Ask anyone in the know where in the country creativity and culture is thriving, and they'll almost certainly tell you Western Sydney's where it’s at.
Home to some of the country’s most-praised music acts: OneFour, Hooligan Hefs, Sollyy, Zion Garcia, VV Pete, A. Girl and Billymaree; juggernaut streetwear brand Geedup; and artists among the likes of Serwah Attafuah and Jess Jade—the last few years have seen the region become a hotbed for some of the country’s most talented creative vanguards and premier tastemakers.
Increasing the visibility of Western Sydney’s cultural and creative scene over the last few years can be attributed to a concerted, sustained effort from scores of multidisciplinary creatives and industry players. The latest creatives weaving themselves into the region’s cultural fabric is Hotter Out West: a collective that curates events and parties held (mostly) out in Sydney’s West. The collective is comprised of Tonyteni Taulaga, Isaiah Viray, Amol Sharma, Shaz Kumar, Jason Nojavan, Dillon Fernando, Declan Ou Yong, Nawealth Keopaseuth and Josh Miguel Florentino.
The events focus on highlighting a range of genres and sounds often underrepresented in Sydney’s nightlife culture, via the curation of parties that boast an eclectic mix of sounds and DJs. At a Hotter Out West event you can expect to hear it all: club music, amapiano, baile, drill, UK rap and more.
While hosting events and parties is the collective’s bread and butter—the events are about more than just partying. Hotter Out West’s ethos is centered around creating and curating safe, inclusive spaces for their own community in Western Sydney and beyond.
Collective member Declan Ou Yong says of the events, “Everything we do is for everyone—no exceptions. [It] doesn’t matter if you’re brand new to the scene or just checking it out—we’re just trying to build connections with genuine people and give opportunities out where we can.”
Speaking on Hotter Out West challenging negative stereotypes of the Western Sydney region, collective member Tonyteni Taulaga says, “I felt as if the West [got] a bad rap constantly growing up, so it’s nice to [help change] that perception [through the events].”
The collective recently celebrated their 1st birthday, which just so happened to coincide with another major achievement: a collaboration with JD Sports. The collective stars in the latest JD Sports x ASICS campaign, all donning the latest ASICS GEL-QUANTUM™️ 360 colorways.
Complex AU sat down with two Hotter Out West members—speaking on behalf of the collective—to talk about the Hotter Out West origin story, working with JD Sports, and the collective’s future moves. The interview, lightly edited for clarity, is below.
Congratulations on your 1st birthday! Can you tell me the Hotter Out West origin story?
Amol: Thank you! So we were all mutual friends, and one night after an event we all went to get a feed. While we were together the topic kind of just came up in conversation. I don’t know who started it but we were like, “Why don’t we do our own event?” And we all thought it was a cool idea. A week or two went by and we were all on a Discord call and it came up again, and then we were all just like “Let’s do this,” and we started working on the first event straight away.
Josh: It all just snowballed from there. We made the Instagram page and secured all the social handles. Fortunately for us, as a group of multi-ethnic and and multidisciplinary creatives, we all had something different to offer.
It’s more of a casual beginning than I thought! That’s so sick. Now that Hotter Out West is officially turning one, what’s been the best thing about the journey so far?
Josh: For me personally, it's been seeing how well the events have been received. At every event we’ve had, everyone’s had a good time and no one’s had anything bad to say about them—people have just been enjoying [the events]. People have also called us Western Sydney’s Boiler Room—I never thought something in Western Sydney would have that kind of title.
Amol: Same to be honest. Just seeing people really enjoying it and also seeing the team enjoy it—everyone’s just able to do their thing.
What can people expect from a Hotter Out West event or party? What's the vibes?
Josh: It’s a place where people can come to listen to a diverse range of sounds. I think our whole thing is to push the idea that there's more music out there—and it’s so evident in the DJs we book as well, because every DJ brings their own flavour. We want each DJ to bring a different sound.
Amol: Sonically it caters to everyone, but it also gives the DJs the opportunity to introduce people to new sounds.
There’s obviously plenty of events and parties thrown all across Sydney. What, in your opinion, sets Hotter Out West apart from the rest?
Josh: Nightlife in Sydney is getting a lot better—you can find heaps of different sounds now and go to different places and get a club set, an amapiano set, or rap and trap sets. But I think our selling point is that you can get all of those sounds in one at a Hotter Out West event. It’s also not an exclusive space—everyone is welcome.
Our intent is to bring diverse sounds together, but also provide a safe space for people. And if we really want to get deep into it, there’s a stereotype surrounding Western Sydney that it’s not a safe space. So we don’t want to feed into that—we want to provide a safe space where people can just party freely.
Amol: Whenever we have events in Western Sydney we’ve always had security, but also just people there as Hotter Out West safety staff—just walking around handing out waters, talking to people, and asking how they’re going.
Why do you guys think an event like Hotter Out West is important for your community and the culture?
Amol: I think the answer ties back into the idea of creating safe spaces and prioritising inclusivity. There's no one who’s not allowed in and no one who’ll be made to feel like an outsider. You come in, you enjoy, and you’re going to be safe and have a good night. That’s the main thing for me.
Josh: Yeah for sure. I think as well, as cliche as it sounds, it’s also important to inspire the next generation. As a kid, I never would’ve thought people in Western Sydney would be creating a movement like this. And not just us—the scene in Western Sydney generally. We have so many musicians from Western Sydney who’ve made it big. We’ve also made it big in sports too—the Penrith Panthers won the NRL grand final last night. So yeah, we want to show the kids from the West that they’re next up, and that [achieving success] is feasible. We also want to show them that we can branch out into other areas besides sports and rap. It’s cool to be able to inspire people in a different way.
You’ve had such a successful first year, and most recently the collective is starring in JD Sports’ latest ASICS campaign. What’s it been like working with them?
Josh: It’s been amazing. It was really cool. Obviously JD is so tapped into the community, and their relevance in the culture is huge—so it’s just cool to be acknowledged by them. So yeah, it was amazing and it just made sense for us. They’ve also given us great opportunities. For example, curating the DJ lineup for their flagship store opening in August.
Finally, where are you guys hoping to take Hotter Out West?
Amol: That's a loaded question—it’s unknown, but it’s known as well. We just want to keep growing and take things to the next level. That might involve getting international sounds involved, or branching out into other events and things that aren’t music-related. But yeah, big dreams.
Josh: Yeah it’s TBC—there’s so many boys and so many ideas among us, so yeah, we’re not sure just yet, but it’ll be something.
Hotter Out West wish to emphasise that the views and opinions of the talent represent those of the whole collective. You can shop the latest ASICS GEL-QUANTUM™️ 360 range online and in store at JD Sports.
