SMUT is my religion: How a DIY publisher became one of London’s best queer parties

Beyond aesthetics, SMUT’s parties reflect the community ethos at the heart of everything they do. Friends work the door, help with installs, and assist behind the scenes. It translates to a sense of intimacy that is equally tangible on the dancefloor. “If people know the door person, they know us, they know the DJs personally. It breaks a lot of barriers down,” says Hearns. “It makes people a lot more comfortable. And I think that comes through in the energy at the parties.”

This part is crucial for SMUT’s founders, for whom parties like this were a lifeline when they first moved to London. “This was how I met people, how I built up a network,” says Hearns. “You can’t manufacture those things. Our parties are the kind of parties I’d want to go to myself, so it makes sense that the people I used to kiki with at other parties now come to ours.”

SMUT’s SoundCloud mix series is an extension of all this, and has quietly bolstered the foundations of its presence in London’s queer underground. Contributions have come from the likes of FAFF, Cáit, Byron Yeates, Angel D’Lite and more, all of whom have gone on to play their parties. “The mix series we actually started straight away,” says Hearns. “The first mix was by DJ Garden Party, which is Bill Harris. We were very big fans of the Radiant Love mix series at the time, and other podcasts. If you’re into dance music, you’re always listening to mixes. It feels really normal. So it was something we wanted to do originally anyway.”

At first, SMUT’s mixes and publications existed in separate lanes, but over time, they began to intertwine as recordings were created to respond directly to what they were printing, reflecting once again their vision of nightlife, publishing and visual art as inseparable pursuits. “It’s really just a reflection of our areas of interest and the worlds that we kind of operate in,” Hearns explains.