We Are Not Content

Friday, 12/02/2024

2024 marks 10 years of GROW. Over the coming months we’ll be meeting, reflecting with, celebrating and sharing stories with our long-term collaborators and new partners. We’ll also be revisiting memories of GROW and looking what what it means to be a grassroots cultural space, now and in the future.

On Fri 16 Feb 2024, Hackney Wick based arts collective, We Are Not Content, return to GROW for an evening of performance, audio and visual.

We spoke to Bitvert and IF of We Are Not Content, who met at GROW, to learn more about who they are, how the place they live has affected their work and what GROW means to them.

WHO IS WE ARE NOT CONTENT?

We are not content is a collective of artists, musicians, DJS, and filmmakers. We curate events that unify sound, vision and our audience. We surf the void between avant-garde and retrograde night life experiences. We have worked on large and small scale events . We are not content is a platform to champion new and existing artists to experiment and collaborate on events at clubs, music venues and festivals.

WHAT’S YOUR CREATIVE BACKGROUND?

We are not content is made up of Bitvert and IF, both have  creative backgrounds in music and visual arts.

Bitvert has a background in Music Production, Projection, 2D Artwork and Visuals and trained as a painter exploring projection, image breakdown and op art.

linked up with The Light Surgeons produced and performed on their True Fictions tour, Performances included The Big Chill, Warsaw, Seville and Hong Kong.

He produces and performs as Bitvert and has released 2 Albums, an EP and many singles and has performed on the iconic Gas Tower stage at Shangri-la. Glastonbury Festival/

Bitvert also played a groundbreaking VR set with visuals on the at The Lost Horizon Festival.

IF is an Italian-born artist whose passion for music started at an early age. Growing up, she studied classical music and played various instruments. However, it wasn't until the music influences of the 2000s rave scene that she discovered her love for electronic music.

Fascinated by the raw energy and creativity of the rave scene, IF started experimenting with different genres and sounds. Her unique music style is a blend of rave sounds, IDM, industrial, and melancholic harmonies, which she uses to create immersive and emotional tracks that transport listeners to otherworldly realms. Through her music, IF aims to connect with listeners on a deeper level and inspire them to explore their connection with their emotional self.

DOES THE PLACE YOU LIVE/WORK INFLUENCE YOUR ART?

We Are Not Content started out in between clubs and art spaces, where you meet interesting and liberated people after the party. The kind of  places where you get a chance to express yourself in strange and unexpected ways. Hackney Wick has always been a hub for artists and free thinkers to escape and change perceptions. Our environment and tribe has had a huge impact on our vision and ability to work together on WANC events. 

WHAT PART DOES GROW PLAY IN HACKNEY WICK?

GROW is a place for artists to experiment, play and hang out. It still has the original underground spirit of the Wick, one of the few hidden gems where you can still breathe the creative forces of the underground and meet locals.     

MEMORIES OF GROW FROM PAST 10 YEARS      

We have many great memories reflected from the neon murk of the water by GROW. The last event we curated at GROW was one of the best, a great moment in time and space. We met some of our favourite people. It’s where we met and started to collaborate over our love for Electronic music and synched visuals.