Hong Kong queer collective Möth Agency, which consists of DJs and collectives, has launched a community radio online. They tell Tatler about pursuing social activism from behind the deck, why they wanted to create spaces for safe partying in the city—and their new endeavour
Growing up as queer is already a challenging experience in today’s world, let alone in Hong Kong.
Despite having slowly grown more supportive of LGBTQ+ rights, the city’s sometimes conservative culture still makes it challenging for queer individuals to come out safely. For DJ Loveless, Hong Kong’s society has made it “difficult, if not impossible, to outwardly express [myself] without criticism or judgment growing up.”
“As queer people who are mostly rejected by their families, we have only but our ‘chosen family’ to rely on,” adds Iranian-born DJ, classical pianist, writer and photographer Ahura Mazda. “But the concept of chosen family is rare in Hong Kong because of the inherent lack of trust within the society.”
Indeed, studies by the Chinese University of Hong Kong have consistently shown over the years that members of the LGBTQ+ community were at greater risk of poor mental health compared to cisgender heterosexual individuals. Discrimination and isolation are among the numerous reasons explaining this situation.
“Being queer in Hong Kong feels bittersweet,” multidisciplinary artist CoketQueen says. “We are a small family of mostly introverts, which makes it hard to meet new queers in the city. The music scene helps queer and alt individuals to find other like-minded people to connect with.”
People in Hong Kong are often confused by ambiguity and experimentation; and when something is not immediately marketable.
But in Hong Kong, even finding this kind of safe space in both mainstream and underground settings proved to be difficult.
“After exploring the Hong Kong underground scene, I noticed that the nightlife was lacking a visible queer space,” explains DJ, model and multi-disciplinary creative Baby Diwata. “It was common to see full male line-ups and quite a masculine crowd at the raves or clubs.”
That’s why around 15 Hong Kong-based multi-disciplinary queer creatives gathered to create the Möth Agency: a queer collective of DJs and creatives. Launched in March 2024, the collective aims to create safe spaces for the queer and alt community in Hong Kong through events and now a community radio.
Tatler sits down with six of them—Loveless, Ahura Mazda, CoketQueen, Baby Diwata, Katagyal and Angelfromabove—to discuss the city’s queer music scene, how to pursue social activism from behind the deck and their newly launched community radio.