How did the Organic Grooves collective come together, and what has the journey been like leading up to this moment?
Organic Grooves was born in Amsterdam back in 2019, sparked by a trip to ADE. It started as an emotive house podcast and grew into events in and around the city - then the pandemic hit and brought everything to a standstill.
The idea went quiet, and honestly, for a while we thought that was that. But the spark never fully went out. Back home, reconnecting with long-time friends and fellow selectors who share the same vision and years of shared dancefloors in and around the Johannesburg circuit - after discussing it over the past year, we finally took a leap of faith, and it all came alive again - this time rooted in Cape Town.
The journey’s been a long one: Amsterdam to lockdown to a rebirth in the Mother City. Reaching our debut at Colorbox feels less like a launch and more like a homecoming for an idea that refused to die.
The name Organic Grooves already hints at the kind of energy we can expect. What can readers and attendees look forward to musically on the night?
The deeper, more emotive side of house - that’s the whole heart of it. Think warm, hypnotic, soulful grooves that build slowly and takes the room somewhere. There’s melody, there’s atmosphere, there’s space to actually feel the music rather than just consume it. Across the night you’ll hear the full spectrum of that world, from deep dubby grooves and organic house through to the more stripped-back, minimal and melodic shades of techno as it gets later. It’s music for connection - made to be shared on a dancefloor.
Colorbox Studios has hosted a wide range of culturally relevant events. What do you hope to bring to the space that offers something different?
We’re not chasing the biggest drop or the loudest moment. What we want to bring is intention - a night built entirely around emotive house, a sound that’s been pushed to the sidelines a little in Cape Town lately. Less spectacle, more feeling. A room where the music, the atmosphere and the people doing the dancing are the main event. We want people to leave having felt something, not just having been somewhere.
There are some familiar, well-versed names on the lineup. Why was it important to you to build a lineup around artists with years of experience behind them?
Because this sound rewards patience and craft. Reading a room, building a journey, holding tension and release over hours - that comes from years behind the decks, not a viral moment. Every selector on this bill has done the work and earned their stripes in rooms that matter. For a debut, we wanted people who understand that a set is a narrative, not a highlight reel. When you put experienced selectors in a room with a shared intention, something special happens - and that’s the standard we want Organic Grooves to stand for from night one.
The organic, deep and melodic sound has taken a back seat lately. How do you plan to make people fall back in love with it?
By creating the right environment for it to land. This music doesn’t always translate on a phone screen or in a two-minute clip. You have to be in the room, on a good sound system, with the lights low and the right crowd around you. So our job is to build that space and let the music do the rest. We’re not here to lecture anyone about what’s “real” music; we just believe that when people experience a proper emotive house journey done well, they remember why they fell for it in the first place. Give it room to breathe and it wins people back on its own.
Regardless of budget, what would the Organic Grooves dream lineup look like, featuring both local and international artists?
Internationally we’d lean into the artists who shaped this sound for us - the likes of Lee Burridge, Matthew Dekay, Atish, Kora, YokoO, Stimming, David August, Guy Gerber, Sebo K, Dixon, Âme, Steve Bug and Audiofly, to name a few - selectors who marry emotion and musicality. Locally, there’s so much depth: the South African house scene is world-class, and names like Floyd Lavine, Culoe De Song and the broader Cape Town and Joburg house family would sit right at home. But honestly, the dream is less about any single name and more about the right combination of people who understand the journey. Give us a sunset, a sound system that does it justice, and selectors who care - that’s the dream lineup.
Amsterdam is one of the world’s great electronic music cities. What made Cape Town the right city to bring Organic Grooves to next?
It’s home to all of us now, and Cape Town has the landscape, the light and the soul that this music was made for - there’s something about that golden-hour, mountain-and-ocean energy that fits emotive house perfectly. The scene is hungry, and the crowd (both locals and international visitors) are ready for something with more depth. Amsterdam gave the idea its roots; Cape Town is where it gets to grow into something of its own. New roots, new energy, same soul.
“Organic” can mean a lot of things: live instrumentation, natural textures, a slow build on the dancefloor. What does it mean to you as a collective?
For us it’s less about live instrumentation and more about feel - music and moments that are genuine, unforced, allowed to unfold naturally. It’s a slow build on the dancefloor, the texture and warmth in the sound, the honesty in a selector’s choices. It’s also how the whole thing came together: organically, through friendships and a shared love of the music rather than any grand business plan. Organic means real - in the sound, in the room, and in the reason we’re doing this.
How much thought goes into the night beyond the music, like sound, lighting, flow and space? What should people expect when they walk into the warehouse?
A lot. The music is the soul, but the experience is everything around it. Sound quality is non-negotiable - this music lives or dies on a system that can carry the low end and the detail. Lighting is kept warm and immersive, never harsh; it’s there to deepen the mood, not distract from it. And flow matters - how you move through the space, where you land, how the energy builds through the night. When you walk into the warehouse, we want it to feel like stepping into another world for a few hours - intimate, atmospheric, and built entirely around the journey.
How do you see the collective supporting and championing the next generation of selectors? What steps can an artist take in order to be considered?
Championing new talent is core to what Organic Grooves is about. Our podcast series exists partly for exactly that, to give emerging selectors a platform. We’re always listening. The best thing an artist can do is be authentic to this sound rather than chase what’s trending - send us a mix that tells a story and shows you understand the deeper, emotive side of house. Come to the events, be part of the community, and let the music speak. We’d rather build long-term with people who genuinely live this sound than book a name for one night.
Is this the start of a regular series of events? And if so, what can we expect with each edition?
Absolutely - the debut on 10 October is only the beginning, and there’s much more to follow. The vision is a recurring series, both events and the podcast, each one deepening the world we’re building.
Expect every edition to keep that same intention: carefully chosen selectors, a strong focus on sound and space, and a home for emotive house in Cape Town. Over time we want to grow the family - new artists, new venues, maybe the odd international guest - but always anchored in connection, atmosphere and soul.
What’s the first track that comes to mind when you think, Organic Grooves?
Johnny Belinda (Matthew Dekay Remix). That’s the kind of record that captures it for us - warm, hypnotic and emotive, a slow-burning groove that feels like a sunset in audio form.
