Tropico

Norwich DJ collective Tropico turned five years old last month, and celebrated in their usual style. These guys have thrown all our favourite parties for the last half decade and it's time to bring the creatives minds behind it to light. I caught up with the guys currently responsible for all this, Levi, Ivan and Adam, and asked them a few questions to really understand what Tropico means to them, and to the community in Norwich who are constantly hunting for a new night out. It's been a voyage of good times, and the efforts of those involved are worthy of all the glory.

For those unaware, could you just take us on a tour of Tropico as a whole?

Adam - The official line is that we are a collective of DJs, producers, musicians, designers and friends with an insatiable desire for good music, good parties and good times.

Ivan - To me it's fun, colourful and filled with good vibes. I joined the family a little later down the line - it was a really natural process. I'd been a promoter for a good few years before Tropico existed and it was exactly what I felt was missing. As a music fanatic, I would always enjoy the fact I could go to Trops and hear RnB alongside Soul, Garage, Hip Hop, Grime and many musical styles across the board.

There aren't many other club nights in Norwich that are similar to the ones you guys put on. Was this something in the forefront of your minds when you decided to start Tropico?

Levi - I received a call from a good friend of mine, Danny Banthorp saying he'd just got the keys for what was Knowhere. He wanted me to put on a night that reached out to our demographic. I called Ads and Sam, a previous member of Tropico, as they both said 'fuck yeah!’. So we cut some melon, blew up some palms, got a lot of warm cans of Fosters and threw a party!

Tropico is without a doubt a large collective, with many different talents. Who else is involved in the whole production?

Adam - I’m very thankful to Sam Harrons - wonderfully eccentric, and a genius when it comes to design and aesthetics.  Levi, a man sure of his opinions when it comes to the way something looks, and he's not afraid to tell you! Chiara Mottironi and Charlotte Rutherford - after about half a year of events we changed our design, which each month featured an image of Chiara amazingly shot by Charlotte, and Elliot Lea, the man responsible for the most recent re-brand, who managed to put up with our constant mind changing and last minute requests.