KIKI.
New spaces. Familiar faces.
Carlos and Alessandro on Zürich nights, the Kiki Squad and a community that moves with them.
In conversation with Carlos & Alessandro · Kiki Zürich
A Kiki can begin by the lake or deep inside a club. What connects the places is the people who return: guests become friends, and a party becomes a reunion. Carlos and Alessandro talk about bringing electronic music, drag and their community’s trust together.
The conversation travels from their beginnings at Pfingstweide in 2012 through afternoons at Samigo to Hive. Ahead of their next Hive night with The Villbergs on 23 October 2026 and a final Kiki night at Frieda’s Büxe in November, they look back – and towards new spaces in 2027.
Where a night becomes a reunion
How did Kiki begin for you? Take us back to one of the early nights: what did you want to experience in Zürich, and when did you realise other people were looking for it too?
Alessandro: It all began in 2012 at what was then Club Pfingstweide. Our vision, then as now, was to offer the queer community and open-minded people a platform beyond the mainstream: a breeding ground for contemporary electronic music, paired with freaky drag performances and a generous wink. The electric energy of that first night and shooting our first teaser video beneath Hardbrücke remain unforgettable.
Carlos: Looking back, what moves us most is the people who have stayed with us over all those years. Each new venue brought new faces. Guests became friends, and these days a Kiki often feels like a big reunion. Whether someone is queer or not stopped mattering a long time ago. That is exactly what we had dreamed of.
Ideas rarely begin around a meeting table
Your announcements always name the Kiki Squad alongside the DJs. How do ideas for a night develop between you? Take us through a particular evening: what came first, and what did everyone else make of it?
Carlos: The best ideas rarely come from sitting around a meeting table. They are more likely to arrive while going out, travelling, listening to music or having a spontaneous conversation. Sometimes it starts with a fairly absurd idea, which our Kiki Squad then interprets in its own way. As the dancefloor fills up, our performers’ personalities and creativity meet a certain dose of madness backstage. What comes out of those moments surprises even us.
We also enjoy a great deal of musical freedom. Our community trusts our booking choices. Many people do not come for a particular DJ; they come because they know they can expect good music and familiar faces at Kiki. That is a wonderful privilege, and it also pushes us to keep exploring new musical directions.
“Kiki has shed its skin several times without losing its soul.”
Hive as a playground
On 23 October you return to Hive for a second time, with The Villbergs and two dancefloors. What did you take from the first night, and what are you especially curious about this time? No need to give away your surprises.
Alessandro: Hive is an incredibly adaptable club that keeps reinventing itself. For us, that makes it a wonderful playground. After all, we do not only want to surprise our regulars; we also want to tempt Hive’s usual crowd out of their comfort zone.
Carlos: The response to our Hive debut in the spring was fantastic and left us wanting more. With The Villbergs, we have something particularly spectacular ahead. From their specially created costumes to their interactions with the audience, they stand for drag art on steroids. And anyone who knows them knows that holding back is not really their thing.
From the lakeside into the night
You hold parties in clubs, by the lake and in the afternoon. How does that change your music selection and the way a day or night unfolds? Was there a track or moment that worked very differently in one of those places from what you knew in the club?
Carlos: A Kiki on a sunny afternoon by the lake is, of course, a different story from a night at four in the morning in a dark club. By the lake, the music can start a little more playfully and build with the mood and the sunset. In a club, we can release a completely different kind of energy right from the start.
That is why we would never simply copy the same concept into another venue. Every place has its own character, which we enjoy playing with. But one thing we can guarantee: whether outdoors or in a dark basement, Kiki remains unmistakable musically. We love electronic music that surprises, sweeps people along and brings them together.
New horizons, the same soul
For November, you have announced one last Kiki night at Frieda’s Büxe and spoken about new directions for 2027. What are you taking with you from all those years there? And what would you like to try next that has not yet found the right place or moment?
Alessandro: For us, 2026 has been a year of experimentation. Next year, we want to focus more closely on a selection of events again. After all, a certain exclusivity has always been part of Kiki’s DNA. In keeping with the motto: “If we do it, we do it properly.”
We remain closely connected to Frieda’s Büxe. The old lady has shared our values over all those years and placed a great deal of trust in us. That bond is not something we take for granted, and it has set the bar high for future collaborations.
That makes us all the happier about approaches from venues that want to work with us. They open up new possibilities. We will see where the journey takes us. One thing is certain: Kiki has shed its skin several times without losing its soul.
KIKI
Interview by email · Editorial and image art direction: SCENE:ID. Kiki (courtesy) · Palais Mascotte · Jason Hagmann