‘Heaps gay’ is the sort of expression annoying 13-year-olds use to describe algebra. Heaps Gay is also the name of one of Sydney’s most poppin’ party nights, which bears no apparent semblance to maths class. Over the last couple of years, the alternative-minded all-inclusive parties have taken place in various venues around town. Heaps Gay’s popularity has now reached the point that it’s hosting a blockbuster event at the Factory Theatre during Vivid Sydney.

Heaps Gay’s Vivid debut will feature DJ sets from Kim (The Presets) and local R&B trio Black Vanilla, as well as a stack of performance artists and sound and light shows. Black Vanilla – made up of Marcus Whale (Collarbones), Jarred Beeler (Marseilles) and Lavurn Lee (Guerre) – have long been outward supporters of social justice and sexual liberation, so their appearance at Heaps Gay is perfectly apt.

“I did a Heaps Gay party with my DJ duo Tennis Boys, which is with my boyfriend,” says Whale. “It was incredible. The crowd at Heaps Gay is not dominated by sweaty men and it’s super friendly, really welcoming, very diverse. I don’t think I’ve had a more pleasurable DJ set.”

Sydney is widely renowned for fostering a queer-friendly culture, as symbolised by the annual Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras, plus the Oxford Street hub for gay bars. However, as Whale points out, these outlets don’t cater for everyone who identifies as queer.

“Sydney’s LGBTQI community is, on a social level, very centralised and focused around gay men’s culture in a kind of archaic way that’s not welcoming for any other member of that community,” Whale says.

“It’s also quite white, generally,” adds Lee.

Whale continues: “Heaps Gay strikes that nice medium between being inclusive for people of different backgrounds and also being safe for people who generally feel more oppressed in mainstream environments. I see all kinds of people at those parties – people that I’ve never seen together at the same place before – and everyone is having a great time.”

Black Vanilla’s most recent live performances were part of their Out tour back in March. The run of dates around the country was somewhat unique in that it wasn’t attached to a specific release. This move is typical of the band, which started as an exclusively live, performance-oriented act. While Black Vanilla have since compromised on this aim, they’re still dedicated to live performance first and foremost.

“We’ve been working on our second mixtape,” Whale says. “When we do a mixtape, it’s very related to what we do live, so it has to be immediate, in the moment, the tracks that we’re happy with performing. So you might even see us perform a headline show before we release anything else.”

“We don’t feel any pressure to release anything until we’re completely satisfied with the product,” Beeler says. “I think we’re still trying to work out what our recorded sound is.”

Although Black Vanilla aren’t performing live at Heaps Gay, their DJing exploits still represent the project’s artistic identity. “I think our DJ sets showcase our influences,” says Beeler, “so it might contextualise Black Vanilla a bit in the larger dance music scene. Also I think our DJ sets are refreshing for us to do, because we don’t demand as much audience participation, which allows us to enjoy ourselves without the audience having to be fully present.”

“It’s a different means to a similar end,” Whale adds, “with different social dynamics going on. Our live shows are about getting wild, having an amazing time on the dancefloor. The DJ set is similar, but it’s facilitating rather than force-feeding.”

Black Vanillaappear at Heaps Gay,as part of Vivid Sydney 2015, withKim, TEES, Catlips, Divine Knights, The Magda Szubanskis and more, atFactory Theatre on Sunday June 7.

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