Tekonta Secta is a music and art collective made up of free party people from all over Nottingham. Known for rambunctious raves that take place in the bellies of woods and the middle of Broad Street alike, they’ve even been known to book – ahem – DJ workshops, in schools. Here, the elusive boggers answer a few of our questions and treat us to a plethora of photographic treats of theirs, all for your eyeball pleasure...
When did the Tekonta Secta collective start?
The artwork and graffiti sides of Tekonta started in 2011. It then evolved into a crew, and the parties started happening in early 2013.
There are lots of different aspects to the collective – art, music, free parties, soundsystem – what’s the ethos that ties everything together?
It’s all about teamwork. Between the crew, there’s graffiti, joinery, and photography going on, then there’s also a passion to fiddle about and create stuff. It’s wicked to combine it all together and see what can be achieved.
Talk us through the creative process of chucking a free party...
Top secret info, that is! Let’s just say it requires some heavy lifting and no sleep, for sure.
What have been some of your biggest challenges?
Trying to get a 24ft-long chameleon DJ booth through a small fire exit was interesting. Or picking up all the juicy tissues and NOS canisters in the woods at eight in the morning. These things have to be done.
Tell us about Dutty Donna. What puts her apart from other soundsystems?
We met Donna back in 2015. She’s a loud girl, mostly prefers being in the outdoors, and loves to get dirty.
You host raves in loads of different locations. What have been the most memorable?
We once had a picnic under an old railway bridge with a giant snail and, more recently, we held a team-building exercise in a school hall that went down quite well.
Can you tell us the story behind the Rushcliffe School knees-up?
No comment.
What other collectives do you like?
Massive shouts to The Nest Collective on the audio assistance and vegetable samosas!
What makes a “safe party person”?
Any shape. Any size. Any colour. Any flavour. Any respectful human being wanting to bring positive vibes to the party.
The Tekonta look is really distinctive...
The style slowly evolves and mutates, but was originally heavily influenced by psychedelics and the ultraviolet decor you see at psytrance parties.
You also do custom designs...
We can do all sorts: custom DJ booths and stage design, paint jobs for vehicles and bedrooms, or even smaller stuff like personalised canvases and accessories. Please get in touch if you want something.
Does the collective have any upcoming missions planned?
We have some live graffiti and mini Tekonta stalls popping up a few more times this festival season, but we have some big plans for next year. In the meantime, keep your ears open. Especially around Halloween.
To check out Tekonta Secta art and hardware for sale, go to @tekontaportal on Instagram. Also, follow Donna Dutson on Facebook
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
