing chemicals. I’m looking for tension, but not necessarily conflict. If everything fits perfectly, there isn’t much to discover. I like when there is some distance between things, but enough of a connection that you can feel there is a reason they’re together. Sometimes I only understand why something worked after it has happened. I like that part of it. Meaning doesn’t always have to arrive first.
Not Crowded sits between an event series and a wider artistic practice. What does that mean to you?
Beka: I don’t think I want Not Crowded to have one completely fixed definition. For me, the project changes slightly depending on who is involved, where it happens, what the artists are doing at that particular moment and who is in the room. I can make certain decisions, who I bring together, the environment, the visual language, the way something is presented, but once people enter the space, they have their own experience of it. Everyone brings their own references and imagination to it, and takes from it whatever they want. Maybe that’s also why I don’t think of Not Crowded as simply a series of events.
Who is Not Crowded actually for?
Beka: The people who recognise the experience in the curation, and they’re ready to receive that experience. That’s much more interesting to me than trying to create a demographic and say, “these are our people.” I think the audience should have some ownership over what the project becomes. Maybe different people even experience completely different versions of Not Crowded. I like that.
How do you think about the physical environment?
Beka: The room is never completely neutral for me. I’m interested in what happens when the environment changes the way you understand the work. I don’t want to put every artist into the same black box and give them the same stage, lighting and conditions. If the work is different, maybe the environment around it should be different too. The room can change the music. The audience can change the room. The artist changes the audience. It keeps moving.
What do you want Not Crowded to become?
Beka: I know I want it to keep moving. There are different scales, contexts, artists and forms I want to explore, but I don’t want to build a plan that dictates what the project is supposed to become. If I already know exactly what Not Crowded will look like in five years, then maybe I’m not really curating anymore. I’m just reproducing a format. I’d rather keep finding people who have something to say, put them in unexpected relationships with each other, and see what happens. That feels more alive to me.