Farius is the promoter behind QTS, a brand new queer day party bringing euphoric, high/emotion trance and progressive to London. Queer parties in London lean toward house, commercial remixes or the global circuit sound. But trance? We spoke with Darius to learn more about his music and QTS.
Hello Farius. When did you first realise you loved music, and who were your first favourite artists?
From a pretty young age, I was really intrigued by mainstream pop music, everything on the radio, etc – but at about 11 or 12, I really started to love melodic dance music in particular, artists like Chicane, Faithless, Sash, Tiesto – I guess the original mainstream “trance” sound from the 00s. I remember hearing the original Big Brother theme tune and becoming obsessed with it – what was this amazing sound?
When did you arrive in clubland and the scene in London?
I’ve been in and around clubland for the best part of 15 years – I started out DJing at Circa in Soho and went on to hold a residency at Popcorn @Heaven, and then went on to spread my wings across LGBTQ+ London – I played at Fire, Area, Shadow Lounge, East Bloc and RVT amongst others. In 2016, I honed in on my sound as a DJ and producer and moved into the world of trance, which really never crossed over with the gigs I was playing on the LGBT+ scene at the time. Since then, I’ve played for A State of Trance with Armin van Buuren, Ministry of Sound, Dreamstate in the US, and O2 Academy Brixton in London, among others.
What is the inspiration behind QTS?
For years, I’ve wanted to join up those two parts of my life – the LGBT+ scene in the UK and the genre of trance. Every club I’ve played at on the scene never truly embraced trance as a sound, and equally, every trance event I’ve played at just feels like it’s never quite reached the LGBT+ community. Where house, techno and disco have made real strides towards representation for Queer people in their respective genres, Trance still feels like it still has a bit of catching up to do. In the last few years, I’ve dragged a few friends to trance events, and afterwards, they’ve all come away open-mouthed, asking the same question: “Why don’t we have this on the scene in the UK?” That’s when I really got thinking about how I could make an event like this work, and how the LGBT+ events by and large only really serve up house, techno, disco and commercial music.
“This is a full-body, hands-in-the-air, heart-open experience, designed for the Queer raver who’s ready to feel something different.”
QTS
What does QTS stand for?
QTS (pronounced “cuties”) initially stood for Queer Trance Society. I’m really looking forward to giving the community a slice of something really fresh. One of the DJs, Chris Bekker, has been playing trance at huge LGBT+ parties in Europe – I just know he’s going to serve up something really special for QTS. The whole day will be programmed to build from the more progressive end of trance – the slower melodic sound – through to that really big, euphoric, hands-in-the-air sound.
What kind of crowd do you want to attract to QTS?
Put simply, I want to put on a trance event for the LGBT+ community, not an LGBT+ party for trance fans. I’m really hoping to attract the same faces who know and love parties like Adonis, Feel It and Roast and show them a whole new world of music to enjoy. Come curious, leave converted.
Tell us about who will be playing on the day.
As mentioned, Chris Bekker is one of Berlin’s finest musical exports. He’s been a huge champion of trance on the scene in Europe. I’m really excited to bring him to London as he hasn’t played here since 2018 with Paul van Dyk at Printworks. William Sizen-Bell is another UK trance DJ who plays a lot in Europe, and has an amazing sound, and of course, myself – it should be a really great musical progression through the day.
“Come Curious, Leave Converted”
QTS
What else do you have in store for QTS?
Rome wasn’t built in a day! But the response has been so amazing already that we are already looking at a second date with Electrowerkz. I’m really hoping that QTS will become a staple in the UK LGBT+ clubbing scene and will open up the gates to a new sonic sound for the community.
QTS: Trance For The Queer Soul is on Saturday 4 October 2025, at Electrowerkz, 7 Torrens St, London EC1V 1NQ, United Kingdom.
