April to July (stylised a2j) are at the forefront of London’s melodic dance community. An established promoter, they’ve hosted showcases across some of the Capital’s leading venues, including E1, Orange Yard and Studio 9294 to name a few.
We sat down with Ana and Ringo, April to July founders, to dive deep into how the brand started, what’s coming up and to shine a light on their forthcoming event with Tim Engelhardt and Lexer at Studio 9294 on Friday 6th of May.
“We are working hard to make a2j known. We aim to bring great musicians, talented producers and rising DJs to the fore, taking our audience on great musical journeys in the process.” – a2j.
a2j will be taking over Studio 9294 on Friday 6th May with Tim Engelhardt, Lexer and their residents Nairo, LORRAINE and Fabian. Last remaining tickets here.
WWD: Ana, Ringo – lovely to chat to you both today! How are things? Where are you right now? And what were you up to just before answering these questions?
a2j: Hey Olly, thank you for having us today! We are in London enjoying the weekend and looking forward to the Easter holidays. We just ate a full bowl of pasta, so we are full with a happy belly and ready to talk about a2j!
WWD: Tell us a little bit about April to July. Are we right in saying the brand first came to fruition in 2017? We’d love to learn more about how it started… as it seems you’ve been going strong ever since!
Ana: Yes, we started a2j in April 2017. It was Ringo’s birthday and we booked a venue in King Cross to celebrate with friends. We wanted to do something small but we ended up with four DJs and eighty people… dancing till 7am in the morning!
Ringo: It was such a great night. By that time I was studying Events Management and trying to find my place in the industry. That night assured me that I should join my two passions: events and music. Then we started to work on a2j but we didn’t know which path to take. We are just music lovers and our main goal at the beginning was to create a party that joined different styles, so we started promoting tech-house and industrial techno. We also organised a couple of live-music events showcasing arts and photography! It was great – and a big learning curve. It was our first time touching base with the music industry (in a new city for us too), so it was definitely interesting. Then at the end of 2018, we came across melodic techno which changed everything. A dream started to brew!
Ana: Yes, we instantly fell in love with the genre. I think it was the first time we got this deep connection and we wanted to share it with everyone. 2019 was definitely a game-changer for us. We met our residents LORRAÎNNE, Nairo and Fabïan, the likes of whom started to shape a2j’s sound. I believe that was missing before. I’m glad we took the time to experiment and try different styles – they brought a lot of good things for us – but we needed to create a project with its own sound and soul. It started to build when we met the guys and started to write stories together.
Ringo: The tales have been really important since then: it’s the very essence of what we wanted to say with a2j. So when we decided to focus on melodic techno in 2019, we also redesigned, focusing on our branding to help us grow as a project. We started to invite some of the artists we loved as result, like Guzy and Modeplex for our first events. We were very lucky to have them. Then as we were starting to walk… the pandemic happened.
Ana: Well we know how Covid impacted the whole nightlife industry. It was a bit scary, as we are still a very young project. But looking on the bright side, the pandemic was also a great opportunity to explore new things. We tried to keep a2j alive through creating different content, from live streams to starting our own podcast series on SoundCloud, as well as the stories series that’s still available on Spotify. We also built relationships with artists and our community, it was beautiful.
Ringo: Also our mindset changed a lot for the project! The pandemic showed us that anything we believe to be ‘stable’ or ‘permanent’ can change within just a few days. Who knows what else waiting is for us in the next few years, so we should chase our dreams now! We began curating line-ups in the clubs we always wanted to work with. In August 2021, we made a great comeback to the scene and in November, we created the best memories to date at E1 with Jonas Saalbach and Hidden Empire. Now we are about to celebrate our 5th anniversary with Tim Engelhardt and Lexer in the beautiful canalside venue of Studio 9294, on Friday 6th of May. The years have passed in a blink!
Ringo: We also listened to a lot of Downtempo electronica during the pandemic . Our resident, Fabïan, made us dive more and more into the genre. The more we listened, the more we fell in love. Then the idea of curating purely downtempo line-ups came to mind. We were already experimenting with Fabïan’s sound and this year we will finally make this concept real – with our first Downtempo Day Party on Saturday 12th of June with Mira and Frida Darko. I believe it’s the first of its kind in London!
WWD: Operating a successful events company in London isn’t easy considering how competitive the market is. As an independent promoter, how do you go about ensuring you generate enough revenue to cover costs? From a punter’s perspective, it’s easy to forget the work that goes on behind the scenes – but with bookings such as Hidden Empire, Jonas Saalbach and shortly Tim Engelhardt under your belt, we imagine it’s a major responsibility!
a2j: Definitely. We are an underdog here as independent small promoters – we cannot compete budget-wise with the amazing brands in the city. But we are working hard to make a2j known. We aim to bring great musicians, talented producers, and rising DJs that will take our audience on great musical journeys. We love to bring new names into the scene as well, offering a different experience in the process. We put a lot of effort into everything related to our project. We look after the details and try to communicate our message, whilst building a community of music lovers. When we invited Hidden Empire, Jonas Saalbach and Tim Engelhardt, we felt a big responsibility because we wanted everything to be perfect and for them to have a great time! The guys were amazing and made everything easy for us.
As a promoter, you are always nervous until the night of the event. We try to work hard and do everything with our own hands, applying all the experience we’ve gathered over the last few years to make the event successful. Then we just hope that everything works on the night. It is nerve-wracking to be honest, but it’s part of the journey as well. At the end of the night, when people leave with an amazing smile on their face, everything feels worth it.
WWD: There are often multiple promoters whose programming appeals to similar audiences, within a specific musical scene. From music policy to the calibre of DJs booked, clubgoers are regularly faced with a choice: where to go, who to see and – inevitably – what ticket to buy come Friday night.
a2j: The melodic techno scene in London is amazing now. It is getting bigger and bigger and it is great to see all the artists that come to the city every weekend. We think it is worthwhile to explore the underground scene. Events that might not hit the biggest venues but their music curation is amazing and has a nice community of music lovers.
WWD: Considering the brand has grown year-on-year since 2017, what do you think has spurred this on? And why do you feel people enjoy your parties and keep coming back as a result?
a2j: Our ethos is to curate events with great artists in good venues, featuring the best sound systems as we try to bring something new to the scene. We believe we really are honest in what we do. We get deeply involved, listening to our DJs and crowd and trying to do better at each event. I think the people come back because they like our sound and vibe. The family feeling, the stories behind the scenes. We make them part of the project, we all grow and enjoy together. This year we are starting new projects and setting up beautiful collaborations. We aim to keep growing, so let’s see where this journey takes us.
a2j will be taking over Studio 9294 on Friday 6th May with Tim Engelhardt, Lexer and their residents Nairo, LORRAINE and Fabian. Last remaining tickets here.
Photo credit: Teodora Andrisan
Connect with a2j: