After the release of his energetic, glitchy, and breakbeat-y experimental mix for Bleached Club, we dove into AION’s musical and inspirational journey. “I have always been infatuated with music that has sustenance and meaning behind it,” he explains. Coming from a musical family and particularly influenced by his mum’s taste in music, AION grew up in the arms of R&B (including the likes of “Loose” by Nelly Furtado, “More Than a Woman” by Aaliyah) as well as a fascination with EDM classics (particularly “Sandstorm” by Darude and Clubland CDs, which now manifest in some of his more trance-oriented sets). More recently, SOPHIE and Arca have played an important role in the development of his sound – marrying the bass-heavy with emotional, seductive, and experimental. “When I heard [SOPHIE’s] Ponyboy it felt like a penny drop,” he reminisces. “I was craving something that was so heavy, textural, and almost grungy, but purely digital and extreme all at once.” Devastated by her passing in 2020, AION frequently continues to pay homage to SOPHIE in his sets with her timeless tracks.
The UK based DJ, producer, visual artist, and fashion designer started his electronic music life as BXN – a name chosen quickly for the first Mutants Mixtape. Since, AION has been borne out of a range of influences, from weapons and relics, to Greek mythology and his Cypriot upbringing. “I was thinking deeply about something that feels more like it was never born and will never die, also something that feels kind of transcendent.” An ancient Greek word, Aion represents a sense of eternity in the cosmos, “so it tied in perfectly with everything. I pretty much grew up in Cyprus, which was a very poignant time for me in becoming who I am today. So it was also important for me to have something Greek too.” Delivering as a designer as well as DJ, producer, and visual artist, AION sees exploring new aesthetics – visual or auditory – as something which pulls on each of his creative outlets. Ideas for new music quickly foster body visuals and artwork to follow, and vice versa. “Sometimes I don’t know where it comes from but it feels like something given to me. Almost like it's from somewhere unknown and isn’t anything that exists in language yet, like borderline a supernatural a phenomena.” Finding creative expression as a way to communicate things that can’t be verbalised his whole life, AION dives into a web of contemporary thoughts to pull out and project these hidden worlds across mediums, often tied in together.
Arca’s music, visual identity and her online community have also impacted upon AION’s self-expression and confidence as an artist. As production for the Mutants Mixtape gained traction in Arca’s Discord server – with AION featuring (as BXN) on the first installment – Arca gave AION now deeply resonant advice, including to always trust his own instincts. “It was through the Mutants Mixtape that I met so many incredible artists and other queer LGBTQ+ musicians like Andras_2020, COOK, Elle Akosua, and Crushed Velour,” he explains. “I have so much love and admiration for all of them – sitting up at night talking with them all, Arca included, gave me so much inspiration and opportunity to hear some pioneering and forward thinking electronic music. Mutants Mixtape also encouraged me to start releasing my DJ mixes which is what lead me up to where I am today.” Clearly innovative and experimental in his approach to DJing, AION is now more comfortable delivering harsher, more sound-design inspired sets thanks to a seeming shift in consumer tastes. “I think people are searching for the next best thing in all forms of media right now,” he says. “Edginess is trending so with that comes an opportunity for experimental nuances to push through in music.” AION feels the sounds previously reserved for online mixes and more select consumption are now making appearances in front of a wider audience – a more courageous electronic music, particularly he notes in the UK, Germany, and Barcelona.
A consistent source of inspiration has come from movies with “badass female leads” – Kill Bill 1, Cat Woman, and even video games including Darksiders 3. But beyond these simply providing a visual and auditory fascination, AION explains how it’s helped him connect to his sexuality: “Growing up gay and rejecting masculine spaces that I didn’t always feel I could relate to, or felt welcomed in, I connected more to strength in femininity,” AION tells us. “I don’t know if it’s a universal gay experience, but even when I was younger I would choose the women fighters on video games like Mortal Kombat and stuff. I’m attracted to fierceness.”
This is what AION calls his ‘weaponised femininity’. “It’s kind of funny when you’re in the music business and surrounded by mostly straight men. I’ve fully turned up to load-ins and sound checks in heels, around these venue staff and big security guards. It’s taken me years to feel more comfortable in my own skin. It’s also to provoke. I realise how gender-constructed society is and how that feeds into homophobia, so I sometimes like to play on that now and almost rebel with my sexuality and visual aesthetics”.
Talking about how emotional and critical this ability to express is, AION described that “I used to go to bed and pray to wake up straight so that I could have an easier life. I’m not even religious so I guess it shows how desperate I felt about it…There’s definitely a sarcastic element to it rather than just being about expression.
One of AION’s major projects is Beacon – an audiovisual music, fashion, and arts label for underrepresented talent. An answer to what he felt was missing in the music industry in regard to the experimental music scene which he felt was being overlooked. He describes the label being centered on pure talent, nurturing potential, and providing a safe space for LGBTQ+ POC people. Beyond the creation and performance of artistic practice, Beacon dives into the critical aspects which lie behind the scenes in a more difficult creative world: fundraising, finding music, networking, and more.
“We’re in an age where technology and education allows us to achieve so much in terms of what we’re seeing and hearing, but at the same time everything feels complacent and recycled. I think newness and originality breeds excitement and authentic ideas. Authenticity is so vital, so these are all things that the label prioritises. I think that’s why I really admire labels like Bleached Club, the ones that feel real with real people behind them. These labels are important examples of what I want to see happening in the industry.”
Committing to the togetherness at the heart of art and music is particularly important to AION, but a concern which boils from this is a lack of authenticity in certain parts of the scene at the moment. Part of his concern lies in that “It feels fashionable to claim to be a “queer” music label advocating for inclusivity because it’s the morally correct and celebrated thing to do, but it often feels less authentic than it does about a reach for clout.” Beacon is a growing part of the force being truly about genuine unity, freedom, and liberation for creative and queer people.
While unease around the importance of a social media presence and related faculties in making a name as a DJ is nothing new, it’s important to not simply dismiss it and frame it as ‘the new world’ which artists must fit into. We can take some comfort in the presence of organizations like Beacon to go a step further and bring underrepresented artists to the forefront.
Conscious of the long intertwined relationship between music and fashion, not least at fashion runways, AION wants Beacon to ensure that the interaction – and those between music and other creative practice – is never downplayed. “In the fashion world you have these big meetings and discussions formalising the event space for the runway and the show, and music to underpin the whole thing, but then after that its all over and everyone goes home and no one cares about or remembers the music. It isn’t catalogued or appreciated anywhere, but to me the music a very big part of the whole project. Music and fashion have always worked symbiotically with me on a creative level and I have a perspective on how I’d like to approach both industries, so Beacon is the outlet for that too”.
AION’s plans with Beacon are to ensure that the soundscapes paving the runway are remembered, “Beacon garments are also a way to physically achieve the sense of unity we talk about in a different way to literally sharing a physical space at an event”.
With electronic music an ever increasing presence at fashion shows across the world (including Tzusing tracks played at a Prada show, and an original piece composed by Mun Sing for Acne Studios), valuing the music – both individually and for the role it plays for fashion – is incredibly important.
Next up for AION
A big presence in 2024 for AION will be his visual work. It’s a busy season ahead on the musical side too – with a host of new mixes and installments under Beacon coming hot off the press, some focusing on new sounds and inspirations, “So far I’ve felt like I’m only putting out mixes that are tailored towards clubbing and booking samples, and then neglecting the music I play behind closed doors either in a studio alone or in my bedroom. I don’t want to keep doing that, I want to start sharing everything. […] For example one will be purely built around sound design, and listened to in a way that would be kind of like visiting an art exhibition.”
New production releases (particularly brushing up on unfinished projects which have only made it onto some of AION’s own club sets so far) will also be making the cut in 2024. Inspired by his daily surroundings and taking a deeper dive into sampling, he’s aiming to create a ‘destablised’ sound – corrupting each aspect but creating harmony amongst them.
There is a whole lot more to come from AION.
