The Gardens of Babylon is a global community that combines music and spirituality at their events to create a more conscious way of gathering. In the five years they have touched down in more than 20 countries. In 2018 they founded their music label to deepen their musical footprint. The label joins forces with upcoming talent they find in their global community as well as the more vested names such as Oliver Koletzki and Britta Unders. Spirituality is often linked with a more ethnic or organic house sound, yet The Gardens of Babylon takes pride in releasing a wide arrange of genres.

Q1. Hey Shishi, thanks for chatting to us. So what’s your role at The Gardens of Babylon and how long have you been working with the brand?

I am the founder. So, I guess I have been with the brand before the start haha. In my team I am the creative director and because we are looking for a marketing manager at the moment. I am also currently the marketing manager. Quite hectic in this time.

Q2. For those who may not be familiar, what is the ethos of the brand and label?

The Gardens of Babylon connects music and spirituality to create a deeper connection for all the people involved. For events this means that our Opening Meditation helps the crowd to really arrive at the event. The energy the crowd brings to the dancefloor is such an important element. We can work on all our ingredients, but if you are angry with your boss and you bring this into the event, we lost you. The meditation helps stepping away from the outside world.

When we started the label, it was expected that we would only release organic house. So far, the releases have been really eclectic and we are actually going to broaden this vision even more.

Q3. We see you have 3 shows in Miami, New York and Miami. How was the first one in Miami last weekend?

Wow Miami Art Basel is something else. In a way we underestimated the intensity of events. It was our first time for the brand but also for the team. It’s a wild weekend with non-stop events, top line ups, everything. It was a beautiful show though. A little worldwide reunion now that so many people come to Miami this weekend. But yeah, it was incredibly hard work to deliver a success.

Q4. Do you see any major differences between the US and EU crowds / venues? If so, what?

We see a big difference. On the one hand the crowd in the US is more experienced I would say in the dress up, the performances, everything is so wildly over the top it’s beautiful. On the other hand, the focus is a bit too much on VIP and tables if you ask me. We prefer to not have VIP sections or tables at all. And if we do, we don’t want the separate sections. I get the service element of tables, but we don’t need to exclude people.

Q5. What do you think it takes to create a successful event?

For us it’s collaboration. We really dive into the local market and team up with local facilitators for the Opening Ceremony, hunt for vendors at our Market of Curiosities. Talk to basically everybody we can find and we create the event with the help of our volunteers.

Q6. No doubt the last 2 years have been hard for you as any other promoter. What did you guys do to survive?

It was very hard. For us it was a time to work on the fundaments. We grew so fast the years before that we actually had a lot of work to do regarding the set-up of the company. I think from every point of view we were lucky. We also did a lot online, our community grew stronger, and the brand got a lot of visibility. Grateful for the months that it actually felt like something useful. Needless to say, we are very done with this whole situation.

Q7. Your line ups are huge! How do you go about curating them for each event?

Often it’s a collaboration with local partners. We come together and make something special. My babies are Amsterdam Dance Event and our four-day festival The Monastery. I am constantly on the lookout, but I always have some favourites that keep returning. This year I am really working on bringing different sounds, that’s the most difficult part, I think.

Q8. Any artist you think we should be looking out for in The Gardens Of Babylon family?

The roster of The Altitude Agency is super interesting. It’s all musicians we believe in and we want to support their journey to success. We have a lot of Israelis that rule the techno almost trance sound at the moment. Blue Shadow, Frau Blau. I find their sound fascinating and the effect on the crowd has been insane!

Q9. Finally, where else can we find The Gardens Of Babylon events for 2022?

Full schedule next year. We’re doing our debut in London, Moscow, even Georgia fingers crossed it will happen. I would love that. We have Paris. A ton in Amsterdam. The Monastery. We return to Mexico. I mean, we’re gypsies. Trying to find the (future) Babylon family in every corner of the world.

But now first up:

Israel – 10 December
NYC – 11 December
LA – 18 December

Turn it up & enjoy!