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Who we are

About

In much of contemporary club culture, DJ-centred programming has become the default to the point of hegemony. Computer Club exists as an antithesis to that norm, championing live hardware performance, open process, and collective learning.

Manifesto
09 principles
01
Anti Bigotry, Always
We are actively anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-homophobia, anti-transphobia, anti-ableism, anti-classism, and anti any other form of discrimination.
We do not tolerate harassment, intimidation, or exclusionary behaviour on stage, behind the scenes, or in the crowd.

This is non-negotiable. If people cannot be safe and respected, the rest of the manifesto is meaningless.

02
Diversity & Inclusivity Built Into the Structure
We commit to 50/50 gender representation across line-ups.
We commit to a minimum 25% global majority representation, aligned with the UK's demographic reality.

This is not a marketing line. It is a design constraint we choose, because culture should look like the world it claims to represent.

03
Equity in Payment & Status
All artists are paid the same, regardless of profile, followers, or perceived prestige.

We reject the idea that visibility equals value. Our nights are built on shared labour and shared respect.

04
Open Calls Over Gatekeeping
We radically change booking culture by favouring public open calls and transparent selection processes.
We do not build line-ups through nepotism, closed networks, or informal patronage.

We want unknown names to become known through opportunity, not permission.

05
Community Engagement & Shared Learning
We platform forums and conversations that let audiences and artists share knowledge, perspective, and practical skills.
We treat the dance floor, the green room, and the chat as parts of the same ecosystem.

Computer Club is a place to meet collaborators, swap techniques, and leave with more than you arrived with.

06
Education & Advocacy for Live Hardware Practice
We increase knowledge of live hardware electronic music through visibility, context, and skill sharing.
We defend the value of live process, improvisation, risk, and craft.

We want more people to know how this music is made, and to feel capable of making it too.

07
Building Local Culture & Opportunity
We provide local musicians with real chances to perform, develop, and connect.

A healthy scene is not imported. It is grown, nurtured, and repeated.

08
Bringing National & International Artists to Leeds
We bring artists from outside the region to Leeds to create exchange, inspiration, and solidarity across scenes.

This is about dialogue, not clout.

09
Sustaining Grassroots Venues
We put money into the spaces that host culture, helping venues remain open and viable.

Venues are not neutral containers. They are the infrastructure of nightlife, and they need protecting.

No Phones/Cameras Policy

We want to create a unique and memorable experience at Computer Club; whilst technology is generally celebrated at these events, cameras are most definitely not! We wish to preserve the privacy, safety and wellbeing of all that attend.

Computer Club operates a no phones/cameras policy. The audience deserves the right to express themselves without the fear of being filmed/photographed/persecuted.

You may however, take photos of the artists, as that helps garner interest for them if you choose to share those on whatever platform you see fit. The audience is not part of your algorithm.

Computer Club is our attempt to practice utopia without pretending we can perfect it. We are not chasing a spotless ideal, we are building workable conditions: safety that is enforced, access that is designed in, and value that is shared rather than hoarded. In a culture that too often rewards status, speed, and spectacle, we choose slow infrastructure, mutual care, and the public good. We treat the night as a commons where resources circulate, and where difference is not merely tolerated but actively protected.

We believe community is made out of repeated gestures: an open call that widens the circle, equal pay that refuses hierarchy, a forum where knowledge becomes collective, a dance floor where bodies can exist without fear. This is how culture becomes more than entertainment. It becomes a civic space that keeps venues alive, grows local artists, welcomes visitors into real exchange, and makes room for futures that mainstream nightlife has not yet learned how to host. Computer Club is a promise we renew each time we gather: that we can make a night which leaves the city stronger and more connected than it found it.

Discord

There is a Discord server for Computer Club. This allows us to not only chat about Computer Club and what we plan between meet-ups, but also covers topics such as tech used and gives artists a way to connect with the wider community and share what they've been up to.

Join the Discord